Columns
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Cars in the Courts
The COVID-19 lockdown has had a dramatic effect on our society. Among the many dislocations are that people are driving less, interacting less — and trying to stay out of trouble. Also, the courts are pretty much shut down except for essential business. As a result, there haven’t been any juicy legal files popping up…
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1990 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC AMG 6.0
Sold at $390,000 RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, FL March 6, 2020, Lot 160 Chassis number: WDB1269451A476006 SCM Condition for this car: 2- Of all the recent Mercedes-Benz AMG sales, this is the blockbuster. The premium that this example generated, however, is no accident. AMG built this car at their Affalterbach, Germany, workshop, which means it…
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Color Madness
I named this column “Unconventional Wisdom” for a specific reason. So often through the years, I have been involved in situations in which statements were made that were considered absolute by the speaker. “They never did that.” Or its inevitable twin, “They always did that.” The topics that engender these absolutes can wildly vary, but one that comes up time…
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A Time of Transformation
This pandemic sucker-punched all of us. In the past 30 days, the collector-car world has gone from hoping that things might stay the same to realizing they are changed forever. The cancellation of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Queen Mother of all car events, sent a clear signal. Is our future uncertain? Yes. Are…
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The Amazing, Affordable Alfa Spider
The affordable European sports-car pantheon usually comes down to just four cars: the MGB, the Triumph Spitfire, the Fiat 124 Sport Spider, and the Alfa Romeo Spider. I can already hear the seismic rumble of readers jumping up to mention the MG/Austin-Healey Spridget, Triumph TR-series, Opel GT, Sunbeam Alpine, Volvo P1800 and, God help us,…
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1967 Ferrari 330 GTS
It could be argued that the three most desirable characteristics of Ferrari ownership are beauty, exclusivity and the possibility of open-air motoring, the “wind through your hair” sensation, that never wanes in its appeal. A 330 GTS ticks all those boxes. Testing a 330 GTS in 1968, Road & Track magazine found that the fully sorted, all-independent,…
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1972 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS Spyder
With just 46 examples built, the Ghibli 4.9 SS Spyder is among the most exclusive of all road-going Maseratis and one of the most sought-after high-performance Italian exotics of the early 1970s. These extraordinary automobiles rarely appear for sale, either at auction or privately, as most are fixtures in major collections. This particular example, with…
