Blogs
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Keith’s Blog: The Second SCM 1000 is History!
One thousand miles and two thousand great conversations. The second annual SCM 1000 is now a part of the magazine’s history. Last week, 82 enthusiasts in 42 cars drove 1,000 miles in four days. They explored nooks and crannies of Oregon that are well off the beaten path. However, as spectacular as the cars and…
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Jim’s Blog: The Best $1,500 Upgrade
Buying and selling is the core of American Car Collector magazine — but we’re also very much interested in things people can do to their own cars to make them more usable. Modern traffic isn’t always friendly to classic cars, and why own a classic if you don’t drive it? There is a time and…
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Keith’s Blog: The SCM 1000 is Underway!
The SCM 1000 kicked off on Sunday after with a Cars in the Park Event at the Portland Art Museum. Tour participants showed off their cars to Portland’s many vintage car enthusiasts. Portlanders are used to SCM parking flights of amazing cars outside of the Portland Art Museum. We started the first-ever SCM Tour…
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Jim’s Blog: Is Patina Just a Fad?
When “barn finds” took off in popularity back around 2010, so too did cars wearing worn, thin paint. Evidence of wear all of a sudden became cool, at least among a certain segment of buyers in the market. To those buyers — the “it’s only original once” crowd, there’s nothing cooler than original paint that…
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Keith’s Blog: Alex, the Spitfire and the BMW 2002
Alex, my daughter, and I had a pleasant Saturday planned in July of 2007. At that time, Rob Sass was head of Business Development for SCM. As you probably know, Rob buys cars like the rest of us buy socks. Given my proclivity for accidental purchases, we were a dangerous pair. There is a small…
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Jim’s Blog: Prepping for Parade Duty
The 4th of July is prime car time. If you own an old car, chances are you’ll be adorning it with a flag or two and taking it out this Thursday. But will it be ready for slow-speed cruising in the heat of summer? Here are a couple of things to check before you hit…
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Keith’s Blog: Four Coupes and Three Garage Spaces
I’ve got a dilemma. Due to my profligate purchasing of Alfas, I now have more cars than I have spaces at SCM World Headquarters. Something has to go. I was counting cars the other night (a favorite hobby of mine), and realized I have four Alfas coupes and a 4-door sedan — plus two convertibles.…
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Jim’s Blog: Three Favorites at Mecum Portland
Portland may not be one of Mecum’s bigger auctions, but it tends to bring in a bunch of interesting cars from all over the northwest. This year’s sale just wrapped on Saturday, and ACC was there to cover cars at the sale for an upcoming issue. Complete results are still pending. In the meantime, here…
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Keith’s Blog: Buying the GTV
Eight years ago, on June 18, 2011, I was sitting in my office cleaning off my desk. I was about to throw away a three-month old copy of the local Alfa Romeo Club Newsletter, “Alfa Bits.” An ad for a Daytona Blue 1967 GTV caught my attention. It had a 1750 engine and an upgraded…
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Jim’s Blog: When Was the Last Classic Built?
I hear a lot of car people lament that the last classic car was built in 1973. I don’t agree. “Classic” is technically defined as “Serving as a standard of excellence: of recognized value.” There’s nothing there to limit production years on cars. I think that comes from the definition of “antique” as it relates…