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.
Can you think of a more attention-getting car to have in Monterey than a gullwing? You could spend $1.4 million for a Mercedes. Or you could pay $17,000 for the 1992 SCM Autozam AZ-1. This is the first year it is legal to import this car into the United States. The Autozam joined the SCM collection a few months ago, and we will drive it down the Pacific Coast from Portland to Monterey for Car Week. We’d like it to be a one-way trip. We can deliver the Autozam to you at the beginning of Monterey Car Week and you can […]
Can you think of a more attention-getting car to have in Monterey than a gullwing?
You could spend $1.4 million for a Mercedes. Or you could pay $17,000 for the 1992 SCM Autozam AZ-1.
This is the first year it is legal to import this car into the United States.
The Autozam joined the SCM collection a few months ago, and we will drive it down the Pacific Coast from Portland to Monterey for Car Week.
We’d like it to be a one-way trip. We can deliver the Autozam to you at the beginning of Monterey Car Week and you can have the most bang-for-the-buck car on The Peninsula.
A “Kei” car, the Autozam has a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine that puts out 63 horsepower, with a weight of 1,600 pounds. It’s a hoot to drive.
It has a 5-speed manual gearbox, and it’s fully equipped with working a/c.
The 6-digit odometer shows 57,468 km or about 35,708 miles. This appears to be accurate, but we have no documentation to support that.
The importer we bought it from specializes in these cars and said this one of the best he had seen.
It has the optional floor mats and roof sunshades. We installed a U.S. radio. The driver’s seat shows wear on the bolster, and we stitched up a tear in the headrest.
The gearbox synchro when shifting into first at a stop is a little weak, but careful shifting takes care of that.
We have not discovered any other issues during our time with the car. We will have our mechanic here go over the car — and give it an oil change — before we head to Monterey.
Frankly, I love this car, both for the pocket-rocket performance and its unusual appearance.
But you can’t keep them all, so it’s time for it to go.
We’re asking $17,000 for the car, based on what we’ve seen similar models go for. We will deliver it with a clean Oregon Title.
Make the Autozam your ride of distinction this August! Text or call me at 1.503.970.1070, or email at keith.martin@sportscarmarket.com. Take the Autozam from our garage and put it into yours!
2 responses to “Keith’s Blog: The SCM Autozam Can Be Yours in Monterey!”
Tom
Super cool. I’ve been thinking of getting a Nissan Pao. How hard is it to find a mechanic to work on these JDM cars?
Gary Eye
Kudos to SCM for another creative approach for subscribers to enjoy Monterey week. Bet we will see pictures of the AutoZam around the peninsula in future SCM issues.Still smiling about the video. Great job, even captured the “nice car” quip from a passer by, however, with the Bradley GT in the background, was which car was his comment directed at? Guess we know, but what is it with SCM and cars with gullwing doors?.
2 responses to “Keith’s Blog: The SCM Autozam Can Be Yours in Monterey!”
Super cool. I’ve been thinking of getting a Nissan Pao. How hard is it to find a mechanic to work on these JDM cars?
Kudos to SCM for another creative approach for subscribers to enjoy Monterey week. Bet we will see pictures of the AutoZam around the peninsula in future SCM issues.Still smiling about the video. Great job, even captured the “nice car” quip from a passer by, however, with the Bradley GT in the background, was which car was his comment directed at? Guess we know, but what is it with SCM and cars with gullwing doors?.