Over the past 54 years, the Detroit AutoRama, sponsored and hosted by the Michigan Hot Rod Association (comprised of seven car clubs that originally got together to find ways to fund a dragstrip), and produced by Championship Auto Shows Inc. (CASI), has brought together the best examples of creative car building from the United States and Canada.
But in the past decade, the show's top honor-the Don Ridler Memorial Award-has grown in stature (the first one was handed out in 1964) and continues to attract many of the best car builders in the country.
The last night of this year's show, when some 300 trophies were handed out, just happened to coincide with Hollywood's biggest night: the annual Oscar award presentation. And just like the Oscars, this show is never over 'til the fat lady sings, and the chance for an upset in any given category, including the Ridler, is nearly always a great one, as you never are 100-percent sure who will walk away with the prize
The Ridler award (which includes $10,000 in cash, a trophy, a GM Performance Parts engine, and more) is highly regarded due in fact to its stringent qualifications. Ridler rule number one is that the car cannot have been shown anywhere else before the Detroit show (this guarantees when you visit the AutoRama, you'll see cars you couldn't have seen anywhere else). In addition to that, the award goes to a vehicle of any make or year that emphasizes creativity plus excellent engineering and workmanship.
Knowing the Ridler tests car builders' abilities is why so many builders compete for it, and that is what helped raise the Ridler to "Golden Ring" status. And just like the Oscars, the hype and spin that precedes some of the frontrunners for the award won't help a poorly constructed vehicle get past the eagle-eyed judges. This year, a couple of contenders made it a close race after being named to the "Great 8" (the group of finalists culled from all the competing entries), but in the end it was Kevin and Karen Alstott's '36 Ford roadster that won out over all the others.
The Alstotts (whose orange '59 Corvette was featured in the March '05 issue of KIT CAR) employed Roger Burman to build the winner after picking up the body from Marcel DeLey, who, with sons Marc and Luc, hand-fabricated the steel body from scratch in their shop in Corona, California. And just like the Oscars, the rest of the Great 8 should be happy just to be nominated, as simply being a part of that rarified company is praise enough.
But the Detroit AutoRama is a lot more than just a single award. Cobo Hall, the 600,000-square-foot facility where nearly 1,000 cars are set up for viewing, is split between an upstairs, where glossy cars are spread out in an organized fashion, and a downstairs area, which is ruled by suede cars (so-called Rat Rods). And before anyone dismisses the rusty rods as unsafe clown cars, it was a surprise to many of the spectators how innovative most of the downstairs cars were in comparison to the "safe" design of the upstairs cars.
While the glossy cars are built to compete within strictly controlled parameters, the downstairs is where anything goes-the more outrageous the better. The concept of the downstairs cars usually revolves around whatever old metal bodies a builder can find along with whatever vintage speed equipment can be located, but the look was carried off with fiberglass creations, too. After all, it doesn't need to be 70 years old to look the part-you just need to be creative with the parts you have!
CASI produces 22 AutoRama and World of Wheels shows around the country. Some are larger than the Detroit AutoRama when you get down to counting the number of cars, but Detroit is considered by many to be the crown jewel of the indoor car show series. And a win at Detroit means something to those competing anywhere else in the country.
But if winning a trophy or competing in a class isn't your thing, and you just like going to a show to take in the glitz and glam, then you'd be hard pressed to not find something to like at the AutoRama. There is peripheral entertainment (bikini shows, NASCAR drivers signing autographs, toy shows, pinstriper art shows and auctions, etc.) to keep everyone's interest piqued, and even Ford, GM, and Chrysler have corporate big rigs and displays at the AutoRama-just another example of how important this particular indoor car show is.
Throughout the show, from Rat Rods down below to the 'glass and steel rods upstairs, kits and replicars were well represented, too, thereby showing everyone that this unique facet of the automotive aftermarket can sit on the porch with the big dogs, too! For more on the World of Wheels and AutoRama shows, check them out on the Web at www.autorama.com