Blogs
When Did A Ferrari 328 Become a Classic?
Miles Collier’s Collecting Thoughts in the July issue of SCM discussed a 1989 Ferrari 328 with only 1,200 miles that sold at auction for $140,000. Five years ago, this would have been a $50,000 car. What’s happened?
A 1989 328 is now a 26-year-old car. I sold them new when I was at Ron Tonkin Grand Turismo. I recall learning that the updates for this last year of the now long-in-the-tooth V8 Ferrari included Read More
A Very Good Day Indeed
Last week, I had just arrived home from several days in Boston and wasn’t looking forward to the pile of work waiting on my desk.
A text message popped up from my daughter Alexandra. “Dad, I have the week off from Daimler, and I thought we should take the Duetto up to Mt. Hood tomorrow morning for a father-daughter drive.”
“Yep,” I texted back. There was nothing on my desk that couldn’t wait.
In the morning, Alexandra met the Duetto Read More
Samsung’s Transparent Trucks
The Heavy Price Paid for a Pickled Car
A 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS sold for $140,000 at the Auctions America sale in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on March 28, 2015. The car showed a mere 1,248 kilometers (775 miles) on the odometer, which was the focal point of this extraordinary transaction.
Now, does it make any sense to pay well over the odds for a rather mundane automobile — assuming we can call any Ferrari mundane — just because it has hardly been driven? The implication is that somehow, Read More
Seven Tips for A Successful Road Trip
Summer is the season for using our old cars. Portland’s 10-day forecast shows nothing but sunny days ahead with temperatures in the 70s and 80s.
This Wednesday, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon have their annual summer tour, a relaxed two-hour affair that winds its way through the backcountry outside Portland. My eight-year-old son Bradley will be navigator, as he was last year.
Last year’s tour was great, and Bradley did an excellent job, but due to a defective fuel Read More
The Sport SUV Comes of Age
I’ve never had much use for today’s “sport” SUV.
When I tested the Porsche Cayenne Turbo for the New York Times in 2003, I found that it had blistering acceleration but felt very heavy. With an as-equipped price tag of $96k, buyers weren’t likely to take the Cayenne on any serious off-road excursions. And it didn’t have the kind of interior space you’d associate with a Ford Explorer or Chevy Blazer. I doubted that automakers would ever combine SUV utility with sports Read More
Buying Cars By Accident
I have tried to keep the number of cars in my collection to a reasonable number. I. Really. Have. Tried.
But friends and circumstances are conspiring against me.
Was it really my fault that the 1972 Citroën Méhari I’ve always wanted was crossing the block at the same instant I arrived at the Silver auction in Fort McDowell? It was the fickle finger of fate, to be sure.
And the 1961 Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale? I was simply in Fort Read More
Heading to Italy for the Modena Cento Ore Classic
This Sunday I’ll be on a plane to Rome. I’m participating in the 15th running of the Modena Cento Ore Classic.
My copilot is Lilly Pray, and it’s her first time driving in an event in Europe.
I’ve driven in the MCO several times before, in an Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super (with SCMer Monte Shelton), an Alfa Romeo GT Junior (with SCMer Joe Tomasetti) and a European 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera — the car we will be Read More
Moment of Truth for SCM’s 1958 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce
There comes a moment of truth for any old car that has been restored: the day you put that car on the road.
This past weekend, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon and the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club (headquartered in Seattle) put on a joint tour, “Motore Alfisti Avventura NW.” Dennis Torgeson, Forrest Whit and Gordy Hyde were the organizers. The tour was to be a weekend of reckoning for SCM’s 1958 Sprint Veloce. Was the Sprint really Read More