The crappier the car the better. That seems to be the mantra of some collectors these days.

Instead of trying to restore cars to better-than-new condition, they look for the most original vehicle they can find. The more bedraggled the better. You can even find people who will “un-restore your car” and make it look old and nasty.

Finding original, unrestored cars is becoming more difficult.

However, I came across a perfect “preservation” example a few days ago in Costa Read More

We’ve decided that our time with the SCM Mehari has come to an end.

A couple of Alfas are coming out of restoration, so we need to free up some space in the garage.

We’ve enjoyed the Mehari — and we’ve done quite a bit to make it a very good driver (all things in context, of course). It has been tuned, electronic ignition installed, the shift-linkage bushings replaced, and the brakes properly set up. It’s actually quite fun for Read More

I had a gearhead’s holiday last weekend.

In the course of two days, I got to put nearly 100 miles each on the SCM Lotus Elise, the ACC Dodge Viper ACR GTS and two vintage Alfas — the 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce and the 1967 GTV.

These are all sports cars, but they each represent a unique approach to spirited motoring.

The Viper is the brute of the bunch. With its massive V10 engine, it launches like a Saturn 5 Read More

Online auctions have transformed the collector car world. In a matter of minutes — in your own office — you go from contemplating a quiet lunch to posting a $35,000 bid.

I was editing the next issue of American Car Collector last Friday when a text message popped up on my phone.

“BaT Auction Alert: 1970 Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato 1300 is ending in 1 hour. http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-alfa-romeo-junior-z/

Bidding was under $30,000 at that point, and I peg these as Read More

Owners who leave the hoods open on their cars for the entire day are my car-show pet peeve.

Two weeks ago, while I was emcee of Keels & Wheels in Texas, I mentioned this to the organizer, Bob Fuller. He said, “It drives me crazy too. I spend all day going around asking people to shut their hoods.”

I was at a very small regional car show this past weekend — the Clark Lumber Annual Car Show and Barbecue — Read More

We were traveling at 70 mph in a torrential downpour. Interstate 84, which runs through Oregon’s scenic Columbia River Gorge, was a nightmare of high winds and large pools of standing water.

It was not the weather I would have chosen to take Bradley’s 1960 Bugeye Sprite on its inaugural road trip.

There comes a moment of truth with any old car when you actually put it on the road. In this case, it was participating in the Austin-Healey Northwest Read More

“We expect to donate $100,000 to charity this year,” Bob Fuller said to me this past weekend at the 22nd Annual Keels & Wheels concours.

In its 22 years, Keels & Wheels has raised over $1.6m for various children’s charities, the foremost being Boys and Girls Harbor.

According to Glen R. Royal, mayor of Seabrook, TX, this money has changed the lives of many children in the greater Houston area.

Seabrook, Texas is an unlikely place for a concours. Read More

I’ve owned well over 500 cars during the past 40 years. If I really got serious about counting them, I might reach 1,000.

They have ranged from ’62 Nova Wagons to Plymouth Superbirds to Ferrari 330 Americas to BMW Isettas.

There wasn’t a car that I couldn’t talk myself into. As Miles Collier noted, my collecting philosophy was centered around, “It’s red, I’ve never owned one and I can afford it.”

However, as I approach my maturity, my thoughts about Read More

I made two round trips to Jefferson, Oregon last week.

That’s where “Hooligan Racing,” Bill Gillham’s restoration shop, is located — 63 miles south of Portland.

I’ve been taking Alfas to Gillham for over 30 years, my first being the ex-Ivan Zaremba 1967 Duetto owned by my college friend Arthur Levy.

When Arthur was deciding on a car to drive from San Francisco to law school on the East Coast, we looked at the Duetto and at a Lancia Aurelia convertible. They were both priced the same, around $2,000. Arthur Read More

I’ve bought and sold a lot of cars over the years.

They tended to come in bunches. There was an MG period, then a Porsche period, then a Rover period and so on.

Some more-disciplined collectors have a linear approach. For example, having one car of each year of Corvette production.

That’s never appealed to me.

My guiding principal has always seemed to be, “It’s red, I’ve never owned one and I can afford it.”

What I call the “stray Read More