On a cool sunny day in February, four intrepid voyageurs set out at 4 a.m. on a journey...actually we weren't sure it would be sunny since the sun hadn't come up yet...and it was really not a journey, only a 5 hour drive...and what the heck does intrepid really mean? The long and short of it was a cruise to the 50th anniversary Autorama show in Detroit. I'd never been to this long-running show and decided that this was the ideal time.
In hitting car shows in my area over the last 25 years, it's become a case of "same old, same old." There's always the standard 10 to 20 quality show cars, a bunch of drag racing and stock car racers, a bay of car clubs, and another section with the street driven "cruise night specials." Thrown into the mix is a gauntlet of vendors, several scantily clad calendar girls, and enough boom boom stereo noise to give you a migraine. Add to that the fact that I have a very low tolerance for trailer queens and the shows feel pretty much the same every visit.
I had anticipated something different in Detroit and boy was I right! 700 cars, several hundred motorcycles, and a couple hundred low rider bicycles were a sight for bored eyes! Some of the premier rods and customs were there with an incredible number of nostalgic pieces mixed in including past Grand champions, even the first from 1953, and many past Ridler Award winners. I was amazed to see a plethora of cars that first lured me into going to these shows in my formative years. Cars like the "Red Baron," "Twin Mill," "Batmobile," "Zingers," "Beach Boys Little Deuce Coupe," and many more were dug out from storage, some that hadn't been seen in years. There was also an array of fine cars that I'd seen featured in Street Rodder and Custom Rodder and others that will undoubtedly be featured in future issues. Almost any of the cars and trucks at the show would cause your jaw to hang open if it pulled into a local cruise night and we saw 700 of them in one place! It certainly made me realize that these cars are at a whole different level than what I had ever seen before.
One of the guys that I went with is my friend, Dave, who had never been to a large indoor show. He remarked on the impracticality of so many of the cars, and I spewed my standard diatribe about show queens and trailer queens. As we walked around and talked to some of the owners, I realized that many of the past winners were now drivers, having made the coast to coast cruises, and enjoying regular driving duties. Sure, they have indoor storage, expensive covers, and are pampered, but they are also functional and reliable. It's pretty hard to fathom seeing a million dollar rod sitting in a hayfield somewhere, but with the owners I talked to, most of them are itching to actually drive them in the near future. When they are just fresh, I can't begrudge these vehicles the luxury of trailering but I feel better knowing that most of them will have some kind of future on the road. Way to go guys!
To the next order of business, here are the answers to the Ford truck quiz that I challenged you guys to. Response was certainly lower than I expected and I would love to give both the respondents a prize but the only prize winner will be Dave Sunnus. For his interest and efforts, Dave will receive a prize from CLASSIC TRUCKS Magazine. Way to go Dave!
For the rest of you who didn't send your answers in, here are the right ones!
Ford Truck 20 Questions:
1. Q: For what year(s) did Ford produce a wrap around rear window? A: The big window was produced from 1956 to 1963.
2. Q: In 1995, Hot Wheels released a lineup of 12 limited edition vehicles called "Treasure Hunts". What was the first vehicle released as a treasure hunt that had a Ford Motor Company brand name on it? A: '57 Ford Thunderbird
3. Q: What years were the first and last recognized production years for Mercury trucks in Canada? A: 1946 was the beginning and 1968 was the last year.