Driving up Highway 101 from Monterey to the San Francisco airport, it was clear that the ball was over. Instead of Monterey Car Week’s sea of candy-colored Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches, a swarm of Kias, Toyotas and Chevrolets peppered the landscape. An occasional modern Fiat 500 served as the token […]
Author: Keith Martin
Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 40 years. As a writer, publisher, television commentator and enthusiast, he is constantly on the go, meeting collectors and getting involved in their activities throughout the world. He is the founder and publisher of the monthly Sports Car Market, now in its 37th year. Keith has written for the New York Times, Automobile, AutoWeek, Road & Track and other publications, has been an emcee for numerous concours, and had his own show, “What’s My Car Worth,” shown on Velocity. He has received many honors, including the Lee Iacocca Award, the Edward Herrmann Award, was inducted into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame, and more. He has served on the board of directors of The LeMay Museum and Oregon Ballet Theater, and was formerly the chair of the board of the Meguiar's Award.
Concours at St. John’s Continues to Impress
Last year, I made my first visit to the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s and was surprised and delighted. Formerly known as the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance and held at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester, Michigan, the concours moved to its new location — the Inn at St. John’s […]
BMW i8: The Shape of Things to Come
I’ve just spent a weekend with BMW’s current vision of the future. There are some rough edges to smooth out, but the hybrid i8 represents the most important effort by a major car company to define what the performance car of the future can be. Recently I drove a McLaren […]
Modena Cento Ore 2015
It was 6 p.m., and we were driving towards Perugia, the capital city of Umbria, in central Italy. It was 100 degrees, and we were in the thick of rush-hour traffic. Our day had started in Rome, and we had completed four laps at the Vallelunga track as well as […]
In the Montana Dirt in a 1927 Vauxhall
“Vauxhalls were built for the wealthy to take them grouse-hunting in Scotland. So these dirt roads are what it was built for.” That was Peter Stevens’ first comment as four of piled into Miles Collier’s 1927 Vauxhall Type OE 30/98 Velox. Peter knows a thing or two about cars; his […]
Keith’s Blog: The Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance – A Celebration of Cars and People
As I write this, the engine on the SCM 1958 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce has barely cooled down from the 30-mile run home from the 43rd annual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance. All of the cars that were so carefully displayed are gone, and the fencing surrounding the concours field has […]
When Did A Ferrari 328 Become a Classic?
Miles Collier’s Collecting Thoughts in the July issue of SCM discussed a 1989 Ferrari 328 with only 1,200 miles that sold at auction for $140,000. Five years ago, this would have been a $50,000 car. What’s happened? A 1989 328 is now a 26-year-old car. I sold them new when […]
A Very Good Day Indeed
Last week, I had just arrived home from several days in Boston and wasn’t looking forward to the pile of work waiting on my desk. A text message popped up from my daughter Alexandra. “Dad, I have the week off from Daimler, and I thought we should take the Duetto […]
Bad Driving Is Here to Stay
Cars are safer than ever. The fatality rate per million miles traveled in 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, was 1.1 — a nearly 25% decline since 2004, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Not only do cars handle and brake better than ever […]
Seven Tips for A Successful Road Trip
Summer is the season for using our old cars. Portland’s 10-day forecast shows nothing but sunny days ahead with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. This Wednesday, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon have their annual summer tour, a relaxed two-hour affair that winds its way through the backcountry outside […]