Collecting Thoughts

Grab Your Popcorn

I love movies about cars, racing, real events, real people and lots of drama. I’m also old enough to remember Dad taking me and my brothers to see “On Any Sunday” at the theater when we were children living in Southern California. That movie, directed and produced by Bruce Brown, […]

My Path to Pebble

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been in love with the automobile. I find the sights, sounds, smells and sensations intoxicating. Long before I had the financial wherewithal to begin collecting cars, I was an enthusiast. I was born in 1960, and my earliest automotive “education” came from […]

East Bound and Down

SCM’s editorial staff has plenty of opportunity to get out of the office over the course of the year. You’ll find us following the action in Scottsdale, on the concours lawn at Amelia Island, and dashing from event to event during Monterey Car Week. But our favorite annual outing is […]

Big in Japan

It was bound to happen someday. I have been interested in Japanese cars since I was 7 years old, but up until now, I have only owned models that were sold here in the U.S. I have driven right-hand-drive JDM cars, and friends have imported cars from Japan. I even […]

Plugging In

Change is inevitable. It can be a difficult truth, but what works now won’t work forever. Converting classic cars to electric power isn’t entirely new — half-baked electric Porsche 914 conversions and the like have been home-brewed in garages for decades. But today’s evolved electric vehicle technology means that electrified […]

Unconsciously Bought

I bought a new addition for my automobile collection from RM Sotheby’s at its recent Amelia Island sale. Parked in a corner of the viewing tents was a dark blue 1934 Tatra 77 that, through some combination of pheromones and kismet, I knew was going home with me. I have written […]

Stamp of Approval

Last month, we looked at various factory-supported programs that provide certifications of originality, condition and provenance of collector cars. But those are not the only “stamps of approval” out there. There are also third-party services that provide inspections and documentation to help establish authenticity, although these vary in scope even […]

Factory Blessings

Among the many qualities that confer value upon a collector car, none is as important — or open to dispute — as provenance. The term refers to evidence that a vehicle is what a seller claims it is, and that any notable history of the car can be proven to […]

The $500 Million Endowment

In early November 2022, McPherson College announced that an anonymous donor had made an extraordinary endowment gift to the school. This record-breaking, potentially $500 million donation is the largest single commitment ever made to a liberal-arts college. This news thrust the small Kansas-based school into the headlines. It is notable […]