Shifting Gears
-
There and Back Again
I recently had the opportunity to speak at the 49th national meeting of the North American MGA Register, held locally here in Welches, OR. The convention was organized by SCM contributor Reid Trummel and hosted by the Columbia Gorge MG Club. My address to the group concerned a trip I made as a 17-year-old in a…
-
Escape From the Ordinary
Most cars lead a mundane existence, barely noticed accessories to our lives. We drive them to the supermarket and the malls. If they are lucky, and the kids put away their bikes and skateboards, they might get parked in the garage once in a while. Classic-car tours flip this paradigm on its head. We just…
-
Ciao, Bella Macchina
When I was director of dance for the Portland Opera, a large part of my life revolved around yearning, passion, searches, mysteries, findings and farewells. It’s not so different with the classic cars that roll in and out of our garages. After 10 years and 15,000 miles, I am selling our 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto.…
-
People, Places and Things
Museums were on my mind recently. The same week the Mullin Collection was dispersed through a sale by Gooding & Company, I was visiting Washington, D.C., immersing myself in the capital. You are truly swimming in the sea of our country’s history no matter where you go in the city. My first stop was the…
-
Love the One You Have
Erratic. Nonsensical. Devoid of any appearance of logic. That’s how my friends have described my approach to collecting over the past few years. But thanks to a recent temptation, my unfocused and somewhat frantic searching may be nearing an end. An adequately powered sports car that handles well on skinny tires and weighs around 2,500…
-
Hope Springs Eternal
I’ve got a new favorite Porsche. This isn’t my first Stuttgart rodeo. Over the years, I have owned a 1968 911L, a 1978 911 SC, a 1991 928 S4, a 2000 911 Turbo, a 2000 911 Carrera and a 2000 Boxster S. They each spoke their Porsche dialect with a distinct accent. The 911L presented…
-
Dakar or Bust?
I’ve been writing about off-road Porsches since 2003. That’s when my review of the new Cayenne models appeared in The New York Times. My first reaction to an SUV from Stuttgart was that it was like watching someone hiking the Yosemite Falls Trail in an Armani suit and Gucci loafers. However, Porsche management was more…
-
Fantasy Meets Reality
As I wrote about in the October 2023 issue, my son Bradley got his driver’s license last summer. As a “safe and sane” first car, we decided on a 1982 Chevrolet Corvette Collector’s Edition. It was probably more my fantasy than his, but the right car at the right price suddenly appeared. I am genetically…
-
Gone in 60 Minutes
After five years and just 2,000 kilometers, our 1971 Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato is gone. In a happy moment for all, it went back to SCMer and longtime Alfa enthusiast Gordy Hyde. I bought it from him five years ago for $60,000. I spent these years and over $20,000 attempting to get a vacuum-operated hand…
-
Auf Wiedersehen
We filled the tank of our 2004 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG for the first time on July 1, 2020. The odometer read 45,389 miles. We had purchased it from a collector in the Los Angeles area for $22,500. SCM Contributor Philip Richter had urged — no, commanded — me to buy the car. He said the…