It’s roadtrip time for me again. It’s a good thing I like cars, as my next two weeks are going to be full of them. Put Amelia Island weekend, Auctions America in Ft. Lauderdale and What’s My Car Worth into a mixing bowl, and you end up with a ticket on Delta that leaves Portland early today (Tuesday) and gets me home in the evening on Sunday, March 16. My week starts with shooting episodes of WMCW at RM‘s Amelia sale. Producer Roger Williams says he has a nice lineup of cars for me to drive, and my only sadness is […]
It’s roadtrip time for me again.
It’s a good thing I like cars, as my next two weeks are going to be full of them.
Put Amelia Island weekend, Auctions America in Ft. Lauderdale and What’s My Car Worth into a mixing bowl, and you end up with a ticket on Delta that leaves Portland early today (Tuesday) and gets me home in the evening on Sunday, March 16.
My week starts with shooting episodes of WMCW at RM‘s Amelia sale. Producer Roger Williams says he has a nice lineup of cars for me to drive, and my only sadness is that he makes me bring them back to the auction tent after only a few short miles.
A special thanks to Amelia Island Concours founder Bill Warner for inviting me back as a judge. My class is Maseratis from 1954 to 1973, ranging from an A6GCS owned by J.W. Marriot, Jr. to a Bora entered by Walter Eisenstark and Richard Klein. The concours continues to be one of the greatest celebrations of cars in the world, and it is one of my favorite events.
After things wrap up Sunday night, I’ll be driving to Ft. Lauderdale to shoot more episodes Wednesday through Saturday. While I-95 S can hardly be considered scenic, I know we’ll have a chance for some fried gator somewhere along the way.
We shot at Ft. Lauderdale three years ago, and the Auctions America gang, headed by the irrepressible Donnie Gould, put on a great show. The two cars I remember driving were a very original 289 Cobra (sold at $467,500) and an over-the-top restored Series IIA Land Rover wagon (no sale at $39k).
There are buys there as well. WMCW Associate Producer Evan Williams ended up being the high bidder on a vintage Mini Cooper that weekend (at $19,800), and I came uncomfortably close to adding an Alfa-powered Devin-bodied sports racer to my collection. I recall holding up my bidding paddle, justified by the fact that the race car was red and I’d never owned one before — my standard litmus test. But my $36k high bid wasn’t enough to take it home.
I do miss my family and the gang at the office when I am away, but the WMCW crew is great, and we’ll have new episodes for you on Velocity in July. I’ll have a pocketful of SCM 26th anniversary pins with me — say hi and get yours at Amelia or Ft. Lauderdale.
