I’ve just returned from the 20th annual Keels & Wheels Concours d’Elegance. It’s held in Seabrook, Texas which is about an hour’s drive southeast of Houston.

It was a busy weekend in Texas, as just 260 miles north in Fort Worth, RM Sotheby’s sold the 78-lot Andrews Collection for a staggering $54m with 100% of lots hammered sold — an indicator that the market continues to be strong.

Back in Seabrook, enthusiasts enjoyed some of the world’s nicest classic cars Read More

It’s time for SCM to consider adding a Next Gen Japanese car to its collection.

Japanese cars from the ’80s and ’90s have been popping up on my collector-car radar screen for the past couple of years. When I go to an auction and post pictures of the cars on offer to Facebook, the ones that get the most comments are invariably late-model Japanese.

This was the case in late March at Auctions America Fort Lauderdale, where a slightly ratty Read More

Sometimes all the pieces just fit together.

Each year, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon (AROO) begin the spring touring season with the “The Old Spider Tour.” The event originated as a tribute to club founder and longtime newsletter editor Bob McGill and his wife Margaret, and it always takes place around April 19 — the day McGill bought his beloved French Blue Giulietta Spider Normale in 1958.

Alfa owner Eric Roe organized this year’s run. The one-day Read More

I take part in many concours and car shows around the world each year, and the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance continues to stand out. This past weekend I returned for my fifth year as emcee.

The setting is wonderful, right on the ocean at Ellen Browning Scripps Park. Sea lions bask in the sun at a nearby cove, and at times you can hear them bark — not something you will experience at many other car shows.

Chairman Michael Dorvillier has Read More

I just got a call from Nasko, our local Alfa guru here in Portland, telling me that my late-model differential has arrived from Berkeley. Jon Norman of Alfa Parts did the build.

It is going into the 1958 Sprint Veloce. The diff that’s in the car now is noisy, and although it will probably last forever, it makes cruising on the freeway uncomfortable.

I thought about trying to save the original 750 Series rear end, but Norman talked me out of Read More

I’ve just returned from Auctions America in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I was shooting episodes of “What’s My Car Worth?” While there, I looked at the 400 cars on offer, and I read their descriptions.

 (To see my FB photo album with over 150 pictures from the Ft. Lauderdale Auction, click here.  You do not have to be a member of FB to view them. )

When it came to describing engines, there were many familiar phrases used, such as “numbers-matching,” “date-correct,” Read More

After more than a half-decade of use, the 1995 BMW 318i’s time with us is done. The car served as Alex’s daily driver, and she put more than 50,000 miles on it. 

It’s a four-door with 5-speed. I recently spent over $2,000 replacing a computer board in the car, and I thought we were good for another couple of years.

But then it started misfiring. I took it to Boyd Motor Werks, and they diagnosed a slight leak Read More