Collecting Thoughts

If you’re of the age when new 1960s sports cars were on your bedroom posters, you surely remember Mr. Peabody. A Saturday morning cartoon favorite, this polymath dog and his pet boy, Sherman, used a time-traveling machine called the WABAC to go on entertaining and educational adventures. Because I’m a Baby Boomer, it’s this “technology”…

The collector-car world is experiencing a metamorphosis. Over the past six years, we have witnessed the maturation of the industry. The transition began in earnest when RM Auctions announced a strategic partnership with publicly traded Sotheby’s in 2015. Next, in 2020, media giant Hearst acquired Bring a Trailer for an undisclosed sum. Finally, now Hagerty…

One of the more jaw-dropping automotive transactions to occur in 2021 has to be the sale of James Dean’s Porsche 550 transaxle for $387,000 (including buyer’s premium) on Bring a Trailer. While the James Dean Porsche 550 story is well known in automobile collecting circles, a bit of background may be helpful so that the…

As I sat on the pre-race grid, I did the same thing I’ve done for 42 years while waiting for the race to start. I cinched up my helmet strap, tightened the seat belts and checked my mirrors. And worried about how the race might unfold. My 1964 Corvette was one of the few true…

I have vintage-raced for nearly half my life, judged at concours events from Lime Rock Park to Amelia Island, and restored more than 50 cars, including some fairly significant old race cars. I have also worked with vintage-race-car shops in most of the U.S. states as well is in Europe. Thanks to this experience, I…

We were recently witness to an amazing confluence of events, where two Corsica-bodied Bugatti Type 57S cars were auctioned within a month of each other. That both of these cars should come up for auction — and sell — is a strange twist of fate indeed. The first example offered was chassis 57512, at the…

My “poster car” growing up was a silver 2002 Porsche 996. It was actually on a calendar on my bedroom wall. I remember hitting that month and never flipping to the next. Perhaps it was because my dad is a Porsche enthusiast, or maybe that car was just special. In any case, that’s the one…

Sitting in a marketing meeting in Detroit one day not so long ago, I recall seeing a presentation that explained how the Corvette’s primary competition was the Porsche Boxster and 911. There were some other cars mentioned as well, but I had already tuned out. As a guy in my 40s at the time, with…

To celebrate his magazine’s 30th anniversary, SCM Founder and Publisher Keith Martin, a veteran of countless driving tours in vintage cars, planned a tour of his own — and invited magazine subscribers to join him. Keith’s impressive guest list included Miles Collier, SCM columnist and founder of the Revs Institute; David MacNeil, chairman of WeatherTech;…