The Martin family had its traditional Super Bowl Party Sunday, and we all wished we had placed a bet on the first possession of the Patriots ending in a safety. Someone, somewhere did, and we hope they’re buying a Ferrari today with their winnings.

Two SCMers from opposite ends of the spectrum brightened up our driveway with their rides. Long-time friend (and American Car Collector contributor) Michael Pierce brought his 1967 427/435 Corvette, and Round-Fendered Volvo Club founder and guru Dean Koehler drove his 1973 Volvo 1800 ES. Parking cars on the lawn is against all the household rules, but Wendie has agreed to a few exceptions – it must be a party day, and the cars must be exceptional.

Dean’s Volvo is a prize-winner at a national level, and Michael’s Corvette has received NCRS recognition. My own Volvo ES is at Guy’s Upholstery, having the interior freshened, the door-opening mechanism repaired and various small things attended to. When I get it back, I’m eager to drive it back-to-back with Dean’s.

When Michael offered me the chance to drive his 427, there was no way I could have refused – especially in the top-down, 55-degree sunny weather we had Sunday.

The weekend was fast and long, with me flying to Kissimmee and back in the span of just a few days. It was my first time attending Mecum’s mammoth Florida auction. With over 2,000 cars on offer, I’d liken the experience to wrestling with a porcupine – there was no way I was walking away without something to show for it.

The American Car Collector editorial gang has insisted loudly that the magazine needs its own swagger-worthy set of wheels, and I had a feeling Mecum would be the place that it would happen. When I glimpsed the 1963 Dodge 440 with built 700-hp Hemi, tubbed wheelwells and roll cage built to 9.9-second regulation, I was barely able to calculate my maximum bid before the red mist set in.

Another Arizona Auction Week has come and gone in a whirlwind. In addition to the SCM gang hosting another wildly successful Corvette seminar, consignment tours at RM and Gooding for Platinum subscribers, booths at Gooding, Russo and Silver, we managed to attend every auction and pretty much every after-hours gala event. 

The What’s My Car Worth? production team had two film crews working simultaneously to keep Donald Osborne and me perpetually evaluating cars. We looked at 16 cars total, and test drove 14, including a 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa, a 1968 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage and, of course, Herbie, the 1963 VW “Love Bug” Beetle.

And now it’s on to Kissimmee, for Mecum’s annual mega-auction. I’ll be doing a meet-and-greet there on Saturday, January 28 at 2pm. RSVP by Wednesday if you’ll be attending. See you there!

Alex and I took the Boxster S out for a delightful, top-down drive a week ago. Despite 40-degree weather, the interior space was cozy, thanks to a factory windblocker between the roll hoops, windows rolled up, heated seats and a prodigious heater.

We went out along the Sandy River, through a variety of backroads towards Mt. Hood, and ended up at the Zigzag Inn – where I’ve been taking Alex since she was in a bassinette. The S once again impressed me with its combination of  effortless power and comfort – but not, alas, enough to make it a permanent keeper.

As SCM readers are keenly aware, the key to buying any old car is turning the process into an adventure. I knew that picking up the newly purchased 1973 Volvo 1800 ES with four-year-old Bradley would have to be full of first-times if I wanted the experience to compare with fresh and visceral memories of Disneyland, whence we had just returned.  (We rode every thrill ride his 43” height would allow, including the Hollywood Tower, where he remarked in the plummeting elevator, “Gee, Dad, those ghosts don’t look very real,” and the Matterhorn—“I didn’t know snow monsters had red eyes”—as I struggled to keep from tossing my cookies.)

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It’s Road Trip Time

It’s time for my annual fly-and-buy road trip with my daughter, Alex. She’s returning home for Christmas break after a semester studying marketing and business management in Grenoble, France, and she’s already asking what we’re going to buy this year.

Last year I was on the hunt for a Range Rover to use for our “civilized” off-roading; the crude part was served by our Series III rig (which has since gone to Colin Comer’s father  – I know, if Colin REALLY loved his dad why would he stick him in a mobile Waring Blender?). The SIII was replaced by our turbo-diesel D90.

SCMer Jeffrey Stout of Manhattan Beach contacted me, and I was immediately seduced by his 1989 Range Rover Classic – in fact he had even taken Sir Stirling Moss for a ride in it (presumably not off-road). Alex and I flew down and drove it back to Portland, where it has become a much-beloved member of the SCM stable.