It’s finally here, the moment most of you have been waiting for, America’s Greatest Hot Rod Show, the 70th annual Autorama. We’re back for a second year in a row where we got to stop by early to see some of our film features unload their cars. Around 20 students from DRIVE ONE TechCenter and their instructors brought six cars this year to celebrate their 50th anniversary at Autorama.
John McGann the editor-in-chief of Hot Rod Magazine was in attendance for an interview right next to the legendary Silver Bullet. McGann helped us understand the significance of Hot Rod Magazine, which still prints over 500,000 copies each month for their loyal fan base. He echoed similar thoughts from car collectors and builders that Hot Rod Magazine, in so many ways, helped spark their love and passion for custom built cars.
We’re glad to have seen Greg Qualls and Mecum Auctions setting up the famed Black Ghost. As the story goes, Greg's father, Godfrey, back in the 70s, loved to show up on Woodward at night for a little Detroit street racing. With tinted windows covering his identity, he never got out of the Dodge Challenger, but instead would disappear into the night after winning the race. Little did anyone know, the man behind the wheel was a Detroit Police Officer. The Black Ghost is making its final run here in Detroit, then the car will be going up for auction with the nation's most well respected car auction, Mecum Auctions in Indy.
We got to revisit General Motors creative sculptor Miranda Rumfelt and her dad featuring her Gremlin in the Rat Rod room. Rumfelt and her father were both students at DRIVE One and now they are here to showcase their own cars that they’ve worked on together.
Founder and CEO of National Motorsports Association, Carmen Carter, was there with her blue corvette, Kode Bloo. NMA’s vision is to offer programs to members and youth of the highest quality in education that values learning, self-worth and quality performance, as required by instructors dedicated to excellence in teaching, training and researching tailored to the students’ career aspirations.
Dead Mans Curve LLC founder, John Sbrigato, is the owner of several iconic Hollywood legends from the Batmobile to the Munsters Carriage to Dragula’s Dragster. Sbrigato proudly helps the younger generation understand the significance of car creator George Barris who was the go-to car builder for those Hollywood visionaries who were looking to find ways of integrating the four wheels of transportation in movies and television shows.
As always, our crew truly enjoys being able to get up close talking with the car builders and collectors.
This Sunday, the 26th at 1:00pm we will be in the Grand Ballroom at Huntington Place for a sneak peek 45 minute preview of the film Detroit: The City of Hot Rods and Muscle Cars, free of charge as long as you have admission to Autorama. We hope to see you there!