Although right now might not be the best time economically for the city of Detroit and its struggling automakers, Detroit will always be known
as the Motor City. No matter how bad things get, Detroit is the place where the newest technologies, cutting edge design, and forward thinking thrive. For almost a century now, the whole country, and even the world, have looked to Detroit for a glimpse at what the future would hold. Regardless of how things may currently look for Detroit, it is still the place that we look to for new and cutting-edge ideas. The inspiration for cutting-edge ideas and a glimpse at the future of cars and trucks isn’t just found within the Big Three, for it is also found within other places at Detroit. We as truck customizers, hot rodders, and all-around gearheads still look to Detroit every March to see what the countries finest custom car and truck builders are debuting at the Autorama as many of them are vying for the prestigious Ridler Award. This year marked the 57th annual for the Detroit Autorama and much like the years that preceded it, it was a huge success. Held in downtown Detroit at the overwhelming 700,000 square-foot hall known as Cobo Center, some of the countries finest custom cars and trucks 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. As with every year at Detroit, the big hubbub was the Great 8 and the cars competing for the Ridler Award. Even though there wasn’t a single classic truck in the Great 8 this year, that is the first time since 2002 that this has occurred. Luckily though, it is only a rare occurrence that a finely crafted truck doesn’t make the “Eight.” Nevertheless, just because a classic tuck was not in contention for the Ridler Award this doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a ton of nice trucks there. In fact, we came across a ton of cool custom pickups, panels, and restored classics. The Detroit Autorama has been for a long time and continues to be a must attend for any gearhead. Although it tends to be an event that is filled with more street rods and customs than trucks, there is always a nice selection of trucks to see at the event. If you have never been to the Autorama this is definitely an event you should try to attend. So start making plans for next year to take part in one of the greatest shows in the country.