It was the summer of 1968. I was 17-years-old and had just graduated, as class valedictorian, from Lincoln High School in San Francisco. I was accepted to Reed College in Portland OR, but there was no financial aid available.

Tuition, along with room and board on campus, was about $3,000 a year — the same price as a new car. I couldn’t afford it, nor could my maternal grandmother, Dorel McDowell, who had raised me.

I decided to stay out Read More

My first two cars were British — a 1960 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite and a 1958 MGA.

“When are you going to get a real sports car?” asked my good friend Bjarne Holm.

Bjarne was driving his mother’s 1958 Giulietta Spider Normale. We were parked outside Lakeside Presbyterian Church near Stonestown in San Francisco. This was in 1969.

Bjarne walked me around the car. He proudly showed off its amenities — wind-up windows, a top that stayed attached to the car, Read More

Last Saturday my daughter Alexandra and her mother Cindy Banzer took the SCM 1967 Giulia Super on an Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon tour. It was a 112-mile dash from Portland to Astoria on the Oregon coast and back.

This was the 41st running of The Old Spider Tour, celebrating the founder of the club, Bob McGill, and the sky-blue 1958 Giulietta Spider Normale he bought new.

Neil d’Autremont, owner of Sidedraught City and official car herder for SCM, Read More

I had a chance to go for a drive in the SCM Giulia Super last weekend. We took a scenic, winding route, starting on Portland’s curvy Skyline Boulevard and passing through the tony Pearl District downtown.

From there we headed out through an industrial area on Highway 30 and then crossed the cathedral-like St. John’s Bridge before heading home.

I have owned over 100 Alfas. I currently have seven. I hate to think about parting with even one of them.

Read More

I’ve recently been asked about the sale of a 500-mile 1987 Buick GNX on Bring A Trailer for $130,000 on March 25 of this year. On March 18, a 1986 Grand National (a very different car, I was reminded by Colin Comer) with 5,700 miles bid to $38,750 and did not meet reserve.

The buyer of the 500-mile car paid nearly a $100,000 premium to get 5,200 fewer miles.

There are a couple of reasons why this makes no sense Read More