Keith’s Blog: A Triumphant Event

Keith Martin has been involved with the collector car hobby for more than 40 years, and is the founder and publisher of this magazine. Keith has also 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. Learn more about Keith here. Madras, Oregon (pop. 7,456), is 121 miles from SCM headquarters in Portland. The route there on Highway 26 is delightful, taking you from the lush green of the Willamette Valley up and over Mt. Hood to the Oregon High Desert. The Triumph Register of America National Meet took place there from June 15–19. This marked a major milestone, as it was the first time the TRA held its annual event west of the Rocky Mountains. There were over 150 vintage Triumphs on display. I gave a talk on the evolution of sports cars in the post-World War II era. I remarked […] Madras, Oregon (pop. 7,456), is 121 miles from SCM headquarters in Portland. The route there on Highway 26 is delightful, taking you from the lush green of the Willamette Valley up and over Mt. Hood to the Oregon High Desert. The Triumph Register of America National Meet took place there from June 15–19. This marked a major milestone, as it was the first time the TRA held its annual event west of the Rocky Mountains. There were over 150 vintage Triumphs on display. I gave a talk on the evolution of sports cars in the post-World War II era. I remarked that we should appreciate how lucky we have been to have lived through this time of rapid change, both from a styling and engineering standpoint. In the regulation-free era from 1945 to 1967, sports cars evolved, from skinny-tired, cycle-fendered MG TCs with four-cylinder engines under one-liter in displacement to sophisticated, powerful, good handling cars before emissions and safety regulations were phased in starting in 1968. For a enthusiast, it was bountiful period almost tribal in nature. There were three primary entry-level sports car languages being spoken. They were the dialects of the MG, the Triumph and the Austin-Healey. The cars of each of these affordable marques represented the very best the engineers and stylists could create using the technology of the time and the budgets they had to work with. Walking up and down the rows of the cars on display at the concours, held at the Madras Municipal Airport, each iteration of the Triumph brought back its own memories. I always wondered if the iconic cut-down door shape of the TR2/3s allowed a driver to drag his left elbow on the concrete when cornering in spirited fashion. The TR4/5/6 were thoroughly modern cars, with wind-up windows, wipers that wiped and heaters that heated. (We’ll just agree to skip over the regulation-encumbered TR7/8 and “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” Stag.) In this modern era, where we can scroll through hundreds of photos of car meets, held all over the world, there is something refreshing about actually being in the presence of over 100 classic sports cars, all nearly 70 years old or more. Further, a national meet is usually a showcase for properly restored cars of a very high quality, a visual treat. I was speaking with the event organizer, Reid Trummel, and he mentioned that most Triumphs that survive today have been restored at least once, if not two or three times. The era of finding a scruffy, un-restored original car is long gone. As these sports cars have become more valuable, restorations have gone from a sloppy repaint to “down-to-bare metal” resurrections. The case could be made that most every Triumph at the concours was, in fact, done to a higher standard that when it left the factory. This is the time of year for car shows, and you owe it to yourself to go to as many as possible, enjoying the physical presence of these artifacts from an era now gone. Do you have a special car show you look forward to going to each year? I look forward to learning what it is in the comments below. 11 responses to “Keith’s Blog: A Triumphant Event” Bob Banks I have owned many older British cars, like a’48 Bentley, a ’54 Aston, several XKEs, a ’67 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8, but have always regretted never owning a elbow-dragger TR-2. They always seemed like fun, and I even still watch ads and auctions for them, knowing full well that my days of being able to drive (and fit in) the little cars are now in the rear view mirror. And since I recently sold my last toy car, a C7 Corvette Z06, I can now only attend car shows as a spectator. It’s just not the same. We have a number of good shows in our area north of Chicago, always with a wide variety of makes and models. A recent one in our town of Lake Bluff, IL hosted about 100 cars ranging from old hot rods, classics and customs to a Jowett Jupiter, a ’34 Duesenberg and a ’31 Chrysler. A great one is in July in neighboring Lake Forest’s Market Square (one of the oldest “shopping centers” in the country), with probably 150 or more similarly high quality various cars and benefiting Melanoma cancer research. There is one also in Lake Forest in late September called “Then and Now” which mixes 100 high quality cars from vintage and modern eras, Stanley Steamers to La Ferraris. Lastly, probably the best and largest show in the Chicago area is in August is the Geneva Concours in Geneva IL, about an hour west of Chicago. Many of the cars could be (and have been) at Amelia and other great shows. And it is huge, with about 350 car entered, not only occupying the entire main street of Geneva but also many side streets and entire parking lots nearby devoted to various makes like Packards, British cars, Ferraris, Corvettes, Porsches, etc. All great shows to attend, which I will do, but which would be even better to be in with my own car.–Bob My favorite is the Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance in Burlingame, CA. Held late in June it is the longest continuously running Concour in the world. This June they celebrated their 70th anniversary. It is always a remarkable display of over 20 judged classes held on the beautiful Crystal Springs Golf Course. Enjoy going to Sevenstock….This year it will be Sevenstock 28….This event is for all rotary powered vehicles…What started out as a bunch of people sharing the love of the rotary engine hanging out at Griffith Park in Los Angeles back in 1999 has become one of the largest gatherings of rotary powered cars and trucks for one day…Unlike other events every type is welcomed whether its a project or finished show car…Mazda USA is always there showing their motorsports cars from the past and present as well as rare and nice rotary powered vehicles from their collection…Always held in Southern California as Los Angeles has a strong following for the rotaries…..Always held in early November after SEMA Las Vegas show so attendees can come over…Check out Facebook and Instagram for more Sevenstock infomation on this year’s coming event… A few of my favorites… “Queens English” in March and “The Best of France and Italy” in November. Both held at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California. “Born Free,” the custom motorcycle show just happened on June 26/27 at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, California is a great day out. Came home yesterday afternoon to CT, from the Boston Chapter’s BMW CCA conquer. It was, and is a great day, bringing out many fantastic Bimmers of all vintages! The spectator parking area was an awesome show unto itself! I highly recommend it! I owned a TR3 with overdrive in 1962 and 63 at 19 years of age. I look back and wonder, when recollecting those days, and what I did with that car, that I am still alive. Let’s not be too hard on TR8’s. I had one for the summer 30 years ago, a wonderful car. Fast (the engine had cams and carb upgrade), both in acceleration and cornors, and really predicable handling. An absolute ball to drive hard.tery The Best : the Pebble Beach Concours d”Elegance !….close to home , and a great drive from Portland , thru the California RedWoods , onto Hwy 1 , along the Pacific Ocean , thru Santa Cruz into the white cliffs of Monterey !…. This year will be my 35th year in a row driving this scenic picturesque route . This year will be driving my 550 Beck Porsche Spyder with my Big Dog pals in their Ferrari 360 and MB 550 , thru the magical Tree’s …Sure, it’s a costly affair, but the best drive in the world ! The Cal Mille and Colorado Grand don’t compare ! Tours such as the Colorado Grand are actually rolling car shows, with people able to see, hear, and feel the cars in motion. When the Grand stops for lunch in small towns, schoolkids are often allowed to come and sit in the cars, never done at the usual car shows. I prefer to support shows that contribute to charities. The 2025 Colorado Grand made local donations totaling more than $1 million, which must be a record. Elbow dragging doesn’t quite work in a TR2 or TR3, but you can easily reach down and pat the road as you motor along, preferably with a gloved hand. Drive-ins are also very convenient in an early TR, there’s no need for a window tray or door-hanging cup holder to support a drink when you can just reach out and set your milkshake on the ground next to the car while you wolf-down your burger or burrito. Favourite show? Aside from Queen’s English, I’m also looking forward to attending the “Monterey British 2026” show this coming August 10th, in Carmel Valley Leave a Reply