Last week we took our 1971 DS21 Pallas for a quick trip to Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA. It’s 46 miles one-way from Portland. And one-way was as far as we got, as the car failed to proceed on the way home. No harm done, as Mike Christopherson at Pro-Tek […]
Keith Martin
Keith’s Blog: The Citroën and the Flatbed
It was 2 p.m. on Sunday. Bradley and I had taken the SCM Citroën DS21 Pallas out for a quick 100-mile spin so I could continue to familiarize myself with the car’s peculiar approach to motoring. The morning was spectacular. Bradley had never seen the DS raise itself as it […]
Keith’s Blog: Junior Z Meets Monster Truck
The afternoon started out innocently enough. It was a sunny winter day in Portland. I asked my friend Chris Bright, founder of Collector Part Exchange, if he would go with me to Pro-Tek Automotive, where the SCM Alfa Junior Zagato, Jaguar E-type and Citroën DS21 are stored. Our plan was […]
Keith’s Blog: Five New Year’s Resolutions
It’s that time of year when we reflect on the year that has just gone by, and how we want the year ahead to be different. Here are five things to consider as you start a new year of buying, selling, collecting, restoring and driving. 1. Try out something new. […]
Keith’s Blog: The Week After Christmas
We’re now in the after-celebration of Christmas. This week, between Christmas day and New Year’s Eve, always feels just a little empty. If I lived in a warmer climate than Portland, I would be looking at classic car day trips. But here, with mixed rain and snow in the forecast, […]
Keith’s Blog: My Birthday Blog
I’m one of those kids whose birthday comes close to Christmas – December 22 in my case. I recall wallets and bottles of Jade East cologne with notes that said, “Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas.” I’ve learned to give myself the gifts that matter. Each Christmas, I take my family […]
Keith’s Blog: Save $500 by Registering for the SCM 1000 Today
Imagine 1,000 miles of two-lane roads, great scenery, fantastic cars and fellow SCMers. That’s the setting for this upcoming year’s two SCM tours. In June 2022 we are staging the one-time-only SCM 1000 AMG Invitational. Then a month later, we will hold the SCM 1000 Classic in July, for pre-1975 […]
Keith’s Blog: Does SCM Need an Alfa Romeo 164?
As this is the season of giving, I thought what better thing to do than give myself an Alfa 164? I sold these cars new when I was GM of the Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa and Lotus dealership in Portland. Coming on the heels of the butt-in-the-air […]
Keith’s Blog: When Matching Numbers Don’t Matter
Some years ago, I owned a 1963 Corvette coupe. Colin Comer, SCM’s muscle car expert at the time, decoded it for me from a “mystery tag” he had me find near the glovebox. It was the correct color of silver and had been born with a 4-speed. However, the original […]
Keith’s Blog: A GT350H for the SCM 1000?
It’s never too early to think about buying another car. Both of next summer’s SCM 1000 tours are filling up nicely. The SCM 1000 AMG Invitational (June 19-24, 2022) and the SCM 1000 Classic (July 17-22, 2022) are each limited to just 45 cars. High-performance Mercedes for the former, and […]