Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Blogs
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A worthy successor to the iconic 300 SL Gullwing. Looking at the 2010 – 2015 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Sports Car Market Publisher Keith Martin and SCM Contributor Philip Richter examine the potent and powerful SLS AMG (C197) built from 2010 to 2015. Designed with help from David Coulthard and power from an M159 engine that was the world’s most powerful naturally aspirated unit, this supercar was the spiritual successor to the iconic 300SL…
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Keith’s Blog: Disco or U-boat? Two Eight-Cylinder Choices
It was a brilliant winter afternoon. The SCM 1991 928 S4, dark blue with blue leather, was slicing through the turns on Washington State Highway 14. It’s a two-lane road that follows the northern side of the Columbia Gorge. The road is vastly more interesting than the four-lane Interstate 84 on the southern side. I…
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What makes this 1980 Ford F-250 4 x 4 Custom worth $97,000? It’s not $90,000 of gold bars in the glove compartment
SCM Contributors Lowell Paddock and Philip Richter discuss a 1980 Ford F-250 that sold on Bring a Trailer for $97,000. A veritable time capsule with 76 miles on the odometer, this ¾-ton truck with a short-cab and long-bed came with a 5.8-liter V8 engine and three-speed automatic. Was it the resplendent and rare Midnight Blue…
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Keith’s Blog: Buying a New Car – It Has Nothing To Do With Performance
When it came to making a choice about buying a new car for SCM everyday use, the drivetrain and suspension were irrelevant. Over the past decade, I have watched with interest as new-car platforms have become increasingly digital. More features and benefits related to safety are standard with each new generation. For my daily driver,…
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Buy Sell Hold Market Alert: 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 sells for $610,000 on Bring a Trailer
Sports Car Market Publisher Keith Martin and SCM Contributor Michael Pierce talk about a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 that sold recently on Bring a Trailer for $610,000. One of only 116 built, this big-block had impeccable credentials, winning awards from Bloomington Gold and the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS). What drove it to sell for…
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Keith’s Blog: Nominations Open for the 2021 SCM 40 Under 40
We are now accepting nominations for SCM’s second group of 40 Under 40 honorees. First awarded in 2017, this program became our most popular in terms of industry recognition and resultant newsstand sales. It’s time to revisit it. In our October issue, SCM will honor 40 enthusiasts under 40 years old who are making a…
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Keith’s Blog: Have I Finally Outgrown Project Cars?
Our beloved original-paint 1965 Volvo 122S automatic is about to be listed on BaT, courtesy of Matt Crandall (911r) and Avant-Garde Collection. It was a good car when we bought it, and through the ministrations of Cameron Lovre at Swedish Relics it has become as good as it can be and still be relatively stock. …
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Keith’s Blog: The SCM Library is For Sale
As a part of our pandemic-induced downsizing, we are selling the SCM reference library at No Reserve on Bring a Trailer. Jeff Sabatini and his team are now assembling the magazine remotely. The virus has made it unsafe to use the offices, common areas and conference rooms we had been in for the past 15…
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Keith’s Blog: 911 Sportomatic vs. Junior Zagato
I’ve pursued a two-tiered approach to my changing tastes in cars. On the one hand, I have realized that there are fully depreciated late-model exotics, usually less than 20 years old, that offer tremendous values. These are cars that have been owned by collectors, are in excellent condition and have anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000…
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Keith’s Blog: It’s An Automatic World
I spent the first 68 years of my life treating sports cars with automatic transmissions disdainfully. At any club meet or cars and coffee, the first thing I looked at when I walked down a row of cars were the center consoles. If I saw a gear-shift lever and a shifter boot, I knew I…