“Keith Martin’s Guide to Car Collecting”
By Keith Martin
Book Review by Gregg Leary

The Bible has 66 books. Keith Martin’s “Bible” of car collecting has 66 articles and a resources section that includes a listing of Car Clubs and a Glossary of Car Terms.

The cover proclaims:

Your Complete Resource for Buying, Selling, and Enjoying All Types of Collector Cars

Exclusive! 1,000 Recent Top Sales of Collectible Sports, Classic, Exotic and Muscle Cars

All-Time Record-Breaking Million-Dollar Sales

Hard-Hitting Expert Advice on Best and Worst Buys in Today’s Market

Tips on Saving Money When You Insure and Finance Your Car

Price Guide with Real Market Prices and Investment Ratings for over 2,000 cars

How to Choose the Best Affordable Collector Cars

From Ferraris to Corvettes, from Shelbys to Porsches, the Straight Talk and Real Market Information the Pros Use to Make Their Decisions

Keith Martin is our “tour guide” through this collector car journey. He has been involved in the collector car hobby for more than 40 years, founded “Sports Car Market” magazine and is a well respected writer, publisher, TV host, commentator, emcee and judge who has participated in the crown jewels of collecting- including Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, Meadow Brook and Concorso Italiano.

“Keith Martin’s Guide to Car Collecting” is 283 cubic inches...I mean pages… of wonderful information. The photography is spectacular. Some of the cars are so beautifully presented they may cause drooling in the reader. The articles are fun, informative and often laced with a wicked sense of humor.

Some of my favorites:

What is Car Collecting?
Collecting Strategies
Million Dollar Sales in 2008-09
Top 1,000 Sales in 2008-09 by Price
Top 100 Muscle Car Sales
All-Time Top 10 Sales
Why Buy a Collector Car?
Starting Out: Buying Your First Collector Car
Nine Exotics You Can Afford
Fun Collectible Cars Under $25,000
Five Best Ferraris Over $1,000,000
Five Porsches to Avoid
Nine Muscle Car Sleepers
Eight Corvettes to Run Away From
Buying Collector Cars Online
Buying Techniques That Work
How to Finance a Collector Car
Lemon Laws
Restoring Your Dream Car

Some tidbits:

A 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for $12,402,500 at Maranello, Italy on May 17, 2009. It is the highest total ever paid at public auction.

20,000 collector cars sold at auction in 2008-09. The Top 1,000 ranged from the 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa at $12,402,500 to a 1969 Dodge Daytona at $173,250.

A 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 Competition Roadster topped the Muscle Pack at $1,732,500. (Shelbys took 9 of the Top 10 Muscle Car spots.)

The Top Ten All-Time Winners include four Ferraris, three Bugattis, two Mercedes and a Rolls-Royce.

The Four Fun Collectible Cars for under $25,000 include:
1966-69 Alfa Duetto
1965-67 MG B-GT
1965-66 Ford Mustang Coupe
1972-74 BMW 2002 tii

A Porsche to avoid…All 924 Turbos. Martin writes:
“This model is truly one of Porsche’s darkest moments, a car to avoid even if you’re given one as a gift.” (Ouch!)

“The red-headed stepchild of the Shelby world is unquestionably the Sunbeam Tiger. These cars cost pennies on the dollar against anything else as interesting.”

“British car owners know driving shoes must also be comfortable walking shoes.” (Tongue in cheek, I hope.)

“There’s nothing like showing your 40-year old (Muscle Car) taillights to a Honda festooned with more wings than a Wright Brothers experiment.”

Nine Muscle Car Sleepers:
1975 Chevrolet Corvette
1962 Chrysler Newport
1960 Ford Galaxie
1964 ½-1966 Ford Mustang Coupe
1964-66 Plymouth Barracuda
1968-70 American Motors AMX
1964-66 Dodge Dart
1964-65 Chevrolet Malibu
1964-65 Ford Falcon

“It’s not what you know, it’s where to find what you need to know.” “Keith Martin’s Guide to Car Collecting” has to be one of the best resources available at ANY price. At $21.99 it is an amazing value. It rates five out of five lug nuts and is available at SPEEDtv.com. Keyword: “Books.”