California extradited the Titles Unlimited president from Alabama. He was convicted and spent a year in jail

Say you hit the proverbial collector car lottery and find a 1957 Porsche Speedster that has been sitting in a barn for 40 years. The only problem is that the farmer lost the title 38 years ago. Like most states, your DMV purged its records after the car went unregistered for five years, and it Read More

The owner’s friend wrecked his car, but the owner’s policy pays the claim, his premiums go up, and possibly his policy gets cancelled

Ever borrow a friend’s valuable car and worry that something bad might happen? Here’s a case where it did.

As usual after the completion of the competitive runs at a recent SCCA Solo autocross event held in the paddock at Portland International Raceway, the course was Read More

The ink wasn’t even dry when the email inboxes, telephone lines, mailbox, and other forms of communication got red hot

The “Legal Files” column in the December 2007 issue of SCM, which discussed the $4.5m settlement of the Carrera GT fatal crash lawsuit, hit a nerve within the SCM community. The ink wasn’t even dry when the email inboxes, telephone and fax lines, and other forms of communication were humming. Most comments Read More

An expert examined the Jaguar and concluded much work was substandard, and the owner had been overcharged by at least $17,000

An SCM subscriber, whom we’ll call Bill, has been a car guy for a long time and has owned a Ferrari Daytona, a 289 Cobra, and a 1960 Jaguar XK 150. After he had owned the 3.8-liter drophead coupe for about 20 years, he decided it needed a restoration. He was Read More

The attorney points out that the typical SCM subscriber, a car enthusiast who holds fast cars and racetracks dear, will never make it onto this jury

Last summer, “Legal Files” reported about a lawsuit resulting from the fatal crash of a Porsche Carrera GT at a club track day at the California Speedway (June 2006, p. 30). The lawsuit was recently settled for a reported total of approximately $4.5 million. Read More

Enzo case takes another bizarre twist, and Porsche enlists industry allies to make what could be bitter lemonade

This month we revisit two old friends-one the Pacific Coast Highway Enzo crash, and the second the Porsche Lemon Law special.

Last summer’s big car story was the Ferrari Enzo crash in Malibu, California. Stefan Eriksson crashed his Enzo into a power pole, splitting the car in half and spreading wreckage across 1,200 feet Read More

The IRS can’t tax you after you’re gone, so they tax you on the way out

Last month, Publisher Martin made some insightful observations about the current state of the collector car market and how collectors should act in (September, “Time to Buy, Sell or Hold?” p. 10). I won’t question Keith’s views of the market, as I’ve developed great respect for them since he and I actually made money on Lucky, Read More

The service advisor explained that the computer did not find any error codes, so there couldn’t be anything wrong

Wisconsin attorney Bruce Tammi was a car guy from when he was a kid. His all-time favorites were Porsches, and he owned two of them-a 1978 911 Turbo and a 1999 Carrera. But one night his barn took a direct hit by lightning, and the resulting fire destroyed both Porsches.

Armed with an Read More

The participants arrive at the hotel in Hong Kong and express their
displeasure. The organizer breaks down in tears and runs off. Now what?

If you’ve owned collector cars for long, you’ll agree that one of the biggest challenges is finding opportunities to use them. You can drive your Porsche Speedster to the office once in a while on a nice day, and you can take a Sunday drive Read More

Last month, “Legal Files” analyzed the six shots fired by Barrett-Jackson in its lawsuit against Judge David Clabuesch, the unhappy seller of the Ramchargers Hemi ‘Cuda that brought $300,000 at the Scottsdale auction in January. Judge Clabuesch has responded by emptying his own legal pistol, filing a five-count counterclaim against Barrett-Jackson and an accompanying Third Party Complaint against Thomas Kazamek, the purchaser of the Hemi ‘Cuda. “Legal Files” will analyze the response in the same manner as the initial filing. Read More