With the meticulous Dr. Cy Conrad in charge, 62 white-gloved judges will define what’s the best at La Jolla’s eighth annual Concours d’Elegance on the lawn of La Jolla Cove on April 1. They will explore some of the finest and most expensive automobiles for authenticity, cleanliness and care. Traditionally, vehicle judging at a Concours d’Elegance is much more demanding than that of a neighborhood or general automobile show.  The general aim of the car owner is to present a vehicle that is in the same — or better — condition than it was when it left the production line. Unless original, modifications are not allowed and components must be suitable for the year and model of the automobile.  Often, these quality automobiles are not driven, except for short distances from their trailers to the show field.  And, according to committee chairman Mike Dorvillier, 20 percent will befit the show’s theme, which this year is Italian marques. To be sure, there will be many more different makes and models in the show that runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. “We’ll have between 150 and 155 cars in the actual concours and up to an additional 75 in the [non-competitive] car corral,” Dorvillier said. “Honorary chief judge this year will be Ed Gilbertson, who, for 26 years, has been chief judge at Monterey’s Pebble Beach concours. “Most are maintained in top shape at all times,” he continued. “As soon as they are parked, they are pampered by their owners. Others [in the corral] are entered just for presentation and not to be judged. Some of these may be previous winners and the owners prefer to let others have a chance at winning.” Proceeds from the event again will benefit the nonprofit La Jolla Historical Society, as well as the downtown-based Monarch School. With entry requests continuing to mount, Dorvillier said the committee may be forced to turn away some requests next year. “We just don’t have the room,” he said. Keith Martin returns as the emcee and will present awards recognizing winners, including the Keith Martin Sports Car Market Report Trophy award during the Saturday Motor Tour and the San Diego Auto Museum Director’s Choice award.  Community involvement has been an imperative element to the event this year, Dorvillier said. “We wanted to focus with the community,” he said. “We have worked with many local businesses this year.”  He singled out La Valencia Hotel’s new general manager Vikram Sood, whom he called “a huge partner for our show.” Book signings In conjunction with an in honor of the Concours, Warwick’s will be hosting a couple of book-signing events with appropriately themed books. Authors Scott Jacobs and Linda Weldon will be at the bookstore on March 30.  Jacobs’ book, titled “The Art of Scott Jacobs: The Complete Works,” was listed on Jay Leno’s Book of the Month Club. Jacobs’ artwork adorns the concours program each year, with last year’s original pulling in $75,000. Weldon’s book, “Road Racing: Drivers of the ’60s and ’70s,” has much of her original photography, taken when photographers were able to get up-close-and-personal at road races. For more information, visit www.lajollaconcours.com and www.warwicks.com. — Johnny McDonald is a longtime writer and columnist for the San Diego Community Newspaper Group. He can be reached at [email protected].