Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 40 years, and is the founder and publisher of this magazine. Keith has also written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, has been an emcee for numerous concours, and had his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity. He has received many honors, including the Lee Iacocca Award, the Edward Herrmann Award, was inducted into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame, and more. He has served on the board of directors of The LeMay Museum and Oregon Ballet Theater, and was formerly the chair of the board of the Meguiar’s Award. Learn more about Keith here.
Twenty years ago, there were really only two places to show off your cars. The first was at a concours, the second was generally a national meeting of a club. In these nascent, pre-internet days, national meets of clubs were a big deal. For we Alfa guys, they were often the only chance we would get to see rare cars like 2600s or SZs. We would travel thousands of miles to attend the swap meets. I once had a Japanese client send me to a swap meet in Italy to find him bumpers for his Giulia Super. The “cars for sale” […]
Twenty years ago, there were really only two places to show off your cars. The first was at a concours, the second was generally a national meeting of a club.
In these nascent, pre-internet days, national meets of clubs were a big deal. For we Alfa guys, they were often the only chance we would get to see rare cars like 2600s or SZs. We would travel thousands of miles to attend the swap meets. I once had a Japanese client send me to a swap meet in Italy to find him bumpers for his Giulia Super.
The “cars for sale” and “cars wanted” billboards with scraps of paper pinned to them with thumbtacks, were a constant source of interest.
As for concours, they were far and few between. In Oregon, we are lucky that for the past 50 years we have had the Forest Grove Concours. However, in my pre-collecting days I recall viewing it as a “fancy affair,” where well-dressed grownups showed off their big old cars with names like Packard and Cadillac. While not user-cruel, they weren’t inviting either.
The car show world is different now. According to the website idrivesocal.com, the original Cars and Coffee concept was an outgrowth of Barry Meguiar’s “Car Crazy” radio and television show.
The concept was simple. Cars would gather around 8 am on a Saturday morning, generally in a large parking lot of a shopping center. There might be an announced featured marque, but everyone was welcome. There were generally no formal activities, and at around 10 am the event was over and people went home.
Today, there is hardly a community that doesn’t have a weekly gathering of this style. While some go to great lengths to shine and detail their cars, others just show up, proud of the splattered bugs on their noses.
My son Bradley enjoys them, as he can make a last-minute decision to participate. If it’s British car day, he can grab the Lotus or the Jag or the Land Rover Disco (whichever has the most gas) and head out at 7 a.m. He gets to spend the morning kicking tires with other like-minded enthusiasts and is home before noon.
We’re all aware that cars are really “people magnets” that draw people together. And they provide a chance to share information. When Bradley was having trouble with the retractable lights on his 1982 Collector’s Edition Corvette, he took it to a local cruise-in and parked near other C3 owners. By the end of the event, he had talked to other owners and gotten the information he needed to solve his problem.
Getting the word out about this type of event simply wouldn’t have been possible before the internet and social media.
Add to this the various types of Cruise-Ins that go on all summer (there is rarely any cruising at cruise-ins, you just park your car and get out and kick tires) and there are many events every week, at least during the summer.
All of these activities make nonsense of the claim that people are less interested in cars now than 20 years ago. I would venture to say that there are actually more people taking their cars to and attending events, from casual to formal, than there were back then.
It’s a good time to be a car owner, and we have modern technology to thank for that.
4 responses to “Keith’s Blog: Cars and Coffee or Concours?”
Tom
As for the Forest Grove Concours…I have always found it inviting from my first visit as a 11 year old in 1974 and a first year exhibitor at the age of 20 in 1983. I even went to the Saturday night get together at Doherty Ford. And back then they allowed you to stay the night in a Pacific University dorm for a small fee.
Rand Wintermute
Keith. In 2012, after moving to Sausalito, I founded “Biscotti & Cars”, to promote friendship amongst we “car guys” in the Marin area. Poggio restaurant there , provided the free Biscotti and also paid for a Poster of the Car of the month that I chose to “highlight”. It was a great success and is still being held , now that my wife and I are back to Oregon. My secret was making it a “ Regional“ affair , NOT a generic “National affair” like “Coffee & Cars”, and it benefits Poggio with more business and attracts tourists , as the parking area is adjacent to Poggio. It is a win-win situation !
Fasten your seatbelts, readers. Here comes a bumpy ride:
I think I own ten collectible cars. They range from pretty nice down to You Paid Money For That? But this summer I was in a funny mood and I bought a VW based kit car. Yes, I know. And that’s my point. I could probably drive it to a Cars and Coffee event and plenty of people would be polite, even nice. I might even find some VW fanciers who could give me advice, like Bradley with his Corvette headlights. If I were to drive that car even to the parking lot of a concours, the Wave Of Disdain would be overwhelming. How big is the Big Tent of car collecting?
Victor Van Tress
I hope Bradley knows how lucky he is. I had a friend who Dad had a Morgan but my friends first car was a 62 Ford Fairlane 4 door. Pretty sure we still have the land speed record at Van Nuys blvd and Ventura blvd @ 100 mph however.
4 responses to “Keith’s Blog: Cars and Coffee or Concours?”
As for the Forest Grove Concours…I have always found it inviting from my first visit as a 11 year old in 1974 and a first year exhibitor at the age of 20 in 1983. I even went to the Saturday night get together at Doherty Ford. And back then they allowed you to stay the night in a Pacific University dorm for a small fee.
Keith. In 2012, after moving to Sausalito, I founded “Biscotti & Cars”, to promote friendship amongst we “car guys” in the Marin area. Poggio restaurant there , provided the free Biscotti and also paid for a Poster of the Car of the month that I chose to “highlight”. It was a great success and is still being held , now that my wife and I are back to Oregon. My secret was making it a “ Regional“ affair , NOT a generic “National affair” like “Coffee & Cars”, and it benefits Poggio with more business and attracts tourists , as the parking area is adjacent to Poggio. It is a win-win situation !
Fasten your seatbelts, readers. Here comes a bumpy ride:
I think I own ten collectible cars. They range from pretty nice down to You Paid Money For That? But this summer I was in a funny mood and I bought a VW based kit car. Yes, I know. And that’s my point. I could probably drive it to a Cars and Coffee event and plenty of people would be polite, even nice. I might even find some VW fanciers who could give me advice, like Bradley with his Corvette headlights. If I were to drive that car even to the parking lot of a concours, the Wave Of Disdain would be overwhelming. How big is the Big Tent of car collecting?
I hope Bradley knows how lucky he is. I had a friend who Dad had a Morgan but my friends first car was a 62 Ford Fairlane 4 door. Pretty sure we still have the land speed record at Van Nuys blvd and Ventura blvd @ 100 mph however.