I’ve never had much use for today’s “sport” SUV. When I tested the Porsche Cayenne Turbo for the New York Times in 2003, I found that it had blistering acceleration but felt very heavy. With an as-equipped price tag of $96k, buyers weren’t likely to take the Cayenne on any serious off-road excursions. […]
I have tried to keep the number of cars in my collection to a reasonable number. I. Really. Have. Tried. But friends and circumstances are conspiring against me. Was it really my fault that the 1972 Citroën Méhari I’ve always wanted was crossing the block at the same instant I arrived […]
Having me co-host a television show about cars sold at collector-car auctions is like turning a chocoholic loose in the Hershey factory. When evaluating cars for “What’s My Car Worth?” a TV show I co-host on the Velocity channel, I find myself slipping from the objective to the subjective. […]
This Sunday I’ll be on a plane to Rome. I’m participating in the 15th running of the Modena Cento Ore Classic. My copilot is Lilly Pray, and it’s her first time driving in an event in Europe. I’ve driven in the MCO several times before, in an Alfa Romeo Giulia […]
There comes a moment of truth for any old car that has been restored: the day you put that car on the road. This past weekend, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon and the Northwest Alfa Romeo Club (headquartered in Seattle) put on a joint tour, “Motore Alfisti Avventura NW.” Dennis […]
Denise McCluggage died on May 6. From the very beginnings of The Alfa Romeo Market Letter, she was friendly and supportive of my publishing endeavors. When I was reviewing cars for the New York Times, our paths crossed many times at events. I remember thinking, “This woman raced Porsches and Ferraris, […]
My rule of thumb is that you can expect to spend about 10% of a car’s purchase price on it within the first few months of ownership. Sometimes the expenditures are necessary, such as for repairs. Tuneups, tires, oil changes and the like fit into this category. Other times they […]
I’ve just returned from the 20th annual Keels & Wheels Concours d’Elegance. It’s held in Seabrook, Texas which is about an hour’s drive southeast of Houston. It was a busy weekend in Texas, as just 260 miles north in Fort Worth, RM Sotheby’s sold the 78-lot Andrews Collection for a staggering $54m […]
The market has redefined itself over the past decade. We’ve watched it happen from the SCM crow’s nest. From multi-million-dollar catalog auction sales to text-only postings on Craigslist, we keep a finger on the ever-changing pulse of the market. Prices have soared in the category we follow most closely […]
It’s time for SCM to consider adding a Next Gen Japanese car to its collection. Japanese cars from the ’80s and ’90s have been popping up on my collector-car radar screen for the past couple of years. When I go to an auction and post pictures of the cars on […]
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