Keith Martin’s Adventures

Last week my blog stressed the need for all of us on tours to drive responsibly. Thoughtless drivers can not only leave a lasting poor impression of sports cars with the communities they pass through, but they can also end up creating accidents with potentially fatal consequences. Here are a few of the responses I…

The next five years will be a telling time for car tours. If entrants and organizers don’t play their hands correctly, tours as we know them may disappear. There is a growing dichotomy between the performance ability of new cars and the consequences of a mishap. We were reminded of this by news of a…

The Gambler 500 Rally is in some ways the polar opposite of Sports Car Market. Where we mainly concern ourselves with highly collectible cars in top condition, the cars of the Gambler lean mightily towards the “disposable” end of the spectrum. While the event no longer has a $500 rule, participants adhere to the idea…

I saved myself $63k this weekend. As I continue to explore the world of vintage manumatics, Porsche 911 Sportomatics have been on my radar. I’m willing to give up the third pedal, but not the satisfaction of manually selecting gears. Once unloved, Sportos now seem to be as ridiculously expensive as all other air-cooled Porsches.…

Last week I described Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato S/N 001, the prototype. It was purchased by a local Alfa club member and is entered in the upcoming SCM1000. While the car is essentially complete and correct, it has been color-changed and lightly modified over the years. I asked whether you thought he should drive it…

At a recent Alfa club meeting here in Portland, a member unveiled the prototipo Sprint Zagato, S/N 001. He had purchased it in Italy and had it flown to the U.S. He will be driving it in the upcoming SCM 1000 along with other events. The car is handsome in its red and black livery,…

Three guys, a teenager and a dog. That’s what the passenger manifest looked like as we pulled the SCM Citroën out of the garage. A U.S. model 1971 DS21 Pallas, we bought it last year from SCMer Greg Long. A Citroën fanatic, he drove his DS21 cabriolet with us on our Caravan to Concorso a…

I attended my first Barrett-Jackson auction 30 years ago, in 1992. There might have been one or two other people on the plane to Phoenix from Portland who were going to the auction. At that time, it was a relatively unknown event. When I arrived, I recall being stunned and delighted by the sight of…

“Driving the Jaguar had to be one of the most unexpected experiences I’ve ever had. By unexpected I mean every time I thought the car was going to do something it managed to surprise me. Even by the time I thought I had mastered the car it managed to do something new. From the way…

This past Saturday marked the 44th annual Old Spider Tour. Each year, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon (AROO) celebrates the early Spiders by having a tour. The tour commemorates club founder Bob McGill’s purchase of his 1958 Giulietta Spider, new, from Rambo Motors in Portland. He traded in his MGA and never looked back.…