Keith’s Blog: Tours for Citroëns, Lancias and Siatas

We are just a couple of weeks away from the 2021 SCM 1000 Classic.

We’ve been sold out for some time; our self-imposed limit is 45 cars. Featured this year are the cars of England, although any pre-1975 sports car is invited to apply.

Our first tour featured Alfa Romeo, our second, the cars of Germany.

In each case, we had other marques represented, often pre-1975 sports cars owned by SCM Members who had previously been on our tours.

I have been musing about creating a different type of tour for classic cars. What if each year we featured marques that are not large in numbers, so they rarely have national conventions or luxury touring events?

For instance, while there might not be enough Siatas to have a national gathering, if we grouped them with Maserati and Lancia, and included other SCM 1000 Classic cars, we should be able to achieve critical mass.

A few things will always be constant. The upper limit will always be 45 cars. I have found that this is the optimum number to allow participants to get to know one another, and it simplifies logistics. Second, there will always be discussions each evening, what we call “Conversations with Collectors,” where you get to ask questions of a panel of marque experts. As this is Sports Car Market magazine, we will always have a focus on values, past, present and future. Plans also include having members volunteer their cars to be evaluated and appraised “on the spot,” all in the spirit of fun and finding out what your car is worth – at least at that moment, at that time.

I spoke about this concept at length with SCMer Greg Long, a Citroën guru who lives in Seattle. When I discussed the possibility of having an SCM 1000 Classic featuring the cars of France, he was enthusiastic. “Give us a couple of years notice,” he said, “and I am sure that there will be Citroën owners from across the country who would like to attend.”

This might be a once-in-a-lifetime event for these owners, a chance to have a full-blown 1,000-mile tour featuring similar cars, along with all the social activities that are part of an SCM 1000 event.

For 2022, we are considering featuring the marques Maserati, Lancia and Siata. (And why not OSCA while we are at it?) As always, all pre-1975 cars would be invited to apply. With a limit of 45 cars, chances are we will fill the field. In addition to the same luxury hotel for the week, we would have driving on Monday and Tuesday, and a day off on Wednesday. Curated activities will be offered. This will all be in a congenial spirit.

Since we are featuring Italian cars in 2022, then I suggest we have Cars of France in 2023. Those would include Citroën, Renault, Peugeot and Simca. Again, all sports cars pre-1975 would be welcome to apply.

As far as location, we are looking at moving our events around the country, and not being exclusively in the Pacific Northwest. We have been scouting for Grand Hotels to serve as hubs in the Rocky Mountain states, along with looking as far east at New Hampshire, and to the SE in the Carolinas and Tennessee.

These will not be inexpensive, at a projected $8,000 per car for a week (with a $500 discount for SCM Members). But we promise you will get more than your money’s worth from your investment.

I think by featuring often overlooked marques like this, we can provide an opportunity for their owners to celebrate their cars, make new friends and renew old friendships.

Visit  www.scm1000.com to sign up for future updates.

As always, these are just my thoughts. I look forward to hearing what you think about this concept of marque-focused SCM 1000 Classic tours.