I’m thinning the SCM collection.
My mentor Martin Swig once said, “We don’t choose the cars, the cars choose us.” As I prepare to send these cars on to their next caretaker, I reflect about how each car chose me and came into my life.
Why now? I just have too many cars and not enough time to drive them all. I’d rather focus on the ones that mean the most to me.
As for the ones that must go, Read More
They say that all good things come to an end — and now it’s time to sell your collector car. While it may seem like an easy thing to do, there are a lot of potential legal land mines waiting for you when you become a collector-car seller.
The first thing to come to the mind of an SCMer is to consign the car to an auction. For some cars, that is the best option. For some, it’s a Read More
If there was one car that did the most to cement BMW’s reputation in North America, it was the 2002.
Actually, scratch that. There is one car that made BMW’s reputation, and it’s the pretty-much-legendary 2002. This still-affordable and very plentiful 2-door sport sedan transformed staid BMW into an affordable performance brand.
The roots of the 2002 go back to the early 1960s, when BMW was struggling. For 1962, the company produced a compact 4-door sedan Read More
Nerd culture is king.
“Star Wars,” “Avengers,” “Stranger Things” — these nerdy franchises are atop the popularity charts, as in vogue as it gets. As nerd culture spreads, it touches every facet of society — even sports cars.
Of the sports cars produced over the past two decades, none is nerdier than the Honda S2000. If the sports-car market is “The Avengers” comic-book movie franchise, the S2000 is Ant-Man.
Like Ant-Man, the S2000 is good — maybe, if we’re really Read More
“The fact that the Boxer was down 4 mph on the Lamborghini Countach’s ‘fastest ever’ maximum speed was unimportant. The Ferrari 512 Boxer wins a more important award, as the best all-round sports and GT car we’ve tested. The Boxer has it all, the speed, the handling, the lovely shape, the well-done cockpit and, most important of all, a reputation for reliability.” Read More
This example of Vignale’s elegant open-top interpretation of the 3500 GT spyder was originally finished on February 23, 1961. Several months thereafter, an English lord chose to buy the unsold Maserati. The car was then delivered to Mrs. Teresa Mitarachi at her address in London in July. As originally ordered, the spyder was Bianco Andalusia over a black leather interior. The car was also equipped with the 5-speed ZF gearbox and the optional Borrani wire wheels.
Several owners thereafter, the Read More
Leading marque authority Clare Hay’s definitive work, Bentley — The Vintage Years, records that chassis PH1469 was completed in April 1926 and was first owned by JWC McLaren.
The car left the factory fitted with engine number PH1470 (the same as it has today) and was registered as GD 2250. One of 513 Speed Models built, it was erected on the standard 9-foot, 9½-inch wheelbase chassis and carried a 4-seat tourer body by Vanden Plas.
The next owner, Lt. Col. Read More
With its disappearing-tonneau windshield and second set of instruments for rear-seat passengers, the Cadillac V16 Sport Phaeton was a sleek beast that looked the part of a star’s car.
And so it was with the car offered here, which was delivered via Los Angeles’ Don Lee Cadillac. Its original owner is long said to have been Richard Arlen, one of the most respected Hollywood actors of the 1920s. He was also a notable car enthusiast, as the Cadillac shared space Read More
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