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 […]
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1966 Alfa Romeo 2600 SZ Coupe
The Alfa Romeo 2600 coupe, which made its debut in 1962, marked a return to the high-speed GT cars Alfa was known for prior to the four-cylinder Giulietta series. The six-cylinder, 2,582-cc twin-cam was Alfa’s first “over-square” engine. It produced a lusty 145 bhp and, to cope with the power […]
Puttin’ On The Ritz
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 […]
1958 Alfa Romeo 750 Spider Veloce
It only took delivery of a few Giulietta Sprints to their new owners in 1954 for word to spread that Alfa Romeo had built something exceptional. Alfa Romeo, caught by surprise, had to quickly figure out how to increase production to meet the demand that far exceeded its expectations. In […]
Lord, Won’t You Buy Me A 4Matic Benz
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 […]
It’s a Vision Thing
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 […]
1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C
The 1900 Alfa Romeo of 1950 marked a turning point for the marque. Gone were the straight-eight and supercharged projectiles that had written so much motor racing history. Now Alfa replaced them with a modest four-cylinder engine housed in a modern-style steel saloon body. But still the engine possessed twin […]
Sweet Fifteen
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. […]
1958 Alfa Romeo 750 Giulietta Sprint Veloce
It only took delivery of a few Giulietta Sprints to their new owners in 1954 for word to spread that Alfa Romeo had built something exceptional. Alfa Romeo, caught by surprise, had to quickly figure out how to increase production in order to meet demand. Alfa’s previous best-seller had been […]
Andalusian Suite
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 […]