Street Rod Builder, May 2006.
Coverage of the 2006 Detroit Autorama at Cobo Hall
Autorama. Just as in the '50s when Don Ridler
was brought in to help take the Autorama to the next level, the Riddler
award has taken the Detroit Autorama to a whole other level where only the
best of the best come to compete. However, the Riddler effect goes deeper
than that. Over the years the cars that have won the Riddler award have
just kept raising the proverbial bar higher and higher to the point where
most rodders can't even see it anymore. Conversely, this is exactly the
same reason a Ridler win is considered the ultimate win, because so many
rodders know what it takes to compete at that level.
This year marked the 54th year for the Detroit
Autorama, and much like the years that preceeded it, it was a huge success.
Held in downtown Detroit at the overwhelming 700,000-sq-ft hall known as
Cobo Center, some of the country's finest cars came out to shine. This year
saw almost 1,000 vehicles on the show floor, along with the Extreme area
in the basement of Cobo, where bomber-style hot rods and tuner cars were
on display. Not to mention that there were 32 cars at Cobo with the sole
intention of competing for the Ridler Award. After the committee had narrowed
it from 32 to 8, it was tough to predict who the winner would be. It was
a suspenseful and even race among eight contestants that not even the spectators
pouring through the doors could pick beyond their personal favorites. We
all had our favorites, but anyone of the eight could have won, and that
would have been just fine, as each was a great example of the fine art of
car building. So, read on and look at this year's Detroit Autorama coverage,
admire the Great Eight, and see if you can predict who the winner was. SRB.
More Magazines / See more of this car.
Hot Rods & Custom Stuff, 2324 Auto Park Way, Escondido, CA.,
1-800-HOT-ROD-5.
Hot Rods & Custom Stuff - builds, restores, paints, services
and sells parts for classic autos, cars, trucks and street rods.