THE 2004 GREAT EIGHT

Craftsmanship That Surpasses the Classics

More than any other time in history, the effort that craftsmen are putting forth in street rodding today represents a level of pride and perfection that surpasses other notable cars, including the wonderful classics produced in an earlier age. Auburn, Bugatti, Delahaye, Duesenberg, Mercedes, Stutz, Talbot and others would have had a difficult time imagining the lengths that today’s artisans have gone to refine the automotive image, and so it is with the best of modern manufacturers. Despite the efforts of Audi to reinvent Lamborghini, BMW to modernize Rolls-Royce, Ferrari to feed off its Formula One success, and Mercedes to revitalize the Maybach, they do their cars no better service than what is seen here, in terms of fit and finish.

Inside the Detroit Autorama Great Eight

These outstanding production cars represent supreme efforts to maximize the automotive experience, and they accomplish those goals admirably within the broad parameters drawn around modern road cars. Yet none offers any more detailed sophistication than what the Detroit Autorama Great Eight have to offer. The cars that made up this elite field at the recent Detroit Autorama at Cobo Center speak volumes about the individual efforts of numerous craftsmen and fabricators who are immersed in their skills. We’ll liken their efforts to that of motorized jewelry, as these cars show what is possible when limits are left behind.

Raising the Bar for the Ridler Award

As in years past, the Detroit Autorama is unsurpassed in terms of its scope, both in the sheer number of cars that take part in the event and in the standards of quality that the cars display. Each year it gets tougher, and it seems as if nothing more can be done to improve upon what’s been accomplished, but each year it does. It seems that people are driven by previous accomplishments, as they continue to raise the bar in search of that Ridler Award honor, and so it was this year.

Honoring the Ridler Award Finalists

While we will be looking at various aspects of the Detroit Autorama in an upcoming issue of Super Rod magazine, we provide here a special place to honor the best of the best, the finalists for the Ridler Award that comprise the Detroit Autorama Great Eight. In this rarefied environment, nothing is left to chance, as only the most concerted efforts are considered for, and capable of achieving, this honor. As you might imagine, every detail is considered and every effort applied just to realize the dream of inclusion on this short list. And while there can be only one Ridler award winner, just being nominated as a Detroit Autorama Great Eight contender is a “top spot” of greatness. To all of these cars and their owners, we pay tribute, as these machines push all of us to new levels of understanding and appreciation of what we are all capable of once the mind and plan is set into motion. Congratulations all!