Keith Martin

  This was my fourth time attending the Hilton Head Island Concours d’ Elegance. Over the years, it has grown to be a more than just a concours. It bills itself as a Motoring Festival, and that it is. The festivities start the weekend before with the Savannah Speed Classic, which includes vintage races held…

I’d like to start following my own advice. When someone tells me they have acquired a new classic car, one of the first things I say to them is to just leave it alone. Attend to any basic running and safety issues and have the car inspected. (My 1967 Duetto’s brakes failed 30 miles after…

  It’s not as formal as a concours, but more upscale than a cars and coffee. This was my third year as emcee of the European Auto Festival in Greenville, SC. Held on a golf course adjacent to an Embassy Suites hotel, the Euro Auto Festival is a delightful event. The mix of cars is eclectic,…

“I thought you were shooting a gun at me.” That’s what the police officer said when he pulled us over in Coos Bay, OR. We were an unlikely group of adventurers. Me, co-conspirator Richard Lincoln (of Bradley GT and Autozam fame), my son Bradley — and Carrera, Richard’s cockapoo dog. I decided a couple of…

There was a new Ferrari Lusso waiting for me at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Silver and red, like the exterior of the museum, the 4-seat rocket was sleek and menacing. It was a museum-themed weekend for me in Los Angeles. The Petersen was having its annual gala — and celebrating 70 years of Porsche at the…

Suddenly we have more cars than we have parking spaces. It’s those darn “accidental purchases” catching up with me. So our 911 has to go. It’s a 2003 996 6-speed coupe with sunroof. It’s an unusual and attractive seal gray with a light gray interior. The wheels have been powder-coated a dark gray. The VIN of…

There is one element of a concours that is beyond our control: the weather. We can spend years restoring our cars and attending to every little detail. Likewise, months of preparation can precede the one day of glory that concours anticipate. But mother nature can have her own ideas. This was the 22nd annual Radnor…

It was an all-Alfa weekend. Last Thursday, the Alfa Romeo Club of Oregon hosted its annual “Red Duetto Tour.” The brainchild of Fred and Lisa McNabb, the entry rules are simple. To participate, you must have a red “long-tail” Alfa spider, built between 1966-69. Long-tail spiders were Alfa’s in-your-face response to impending safety regulations and…

The 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe. The 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II. The 1970 Porsche 917LH. The 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B MM. These are some of the greatest racing cars of all time. They are four of the 65 world-class racing cars in the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Fred Simeone…

We were sitting outside a Porta Potty near Tenmile, Oregon. Our unlikely four-car caravan had traveled about 200 miles from Portland before our first catastrophic failure. Our group included a 1966 Citroën DS-21 décapotable (cabriolet) owned by Greg Long from Seattle, a 1972 Alfa Berlina that belonged to Brad Miller and his wife Nancy from Portland…