DETROIT, Mich. – Ask someone unfamiliar with the automotive enthusiast world what the Detroit Autorama is all about, and they might tell you it’s a custom car show for a bunch of old hot-rodders. Except that for nearly the last dozen years or so, we’ve spotted as many – if not more – young people in attendance there as the regular Boomer fans. So much for outdated stereotypes! Indeed, this yearly 800-car extravaganza hosted by the Michigan Hot Rod Association has become a staple for enthusiasts of all ages from across the Midwest, becoming living proof that teens, twentysomethings, thirtysomethings and fortysomethings actually have more than a passing interest in the custom car culture after all. What’s more, the show’s selection of the annual “Ridler Award” for the best new custom build from the “Great 8” display car finalists – remains among the most coveted custom-car happenings on the continent.
The Detroit Autorama features hundreds and hundreds of display vehicles of all types, makes and models, with Detroit iron being the big draw. Despite being held during one of the coldest months of the year in Michigan, the extended-weekend event draws 150,000-plus attendees to the multi-level indoor show each year. The main floor houses the major displays for the Ridler Award, the Cavalcade of Customs, Vendors, a huge Toy-A-Rama and Food Courts along with the registered show cars. A separate “show within a show” called “Autorama Extreme” is held downstairs, where rusty metal, rat rods and imaginative home-built rides are shown along with motorcycles, bikes and purveyors of the “automotive subculture.” While younger fans are always found downstairs, the sheer numbers of teens and young adults on the main floor as well is a welcome sight for the core of old-timers, who are quite pleased their cars are attracting new generations of fans.
This year’s 73nd annual Autorama ran from Friday, February 27th through Sunday, March 1st at Detroit’s venerable Huntington Place downtown convention center (formerly known as Cobo Hall). We secured a media pass and toured the show on the opening Friday morning to coordinate capturing some of the sights at the show for you on FordRacing.com. To that end, we asked Ford Marketing retiree-turned-car show photographer Bill Cook – who’s a regular at this event along with his trusty camera – if he’d share with us some the hundreds of photos he took at the Autorama for readers of FordRacing.com. This year, we asked him to send us shots of his favorite Mustangs on display at the show, and he happily obliged. He sent along the following report with his photos:
“On Saturday, I arrived early at the Detroit Autorama to check out the hundreds of customs, hot rods, muscle cars, trucks, resto mods, restored vehicles and race cars of all makes and models. I also toured the wild Autorama Extreme builds in the basement, along with the live music, rat rods, mini bikes, artwork and more that was featured down there. The show covered nearly 1 million square feet of display space, and I logged 18,000+ steps in 6½ hours taking it all in. Too much fun!”
Check out our selections of the various Mustangs in Cook’s photo gallery below, and you’ll see why Autorama is such a Detroit fan favorite for enthusiasts of all ages.
FORD RACING PHOTOS / COURTESY BILL COOK
