152 Linkage 016 TAILLIGHTS FLORIDA IS AN interesting place. It’s usually warm and balmy during the first week of March, which makes it the perfect place for car people to find some sun-drenched driving while winter is slowly dying back home. Yet, sometimes an evil north wind blows into Florida — and you’re shivering in shorts and a tropical shirt in 55-degree weather. Or you can find yourself riding out an epic thunderstorm that blew in from the south. A storm of sorts is brewing in Florida from February 29 through March 3. Car people will have to decide whether they’re headed to The Amelia, which changed its name a few years ago — but has been a centerpiece of the car world since 1996. Or will they go to the firstever ModaMiami? ModaMiami, the creation of RM Sotheby’s founder and CEO Rob Myers, is happening on the same dates — and about 400 miles — from The Amelia. Myers is known for putting on quite a show, and the lineup of car events at the ultra-posh Biltmore Hotel Miami Coral Gables is pretty tempting. You Can’t do Both The Amelia and ModaMiami present car people with a difficult choice this year I have lots of friends on both sides of this, and I hope the weekend is a rousing success for both events. Linkage will be at both car extravaganzas, and we’ll have full reports on the weekend in our May issue. Notable books I’m happily awash in new car books right now — see my review of the spectacular, lavish “Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrive — The Last V12 Ferrari to Win at Le Mans” on p. 146. I’ve also enjoyed “Chevy/ GMC Trucks 1967-1972: How to Build & Modify” from Linkage Managing Editor Jim Pickering and the “Classic Car Auction Yearbook 2022-2023” by Adolfo Orsi. Now, Jim Pickering is a work colleague of almost 14 years and one of my best friends on the planet, so I cannot be objective about his books. Jim lives the car life 24/7/365, and he is happiest when he is tearing apart a car or truck, transforming it into a spectacular creation — and then writing about the whole
Linkage 016 153 process. His latest book takes the reader on this exact journey, and it’s fascinating to see a junkyard 1967 Chevrolet turn into something really special. This is a technical manual, but it also is a cool, very readable narrative. Visit www. cartechbooks.com to buy a copy. “The Classic Car Auction Yearbook” series is a must-have for anyone who buys or sells classic cars. Each volume tracks auction sales from September 1 of the previous year all the way to August 31 of the current year. So, the 2022-2023 volume tracks auction sales (online and land auctions) from September 1, 2022 through August 31, home, I wondered if I would see another year of life. I was pretty sure that I would, but I worried about everyone and everything in my life, including our spectacular, outlandish, fun world of cars. Now, it’s clear that COVID is now another part of our lives — and with vaccines and common sense — our world is racing along. We all paid a price, but we all also learned that life cannot be taken for granted. We’ll meet again in March, when Linkage 017 will explore the gorgeous world of Italian cars and Italian design. In the meantime, I hope you find some open roads this winter — and savor the simple joys of life with cars. — CHESTER ALLEN, Executive Editor 2023. This year marks the 28th year of this amazing series. Want to know the top 340 sales of 2022-2023? They’re in this book. Want to get insider’s views of the market from the top auction houses? You’ll find them starting on p. 8 of the 2022-2023 edition. Most of all, this is a comprehensive reference book that records the sales of thousands of collector cars during the past year. Want to see all the Porsche 914 sales of the past year? Turn to the Porsche section, and you’ll find all of the information. To get your copy, visit www. classiccarauctionyearbook.com for a list of retailers. You’ll be glad that you did. From there to here It’s been almost four years since I walked out of the 2020 Rétromobile in Paris and suddenly realized that COVID-19 was going to touch the lives of everyone on the planet. On the long plane ride
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