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Keith’s Blog: Down to Three

Keith Martin

I have been struggling with how to downsize my collection.

There are a couple of factors involved. Parking spaces at my condo are limited. At one point I had seven, but not anymore. Further, the Morlocks who run our HOA have decided that trickle chargers are not “safe” (compared to the exploding lithium-ion battery-powered electric bicycles we are encouraged to take to our condos and charge). This means every car I park here needs its battery disconnected if not in use, a tedious process.

I keep track of which of my cars get the most use. Our “utility” vehicle, the 2005 Hyundai Elantra, now shows 12,000 miles. We used it for a family trip to Monterey a couple of years ago. It was comfortable but not memorable.

It’s always good to have one regular, gas-engined sedan chock full of the latest safety equipment close at hand. In fact, the Hyundai may be the last new car I buy. While it seems like the world has bet on electric vehicles as “the future,” I am in no hurry to get there, as my condo would charge $7,000 to install an electric charging port. Besides, with the few miles I drive, savings from going electric would be negligible.

At the moment, I still own the 2006 Lotus Elise and my 1965 Alfa Giulia Spider Veloce. They are both manual shift and hard for me to drive (although I am making progress), so they are safely kept in heated, long-term storage at Pro-Tek Automotive, trickled-charged and attentively cared to by owner Mike Christopherson. It’s just 10 minutes away when I want them.

I’ve decided I will keep two cars besides the Hyundai at the condo where I can grab them at a moment’s notice.

I belong to the local Alfa Romeo and Porsche clubs. Consequently, it makes sense to keep the 1991 Alfa Spider S4 (“Old Wheezer”) and the 2005 911 C4S (we haven’t had it long enough for it to earn a nickname). Both are automatics, with power steering and power brakes and good stereos, and very easy for me to get in and drive. That gives me a coupe and a convertible.

So, my front-line trio is Hyundai, Porsche and Alfa.

Do you agree with my choices? I look forward to reading your comments below.

Tweed and Twill upholstery
Factory a/c
Dry ice
Oregon Festival of Cars
Freshened 2.7 engine
“Old Wheezer”
The newest addition
Stored across town
65 Alfa Spider

Read my previous blog posts here.

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Keith Martin Avatar
Keith Martin
Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 40 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world. He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market, now in its 37th year. Keith has 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.

17 responses to “Keith’s Blog: Down to Three”

  1. Christian Philippsen Avatar
    Christian Philippsen

    Definitely agree, makes a lot of sense! Wishing you lots of fun, Christian

    Reply
  2. Willam Greener Avatar
    Willam Greener

    A sound choice. Having enjoyed 10 Porches my only remaining P-car is a ’57 speedster replica. I’ve become a Porsche snob. But the utilitarian value of your choice is unarguable. And Alfa, always!

    Reply
    1. anatoly arutunoff Avatar
      anatoly arutunoff

      speedster replicas–why not? the only bad thing my mother ever did to me was to convince me to sell my carrera speedster–with an occasional hirth crank rattle–to jim watson of chapel hill tenn. in autumn ’62 for $1,100. i was once asked by a german bmw dealer in houston why it handled better than any other porsche he had driven. i told him i’d replaced the factory shocks with traction-master 50-50 shocks. he was stunned.

      Reply
  3. Lynne Roe Avatar
    Lynne Roe

    What happened to the E-Type?

    Reply
  4. David Andersen Avatar
    David Andersen

    Good for you, Keith! I know how tough it can be to let go of cars you spent a lot of time with and really enjoyed.

    Last year, circumstances forced me to reduce my modest “collection” from six down to three. It was both a disappointment and a relief. Disappointing because I liked the cars I had and didn’t really want to sell them; a relief because the reality of owning and keeping up with the needs of six cars was taxing, both in time and money.

    With the three cars I have left I can now keep them all at my house (vs. renting garage space), and I can drive and fawn over each of them more now that my available time (and funds) can be spread between half the number of cars as before. The three other cars all went to good new homes and I don’t think I’m going to miss them all that much now that my “car-life” is much simplified. Who knew?!

    Reply
  5. Bob Banks Avatar
    Bob Banks

    Sounds like a good plan. I once had a garage that was big enough for five cars, with a ’67 Healey, a ’54 Aston Martin DB2/4 and a ’67 XKE along with two DDs. But over the years my wife has been steadily moving us into smaller and smaller garages so I now have been in a two car garage for the last 15 years. It is slightly oversized (21’x21′), has an 18′ wide door instead of the standard 16′, and a 10′ ceiling, so I soon figured out I could put a lift in on my side with plenty of room for my wife’s car and plant stuff. The best of both worlds but down to just one toy car, my C7 Corvette Z06. Having just sailed past 80, I am not sure how long I will have that one, but its been a great run and we all have to face tough car decisions at one or more points in our lives. You are making good ones for you. –Bob

    Reply
  6. Bob FitzSimons Avatar
    Bob FitzSimons

    I have always enjoyed (in a reverse-snob way) referring to my cars by the color, thus avoiding sounding like a forward -snob who’s always talking about his Jaguar or Bentley. And it avoids the really embarrassing moment when you’d have to say “No, I meant my OTHER Prestigio GT …” All of this leads to a pretty basic question.

    Do you now own TWO Porsches, one yellow and one silver? Which one has the Time Bomb Bearing? And where does it currently reside?

    Reply
  7. John Gillespie Avatar
    John Gillespie

    We have a three-vehicle stable at our home as well. A 2009 Honda Element EX 4WD, a 2018 Mazda 6 Signature, and a 2001 Mazda MX-5 Miata SE. All fit in our small home’s oversized 2-car garage comfortably. The Element is the workhorse of the trio; the grocery getter, dog hauler, and foul-weather driving stalwart. The Mazda 6 is a nicely appointed sedan that covers all the other daily duties with more comfort, tech and power than the more spartan Honda. The Miata is the fun sunny day convertible sports car that provides pure driving joy. Mostly used for local club drives and events and occasional road trips. It spends down time tucked in the deep end of the garage with an onboard battery maintainer keeping it ready for the next adventure.

    It sounds to me that you have your bases covered at your condo. Now, let me get this straight, your HOA allows E-bikes to be charged in the garage but not low amp trickle chargers for cars? Seems a bit hypocritical to me.

    Reply
  8. Paul Hardiman Avatar
    Paul Hardiman

    On the batteries, get turn-off switches installed, makes sense anyway if you are leaving a car awhile. If you get the ones with removable keys, like an FIA-style cut-off, it’s an anti-theft device too.

    Reply
  9. Frank Barrett Avatar
    Frank Barrett

    Keith, what Paul said. If you have to store the cars in a garage without electricity, a lithium-ion battery pack (less than $100) can jump-start a car anywhere. No more of those pesky jumper cables!

    Reply
  10. Captain Dave Avatar
    Captain Dave

    Someday a wise developer will build condos or townhouses with enhanced parking options. Partitions, full locking enclosures, extra width and length, better lighting, power, shop space, even lifts. They wouldn’t be cheap of course, but imagine a development with, say, 40 condos, 60 regular spaces and 20 premium compartments with some or all of the features mentioned above. They could charge a pretty penny for that, plus get full asking from gear-heads who’d have no other place to turn if they wanted apartment living. Sure, you can rent space in a collector car “club” garage, but one of the nice things about this hobby is having the vehicle close at hand. Unlike, say, flying or sailing where your plane or boat is almost always miles away. Perhaps a few places like this already exist? Eager to hear if so, but otherwise, waiting patiently!

    Reply
  11. Bidfinite Avatar
    Bidfinite

    Keith, I chucked when you referenced Morlocks. It creates a picture in one’s mind!

    For the trickle charger issue, have you tried solar powered ones that you place in the car? They get their juice from the sunlight streaming in your windows. I think it would take a very nosy HOA representative to spot these.

    Reply
  12. Gene Guszkowski Avatar
    Gene Guszkowski

    I don’t know Keith, how can you possibly say that you have bought your last new car? I think you owe it to yourself to at least explore what’s out there right now, no one is insisting that you go all electric, there are plenty of hybrid daily drivers that might spice up your trips to the grocery or wherever. It’s apparent that you will always have an Alfa nearby and near your heart. And if you are a Porschephile for now that’s ok, enjoy every mile! But have some fun and at least check out the new car smells and let the automotive gods “move you” accordingly.

    Reply
  13. Ted Keon Avatar
    Ted Keon

    Can’t argue the basic logic either. My modest ensemble also includes a Hyundai Elantra (’25) as my daily, ’17 Ram PU for hauling/towing/snow, and my ’74 Alfa GTV for fun I’ve owned since ’81. Curious why no 4-wheel drive something when weather gets icky or you want to go back-country like you used to with the Range Rover.

    Reply
  14. Mitch Wright Avatar
    Mitch Wright

    Solid and logical and FUN choices.
    Great to hear on your continued progress 👍

    Reply
  15. Dave Hedderly-Smith Avatar
    Dave Hedderly-Smith

    My cars are in dry, but not heated, storage in western Washington. I have those little green twist switches (about $5 on eBay) on the positive battery posts on several of my cars. My ‘94 RR Classic diesel has a bit of a battery drain (I know, such is almost “stock” on old Range Rovers). While it mostly lives outside, the switch works great, and even after a month or longer of cold weather, after I turn the switch on the battery will pre-heat and start that 2.5-liter 300 TDi. I also have the switches on my ‘78 Mercedes 300CD, my ‘65 Morgan 4/4, and my ‘55 Thunderbird. My ‘81 DeLorean gets a trickle charger – that battery is a bit tough to get at. I suspect the switches help extend battery life too.

    Reply
  16. Raymond Devito Avatar
    Raymond Devito

    Sell the Hyundai, you deserve much better after working hard all of your life.
    Mercedes C class

    Reply

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