It was just a month ago when a coordination-challenged driver backed his BMW X1 SUV into the side of my 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider S4. I was in a parking lot in Edmonds, WA, waiting to begin a tour with the local Alfa club. My partner Schön chased the driver […]

In the pre-internet age, looking for sports cars was simple. There was Hemmings, AutoTrader (both regional and national) and the local classifieds. Time was not of the essence. When we started the Alfa Romeo Market Letter in 1988, we would ask Alfa fanatics across the country to mail us the […]

Whenever you take your car out of the garage, you are putting it at risk. That was brought home to me recently. I had decided to join the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club (NWARC) on a day tour of Bainbridge Island, Washington. This would also give me a chance to spend […]

A missed phone call saved me $29,900. As I surveyed the classic car world looking for underappreciated and affordable automatics, the Jensen Interceptor popped up. With its large backlight, it looks like an homage to a first-generation Plymouth Barracuda. It has a mechanical simplicity that is appealing. Most were built […]

There’s a lot of caterwauling going on about kids not being able to drive manual shift gearboxes. I think the focus should be on the skills necessary to drive at all, not what the transmission is. There will always be a manual shift car around for your kids to drive—if […]

I was at my local café for breakfast in Portland. The owner, an Iranian immigrant who has built a good business, stopped by. “Where’d you get that Mecum lanyard?” he asked. He was referring to the Mecum Gold lanyard attached to my iPhone. I had acquired it along with my […]

A 1960 Alfa Giulietta Sprint recently sold on BaT for $92,500 ($97,125 with commission). Matt Crandall (911r on Bat) of the Avant-Garde Collection texted me about the car when the bidding was in the $50k range. Matt specializes in Porsches, both stock and outlaw, but has a long history with Alfa. […]

This was my third time attending the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival. All car events are excuses for like-minded people to come together. This is true from the simplest Cars and Coffee to the stratospheric environs of Pebble Beach. Each event has its own unique characteristics. At Chattanooga, their secret sauce is […]

I did some car swapping last Friday. Enlisting good friend Timothy Ashcroft, we took the 1971 Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato to Bill Gillham’s Hooligan Racing in Albany, OR, and brought our serviced 1965 Giuila Spider Veloce home. It’s about an hour drive each way. Timothy also owns a 1967 Jaguar […]

Which brings us to the 2006 Lotus Elise. I think it now shows just over 21,000 miles. Based upon the recommendation of former SCM contributor Michael Duffey, I specifically wanted a 2006, with its better seat padding, LED taillights and drive by wire. I went on the hunt for it […]