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.

Keith’s Blog: Which Car Should I Sell First?

Winter has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, which means all of our cars want to come inside to roost. This creates a problem, as SCM has thirteen cars and nine spaces to park them in. Even I can do that math — four cars have got to go. (American Car […]

Keith’s Blog: Keith Martin is NOT the World’s Fattest Man

I recently got an email from a reader congratulating me on my status as “The World’s Fattest Man.” Now, I would be the first to admit that getting into the tux I wore to my senior prom might be a bit of a struggle, but “World’s Fattest Man?”

So I did a Google image search for “Keith Martin” and was confronted by pages and pages and pages of a very large person – also named Keith Martin! Half-naked, at that.

SCM Wins Society Of Automotive Historians Award

A year ago, SCM was named “The Best Classic Car Magazine in the World” by About.com. Just last weekend, we were honored again, this time by the prestigious Society of Automotive Historians. Each year at their annual meeting, they give the Richard and Grace Bingham Award, for “the outstanding treatment of historical topics in an automotive periodical in 2011.” We are deeply honored by this award.

The SAH, founded in 1969, is an international organization with more than 900 members. It encourages research into any aspect of automotive history, to safeguard, broaden and deepen the understanding of motorized, wheeled land transportation through the modern age and into the future.

SCM contributor John Lyons was there to receive the award, and these are the remarks he gave on behalf of publisher Keith Martin.

Keith’s Blog: Letting the Maserati Run Free

It’s been unseasonably warm in Oregon, so this past weekend we took the opportunity for a quick run to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation and the Lodge at Ka Nee Tah.

Set in the Central Oregon desert, near the Deschutes River, the lodge has a hot spring-fed pool, along with waterslides, hiking trails, miniature golf and enough other activities to keep a five-year-old going all day. We even managed to secure a reservation for one of the last raft trips of the season down the Deschutes River and through the world-famous Whitehorse rapids.

The Triumph of Time

  Fifty years ago, Bob Russell was driving home from work when a flashy red sports car caught his eye. “I had been thinking that we needed a second car, and my wife needed to learn to drive a stick,” Russell, 84, said. “So I just bought it.” He brought […]

Keith’s Blog: Why Did the GTV Stop Running? Can You Help?

For the past year, our 1967 Alfa has defined reliability. Built by engineer Dave Rugh as a daily driver for his wife Colleen, who used it for twenty years that way, it simply goes and goes.

In fact, weekend before last, Alex drove it to Tacoma and back (over 300 miles) without a hiccup.

But all that changed on Saturday.

Martin Swig, 1934–2012

He lived on his own terms I only saw Martin Swig two or three times a year. So the fact that he is now gone, forever, doesn’t create an immediate void. Instead, there’s a small, dull ache that will become a little more apparent each August when I think about […]

Keith’s Blog: Old Cars Give Me A Headache: Can You Help?

Old cars can be a pain in a lot of ways, but some of mine give me a headache. A real headache. And I’m wondering if I’m the only one who suffers from this, or if someone else has figured out how to solve it.

I know, the first thing that comes to mind is carbon monoxide, how old cars run rich, and the bad sealing around trunks and windows, and all the holes, large and small, that have developed in the body structure over the years.

But with some of my cars it is more than that – and, I’m the ONLY one driving them who gets the pounding in the temples, slight heartburn, etc. – everyone else drives them and doesn’t notice a thing.