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Keith’s Blog: Write Your Car Diary

By on in Keith Martin

Our world is changing daily.

Five years from now, we will look back on this as an extraordinary time in our lives.

But for the moment, we don’t know from one moment to the next how much — or how little — freedom we will have.

I suggest that you to take this moment to codify your experiences with the cars you own.

I’ve always wanted to keep a journal of my experiences with my cars. One where I notated each trip I took, each repair I made and each tank of gas I bought.

Take this time of quiet to assemble the information you have about your car and memorialize it in an organized fashion.

Our cars have become historical artifacts, and they deserve to have their time in our ownership recorded.

In this time, while we are not driving very much at all, put your experiences with your cars down on paper. Do it for yourself and for the next caretaker of your car.

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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.

One Comment

  1. Thomas Taylor
    March 27, 2020 at 2:30 pm

    Done! My early 1967 E-Type Roadster. It’s in two volumes, each about a hundred pages long. One is an illustrated history, the other pictorial–physical volumes of all receipts and photos since taking ownership in 1971. I’ve also converted them into PDFs (for safe backup) with annotations on each milestone receipt and pic. I actually did this with my son in mind, as he’ll end up being the car’s next caretaker after my demise.