Blogs

In August of 1980, we were on our way to Monterey when an ad in Hemmings Motor News caught my eye: “1965 Alfa Romeo Spider. Twin carburetor version. Two owners. Gray with red. $22,000.” This was followed by a Portland phone number. Times being what they were, I waited a couple of weeks until we…

“The Submerged Cathedral (La cathédrale engloutie)” was written for piano by Claude Debussy in 1910. It is based on an ancient myth of a cathedral that is submerged off the coast of an island. In the morning it rises up from the water, accompanied by the sounds of chanting priests, chiming bells and organ music,…

Social media has its plusses and minuses, but a definitive positive is the ability to find out about events you would never hear of otherwise. Late Friday night I was forwarded a notice of the “Discovery Vintage Car Show – Vintage Wheels and Timeless Appeal.” It was being held at Discovery High School in Camas,…

Through happenstance, SCMer Chris Bright and I ended up living a floor apart in the same condo. As you wind down through our building’s four levels of underground parking, you see some unusual cars. The most mysterious is covered, but a discerning eye can spot the sensuous lines of a 1956 Maserati 350S. Chris has…

The 2025 NW Passage — Spring, an annual tour put on by the Porsche Club of America Oregon Region, is fast approaching. From June 11-16, some 40 sports cars, mostly late-model Porsches, will set off on a 1,500-mile romp through the Pacific Northwest. Stops include Leavenworth, WA, Sandpoint, ID, and Walla Walla, WA. SCM has…

I’ve been attending the Portland Swap Meet for more than 30 years. It is billed as the largest auto swap meet on the West Coast. In the early, pre-internet days, walking though the swap meet gates was like dropping into an Alice in Wonderland hole with no idea what magical things you would find inside.…

Long-time readers will remember that I suffered a stroke in January 2019. Ever since, my left leg has been too weak to depress a clutch, and I have not been able to drive a manual-shift car. I have been working at physical therapy every day, and it has begun to pay dividends. Last week, I…

My son Bradley and I had spent two good-weather days driving a pair of our classics that were cumulatively more than a century old. On an atypically sunny Thursday and Friday, we put 100 miles each on the 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 and 1975 Porsche 911S. On Saturday, we were headed to an event with…

As I mentioned last week, it’s been a cold, wet miserable winter, even for Oregon. So when three days of bright, 60-degree sunshine came along, we “seized the moment.” After spending a day behind the wheel of the SCM 1971 Jaguar E-type, with its pre-emission 5.3-liter V12 and 272 horses, on Friday we opted for…