First of all, this whole discussion is really the fault of Miles Collier, columnist for SCM and provocateur extraordinaire when it comes to making collectors actually think about what they are doing when they buy and sell old cars. Prior to meeting Miles, my criteria were simple: I can afford […]
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.
Sell Keith Your Duetto
Last year I put out a call that I was looking for a 1967 Alfa Duetto and got several responses. Just as I was getting ready to pull the trigger, a tidy 1967 Giulia Super showed up on the radar. I couldn’t have both, so I took the four-door (to […]
Keith’s Blog: Is Paris the New Scottsdale?
The old car scene in Paris is heating up. Last year there were just two auctions in Paris during Rétromobile week: Bonhams and Artcurial. This year there were four, with RM joining the fray, and Artcurial adding an additional auction featuring a collection of Alfa Romeos. Furthermore, the annual SCM reception […]
Keith’s Blog: How I Almost Bought a Bastard AC Aceca
Strange things can happen to you at auctions. While shooting new episodes of “What’s My Car Worth” at Barrett-Jackson, one car, of the 1,405 there, caught my eye. Let’s not forget that what defines B-J is the acres and acres of highly polished, overly chromed, customized, raised or slammed, modified and stock […]
Grooming the Young Collectors
There’s no question that America’s love affair with the car has changed dramatically. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal regularly report on the decline of numbers of driver’s licenses among young people, of fewer miles being driven and declining sales figures of new cars. This lack of interest […]
Keith’s Blog: A Two-Alfa Day, But Where’s the Volvo?
This afternoon is a big day. I’m driving the 1958 Sprint Veloce Confortevole (SVC) to Jefferson, Oregon, picking up the Giulia Super and driving both cars back, with the help of Michael Pierce. (I’m sure the Sprint will be a completely different experience from Pierce’s 1967 427/435 Corvette roadster.) Since […]
Keith’s Blog: Scottsdale 2014 — A Myopic Perspective
The 2014 collector car market has launched. Today all the bidders are gone, and the temporary tents are starting to come down. The trashcans are full of discarded promotional items, bidders’ paddles and parking passes. The busiest guys in Arizona have to be the collector car transporters, as they load […]
Keith’s Blog: Ferrari 375-plus, Arizona Concours and the Boneyard Tour
I’m sitting in a pickup truck headed west on Interstate 10, headed to the Pima Air & Space Museum. After a day fawning over the first-rate automobiles at the inaugural Arizona Concours, I expect seeing acres of mothballed F-16s to be something completely different. Just four days ago, I went […]
Keith’s Blog: Portland to London to Scottsdale and Home Again
It’s that time of year, when we start racking up frequent-flyer miles. We’re also buying a few more lottery tickets like those from this situs togel resmi terpercaya so that after we win we can put a Gulfstream G650 into the SCM corporate hangar. While we’re at it, we’ll buy […]
A Concours Comes of Age
Concours d’Elegance is just a fancy name for a fancy car show with fancy awards. Whether it’s the weekly Beaches Cruisin’, which draws 1,500 vintage cars and thousands of gearheads every Wednesday all summer long in Portland, or the rarified air that surrounds the multi-million-dollar cars at the Pebble Beach […]