Blogs

Last week we took our 1971 DS21 Pallas for a quick trip to Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA. It’s 46 miles one-way from Portland. And one-way was as far as we got, as the car failed to proceed on the way home. No harm done, as Mike Christopherson at Pro-Tek Automotive will be working with…

It was 2 p.m. on Sunday. Bradley and I had taken the SCM Citroën DS21 Pallas out for a quick 100-mile spin so I could continue to familiarize myself with the car’s peculiar approach to motoring. The morning was spectacular. Bradley had never seen the DS raise itself as it woke up, nor had he…

The afternoon started out innocently enough. It was a sunny winter day in Portland. I asked my friend Chris Bright, founder of Collector Part Exchange, if he would go with me to Pro-Tek Automotive, where the SCM Alfa Junior Zagato, Jaguar E-type and Citroën DS21 are stored. Our plan was to fire up the Junior…

It’s that time of year when we reflect on the year that has just gone by, and how we want the year ahead to be different. Here are five things to consider as you start a new year of buying, selling, collecting, restoring and driving. 1. Try out something new. It’s never been easier to…

We’re now in the after-celebration of Christmas. This week, between Christmas day and New Year’s Eve, always feels just a little empty. If I lived in a warmer climate than Portland, I would be looking at classic car day trips. But here, with mixed rain and snow in the forecast, I think I’ll just let…

I’m one of those kids whose birthday comes close to Christmas – December 22 in my case. I recall wallets and bottles of Jade East cologne with notes that said, “Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas.” I’ve learned to give myself the gifts that matter. Each Christmas, I take my family to see the Nutcracker and…

Imagine 1,000 miles of two-lane roads, great scenery, fantastic cars and fellow SCMers. That’s the setting for this upcoming year’s two SCM tours. In June 2022 we are staging the one-time-only SCM 1000 AMG Invitational. Then a month later, we will hold the SCM 1000 Classic in July, for pre-1975 sports cars and featuring the…

As this is the season of giving, I thought what better thing to do than give myself an Alfa 164? I sold these cars new when I was GM of the Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa and Lotus dealership in Portland. Coming on the heels of the butt-in-the-air Milano, with its quirky interior,…

Some years ago, I owned a 1963 Corvette coupe. Colin Comer, SCM’s muscle car expert at the time, decoded it for me from a “mystery tag” he had me find near the glovebox. It was the correct color of silver and had been born with a 4-speed. However, the original 340-horsepower engine was long gone,…

It’s never too early to think about buying another car. Both of next summer’s SCM 1000 tours are filling up nicely. The SCM 1000 AMG Invitational (June 19-24, 2022) and the SCM 1000 Classic (July 17-22, 2022) are each limited to just 45 cars. High-performance Mercedes for the former, and 1974 and earlier sports cars…