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Keith’s Blog: 52 Years in the Forest

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Keith Martin

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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 date, more than $1 million has been donated.

SCMer Brad Miller gave me a ride to the show, and also was awarded Best in Class for his 280SL, fresh off a 6.5-year restoration. My son Bradley came out in the newest addition to the SCM fleet, a 6-cylinder English car from 1964. But more about that another time. I will only say that despite the 85-degree heat, the car’s temp stayed steady at 180. And there was a reason for that.

As much as I enjoy starting my day with a Cars & Coffee event, nothing beats the relaxed schedule and feeling of a regional concours.

Parking was easy, there were no lines to get in, and arriving at a reasonable 11 am (no 5 am Dawn Patrol here) still gave us plenty of time to enjoy all the cars and watch the awards ceremony.

Concours are more about the people than the cars. After a decade, I had the chance to reconnect with Concorso Italiano founders Frank and Janet Mandarano. They drove down from Seattle in their Ferrari Daytona Spider. I was emcee at Concorso for over a decade and those remain some of my favorite Monterey moments.

The field at Forest Grove this year was unusually diverse and attractive, and included among others, Lancia Fulvias, Alfa Zagatos, classic Land Rovers and Corvairs.

SCM Legal Files contributor John Draneas brought his Series 1 Jaguar E-type, which won Second in Class.

There’s no better way to spend a weekend afternoon than at a car show. I look forward to seeing you at one in the future.

Classic Land Rovers on the grass
The Mandarano Daytona Spider
SCMer Bob Piacentini’s Alfa Zagato S/N 001
Brad Miller’s 280 SL being awarded Best In Class trophy
An enthusiastic subscriber!
Long forgotten and for good reason
Bradley and friend on the way to the concours

Read my previous blog posts here.

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3 responses to “Keith’s Blog: 52 Years in the Forest”

  1. Glenn Krasner Avatar
    Glenn Krasner

    Keith,

    I don’t know what Enzo would say, but the Ferrari Daytona Spyder, at least to me, is the most beautiful Ferrari ever made.

    As far as the American Motors Marlin and Rambler American, don’t be so harsh on them!!! American Motors, the last independent auto maker, always had to do more with much less, and put out some interesting cars that served a need. On East 68th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan, not that far from where I currently work, once in a while I come across the same red 1971 AMC Gremlin. A bit on the rusty side, I still marvel at its utilitarian style.

    Last year on PBS, they aired a great 6-part documentary on the history of American Motors:

    “The Last Independent Automaker is a six-part documentary series covering the rise and fall of the American Motors Corporation (AMC). Produced by filmmaker Joe Ligo, Jimm Needle, and historian Patrick Foster, the show features rare archival footage and exclusive interviews with over 35 former designers, CEOs, and assembly line workers.”

    You can watch this documentary FOR FREE on YouTube. At this point, the only vestige of AMC is the Stellantis Jeep Division, which was originally Willys, then Kaiser Willys.

    Even with their limited resources, AMC was always ahead of the curve, embracing small economy cars before the Big Three, and really introducing the first crossover:

    “Based on the compact AMC Concord, the first crossover was the 1980 AMC Eagle, introduced in August 1979. It combined a passenger car body with an elevated ride height and a rugged four-wheel-drive system, widely recognized as the original mass-market crossover SUV.”

    An AMC product will never be as iconic as a Ferrari Daytona Spyder, but will always fill a niche in the automotive history lexicon.

    Glenn in Brooklyn, NY.

    Reply
  2. mikecdata Avatar
    mikecdata

    Ah. Teasing the new Healy with a picture of its rear end. I look forward to hearing about the car you selected, and why. Happy motoring, and may the God of Darkness not visit his wrath upon your new acquisition.

    Reply
  3. Thomas Avatar
    Thomas

    Complain what you will about the AMC corral, that group of cars was one of the most popular collections at the concours. The Forest Grove committee greeted the idea of the AMC Rambler Club Rose City Chapter (a local club) display with open arms and the public responded with much enthusiasm! The owners were kept busy with an seemingly unending line of spectators asking questions and sharing their own Rambler stories.
    Tom 22yr FGC judge

    Reply

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