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

Over the past 12 days, I’ve traveled thousands of miles, seen hundreds of classic cars and shared the joy with countless gearhead enthusiasts.

My trip started with the 8th Biennial Symposium on Connoisseurship and the Collectible Car presented by the Revs Institute. It took place at the Revs Institute for Automotive Research in Naples, FL.

Scholar, collector and frequent SCM contributor Miles Collier founded the Institute. The Symposium brings together about 60 students and a dozen faculty to Read More

I was looking at my motoring schedule for the next few months, and I got to thinking about why I go through all the effort to prepare my cars for these events. I was reminded once again that it’s not really the cars that make these excursions so satisfying and enjoyable – it’s the great people with a shared common interest. The fact that we’re in wonderful cars on wonderful roads is a bonus.

If everything goes according to plan, I’ll Read More