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Keith’s Blog: Fly or Drive?

This year we made the decision to drive to Monterey from Portland, about 750 miles each way. In previous decades, we had flown to San Jose, CA, picked up a rental car and driven to the peninsula, repeating the process for the trip home. Door to door, it would take […]

Keith’s Blog: Could It Be the Vacuum Line?

My son Bradley’s 1982 Chevrolet Corvette continues to create its own adventures. He spent a weekend at Sauer’s Machine and Racing, a shop in Medford, OR. His grandfather, Dick Ewing, who dragged-raced a C1 Corvette and was known for his ability to work wizardry with nitrous injection, works as a […]

Keith’s Blog: The Drive to Monterey

It’s been 30 years since SCM made our first 2,000-mile roundtrip from Portland to Monterey Car Week. For many years, we drove a van with boxes of magazines strapped to the roof. More recently we have shipped our materials ahead and flown down. However, my son Bradley turned 16 this […]

Keith’s Blog: See You in Monterey

For the first time in four years, I’ll be in Monterey. I’m going to keep an abbreviated schedule this year, arriving on Wednesday in time for our annual SCM contributor’s meet-up, and departing Saturday morning. I’ll be bringing my son Bradley with me, and he is all agog about seeing […]

Cruising Values

2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Special Edition S/N JTEBU4BF8DK163278. 70,000 miles. “4.0-Liter 1GR-FE V6, 5-speed automatic transmission, dual-range transfer case, locking rear differential, Cement Gray paint, black-and-gray cloth upholstery, 16-inch TRD alloy wheels, Bilstein front shocks, rear air-bag suspension system, Trail Teams Special Edition, aftermarket front bumper, brush guard, […]

The Kumbaya Corvette

You could hear the screech of the A/C compressor belt up and down Main Street. Forty classic cars were lined up for the start of the concours wine tour. Now in its 49th year, the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance is the oldest concours in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1973, […]

Shading the Truth

A 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster was produced in an unusual color called Fantasy Yellow, or Fantasiegelb. It was the sixth 300SL to be equipped with disc brakes and was featured by the factory at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show. For unknown reasons, the car was repainted red shortly afterward. Its […]

Grace, Space and Pace

Jaguar ended production of the immortal E-type in 1974. Its immediate successor, the 1975–95 XJS, was neither as pretty nor as fun to drive. When the XK8 coupe debuted in 1996, it had styling that once again evoked Jaguar’s sporting heritage. But arguably, it wasn’t until 2005 when a truly […]

Keith’s Blog: Belts and Suspension

My son Bradley and I have just finished another classic car tour weekend. We were participating in the Northwest Classic Car Challenge, hosted by the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon. Restoration shop Vintage Underground were the primary sponsors. There were a nice mix of classic and modern cars in this […]