Keith Martin’s Adventures
Follow his weekly thoughts on the collector car market, and his time behind the wheel.
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Keith’s Blog: Down on Main Street
Last week we began the story of driving our Porshe 911 C4S from Portland 244 miles down Interstate 5 to Grants Pass, OR, population 39,194. We were headed to Cruise The Rogue, the revival of a weekend-long car show that started in 1980, but had been dormant since 2020. The weekend is produced by Main…
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Keith’s Blog: The 911 Meets an Animal Burger
Grants Pass, OR, is a city of 40,000, 244 miles south of Portland. The Rogue River, famous for its whitewater rafting, runs through it. But I wasn’t aware that it had a car culture that stretched back to 1988. So when information about car show named Cruise the Rogue popped into my inbox, I was…
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Keith’s Blog: 52 Years in the Forest
This year marked the 52nd annual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance. It is the longest running concours in the Pacific Northwest, held on the bucolic, tree-lined grounds of Pacific University. This concours has a mission. Every dollar raised goes directly towards Rotary Foundation Scholarships for students in the Forest Grove, Banks and Gaston school districts. To…
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Keith’s Blog: Bonding with the 996 C4S
Even though our 2005 Porsche 911 C4S came into my life on Dec. 22, 2025, when my son Bradley delivered it to me as a 75th birthday present, I haven’t had much of a chance to drive it. My time has been spent deaccessioning our 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 coupe and 1975 Porsche 911S Sportomatic…
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Keith’s Blog: Who Am I Bidding Against?
Imagine you are fishing. You hook a nice-sized, juicy-looking trout. You are reeling it in, and just as you are about to net it someone else reaches in, grabs it and scampers away with it. That’s the way it’s been for me with three Austin-Healey 3000s in the past two weeks. With over 73,000 Big…
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Keith’s Blog: A Triumphant Event
Madras, Oregon (pop. 7,456), is 121 miles from SCM headquarters in Portland. The route there on Highway 26 is delightful, taking you from the lush green of the Willamette Valley up and over Mt. Hood to the Oregon High Desert. The Triumph Register of America National Meet took place there from June 15–19. This marked…
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Keith’s Blog: Two Swings, No Hits
So far, our search for an Austin-Healey 3000 to drive to the 75th annual convention next year in Lake Tahoe has involved a lot of excitement but no car. Last week we mentioned two cars that had caught our eye. One was a 1960 BT7 Mk 1 with plastic side curtains in Monterey, CA, and…
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Keith’s Blog: A Healey on the Horizon?
The ’57 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint “outlaw” I waxed enthusiastic about last week has been sold, but not to me. The car was in Limoux, FRA, and nicely represented by the European seller, RCEurope. It was difficult enough for me to pull the trigger on our 2005 Porsche on a Bring a Trailer auction located…
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Keith’s Blog: My Alfa Fantastico
I got my first Alfa Romeo when I was 17 — and have had probably close to 50 since then. When I had my stroke, I had just completed my dream collection of affordable classic Alfas. In chronological order, they included: All of the Alfas had suspensions sourced from Dave Rugh, including thicker sway bars…
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Keith’s Blog: GPS vs. Route Book
The organizational wheels for a potential SCM 40th Anniversary Tour are slowly turning. One of the more pressing questions is what navigation aids to offer. I’ve had the opportunity to participate in a variety of tours all over the world and observe the navigation tools they provide. These have included the Mille Miglia, California Mille,…