Keith Martin’s Adventures
Follow his weekly thoughts on the collector car market, and his time behind the wheel.
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Concours at St. John’s Continues to Impress
Last year, I made my first visit to the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s and was surprised and delighted. Formerly known as the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance and held at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester, Michigan, the concours moved to its new location — the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan — in…
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BMW i8: The Shape of Things to Come
I’ve just spent a weekend with BMW’s current vision of the future. There are some rough edges to smooth out, but the hybrid i8 represents the most important effort by a major car company to define what the performance car of the future can be. Recently I drove a McLaren 650S Spider for a week…
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In the Montana Dirt in a 1927 Vauxhall
“Vauxhalls were built for the wealthy to take them grouse-hunting in Scotland. So these dirt roads are what it was built for.” That was Peter Stevens’ first comment as four of piled into Miles Collier’s 1927 Vauxhall Type OE 30/98 Velox. Peter knows a thing or two about cars; his portfolio as a designer includes…
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Keith’s Blog: The Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance – A Celebration of Cars and People
As I write this, the engine on the SCM 1958 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce has barely cooled down from the 30-mile run home from the 43rd annual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance. All of the cars that were so carefully displayed are gone, and the fencing surrounding the concours field has been taken down. Held at…
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When Did A Ferrari 328 Become a Classic?
Miles Collier’s Collecting Thoughts in the July issue of SCM discussed a 1989 Ferrari 328 with only 1,200 miles that sold at auction for $140,000. Five years ago, this would have been a $50,000 car. What’s happened? A 1989 328 is now a 26-year-old car. I sold them new when I was at Ron Tonkin…
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A Very Good Day Indeed
Last week, I had just arrived home from several days in Boston and wasn’t looking forward to the pile of work waiting on my desk. A text message popped up from my daughter Alexandra. “Dad, I have the week off from Daimler, and I thought we should take the Duetto up to Mt. Hood tomorrow…
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Seven Tips for A Successful Road Trip
Summer is the season for using our old cars. Portland’s 10-day forecast shows nothing but sunny days ahead with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. This Wednesday, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon have their annual summer tour, a relaxed two-hour affair that winds its way through the backcountry outside Portland. My eight-year-old son Bradley will…
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The Sport SUV Comes of Age
I’ve never had much use for today’s “sport” SUV. When I tested the Porsche Cayenne Turbo for the New York Times in 2003, I found that it had blistering acceleration but felt very heavy. With an as-equipped price tag of $96k, buyers weren’t likely to take the Cayenne on any serious off-road excursions. And it didn’t have the…
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Buying Cars By Accident
I have tried to keep the number of cars in my collection to a reasonable number. I. Really. Have. Tried. But friends and circumstances are conspiring against me. Was it really my fault that the 1972 Citroën Méhari I’ve always wanted was crossing the block at the same instant I arrived at the Silver auction in Fort…
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Heading to Italy for the Modena Cento Ore Classic
This Sunday I’ll be on a plane to Rome. I’m participating in the 15th running of the Modena Cento Ore Classic. My copilot is Lilly Pray, and it’s her first time driving in an event in Europe. I’ve driven in the MCO several times before, in an Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super (with SCMer Monte…