2018 Detroit Autorama, Fuel Curve

2018 Detroit Autorama Mega Show Gallery!

The 2018 Detroit AutoRama is in full swing as you can see by the explosive lead photo. It seems everyone connected to the hot rod industry is here.

2018 Detroit Autorama, Fuel CurveStarted in the ’50s by a group of rodders who wanted a way to finance the construction of a local dragstrip, the car show has since grown into what its organizers call “America’s Greatest Hot Rod Show”, and it would be hard to argue the point.2018 Detroit Autorama, Fuel Curve2018 Detroit Autorama, Fuel Curve

Since 1962 the massive (600,000 square feet) Cobo Center has been home to the show and you can find every sort of hot rod, motorcycle, off-road, street racer import, and truck the customizing world has to offer.2018 Detroit Autorama, Fuel Curve

There’s also a poorly-kept secret in the basement: The AutoRama Extreme. A mini show-within-a-show, the Extreme hosts 200 or so traditional and rat-roddy vehicles, and they have their own live music on stage as well as their own awards presentation. And over in one corner, 90-year-old customizing legend Gene Winfield gets busy chopping a vehicle from start to finish during the event. Is Gene a ruler or what?


In the upstairs show there’s a large Toy-A-Rama, while another stage had guest appearances by some stars of wrestling as well as industry and Hollywood types including Barry Meguiar, actor John Schneider, and NASCAR racing star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – yes! Junior is here. Yet another stage was where the art auction was happening, with proceeds from the sale of artwork produced at the show going to Leader Dogs for the Blind.2018 Detroit Autorama, Fuel Curve

2018 Detroit Autorama, Fuel CurveBut one of the main reasons the show has reached the national acclaim it has is the big award handed out on Sunday night: The Don Ridler Memorial Award. Rodders come from all over North America to compete for the prize, qualifying first by being picked at the show as a Great 8 finalist. A Great 8 award is a great accomplishment, but from those eight vehicles the Ridler award winner will be decided, and it’s always exciting when it’s announced.

Check back on Sunday evening and we’ll tell you who the winner of this year’s Don Ridler Memorial Award.
Enjoy this look around the AutoRama!

2018 Detroit Autorama MEGA Gallery! 

A self-taught photojournalist, Eric Geisert worked for 3 years at VW Trends magazine before joining Street Rodder magazine in 1991. In 2002 he was named one of The 50 Who Made A Difference at the 50th Detroit Autorama and, in 2004, was named editor of Kit Car magazine, a 30-year-old title. By 2006 a move back to Street Rodder came with a Senior Editor position and, in 2007, Eric was inducted into the Circle of Champions, the Detroit Autorama's Hall of Fame. In 2013, at 52 years old, Eric became a freelance writer supplying articles and photography to publications around the world, which allows him to work on his collection of 12 or so cars that includes a ’34 five-window Ford coupe, a '32 Ford roadster, a reproduction '59 Lotus 11, a 356 Porsche speedster, a '55 Chevy 210, and a '59 Karmann Ghia. Over his career, Eric's photographic images have graced 300 magazine covers and he’s written literally thousands of automotive-related articles.