Shifting Gears

In the midst of the thunderstorm, a bolt of lightening struck the century-old, 200 foot tall fir tree next to our home, and then jumped to our roof. The force of nature is powerful; The electricity that surged through the house blew me back five feet from my computer keyboard. Our network router melted, the…

There’s a lot going on at SCM world headquarters this month, but we’ll get to that in a minute. There’s been a milestone occurrence in the Martin-Banzer family. Last weekend, our 11-year-old daughter, Alexandra, learned to drive. Early piloting is a tradition in our family; My grandfather, Tom McDowell, taught me how to operate his…

“I love you guys. When a new SCM hits my mailbox it feels like a letter from good friends. Seriously. So as your friend, Keith, I want to help you enjoy a Ferrari and NOT LOSE LOTS OF MONEY ON IT. Which can be done despite your last two experiences, with your 330 American and…

Our 1984 Mondial has gone to a new home. For $23,000, a Ferrari enthusiast in Benicia, California, put it into his garage. It seemed a fair-enough price for a 53,000-mile car, in light metallic green, that was in need of its major service. And then I did something no owner of an exotic car should…

RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS, SOUTH PACIFIC Oregon’s a nasty place to be in the winter, dismal with gray skies and endless rain. Hence, when spring break comes along and our eleven-year-old daughter Alexandra has some time off, Managing Editor Cindy Banzer (my spouse) and I make sure our annual vacation takes us somewhere very far away…

Amelia Island, FloridaRain is the natural enemy of car shows. Carefully manicured golf courses quickly turn to muddy quagmires and cars that have been meticulously cleaned for judging get spattered with grime. Spectators, rather than trying to snap memorable photos, vie to see who can carry the largest umbrella. All of which makes what happened…

For the first time in 18 years, there’s a new car with SCM Managing Editor Cindy Banzer’s name on it, heading our way. Well, not exactly brand new, but new to the Martin-Banzer family. A 1999 Mercedes E320 4Matic sedan in champagne with tan leather, it’s currently on a transporter making the journey from St.…

DETROIT, MICHIGAN The future of the automobile will be shaped by the collision of grand strategies and the realities of the marketplace. At the recently concluded North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), held at Cobo Center in Detroit, the struggle between car makers to hold and increase market share was palpable and ferocious.Like gladiators in…

Fifteen years ago, in 1989, the first issue of Sports Car Market magazine rolled off the presses. Or more accurately, the eight pages of the Alfa Romeo Market Letter, as it was then called, spewed out of a mimeograph machine. At the time, we thought we were launching a business. But we were really just…

VALENCIA, SPAIN Somewhere outside of Grenada, Spain, I watched from the passenger seat as Jean Sage ran the engine in his 250 SWB to 6,500 rpm. Accelerating up a short straight on a closed-road hillclimb, he cracked a perfect upshift into third before hitting the brakes, double-clutching back down into second, and pitching the car…