Now here is something that makes me get a bit nostalgic:
Now that Detroit has had a month to bask in the future of what the automotive industry has to offer, the Motor City will now take a look at its past.
The 60th annual Autorama begins noon Friday and runs through Sunday at Cobo Center, One Washington Blvd. in Detroit.
Around 100,000 people are expected at the annual car event, which will feature about 1,000 exhibits with celebrities, attractions, beer and — of course — more than 700 hot rods, classic cars and customized vehicles.
via 2012 Autorama Detroit: Motor City revs up for ‘America’s greatest hot rod show’ | MLive.com
When I was a little kid, my Father and I would always head to Cobo Hall in Detroit every year to go to this show. It was like a year religious pilgrimage for us. Some years, like back in the 80’s, my cousins, my Mom, and her sister and hubby would trek down to the show. Back in the 80’s stars from shows like “The Duke of Hazzard” would be there. People like Tom Wopat, James Best — who played Roscoe P. Coltrane — were there. What I remember the most, was the walking; we would walk that entire show, all rooms, upstairs and downstairs of that hall and look at everything. We used to go to the auto-show as well; it was fun time. I remember getting my picture taken in the car from the T.V. Series “Knight Rider,” You know K.I.T.T.? I got it taken in the car from the first season and I believe the second season. It was a Polaroid, and it cost my Dad five bucks.
My Dad, because he worked at General Motors, used to get free tickets to all of those shows. I miss those old days; they were the “magic years” for me as a kid. Sadly, we stopped going to those shows, mainly because it was such a pain in the rear to get down there and the walking was not easy on my Dad or me, as we both got older. In addition, in addition, we started hearing about incidents happening at those show, shootings, robberies, and so forth, so we just quit going. I went to an Auto Show once, by myself, back in the days when I was actually working. I actually found a good parking spot on the roof of Cobo, I went inside, and the place was heavily crowded. I went and looked at a few cars, fought my way through the crowd; and finally got disgusted and left. After that, I never went back. In addition, people were rude, and one person even hurled a racist remark at me, for simply being in his way. Naturally, he was black and I was white; so in that City, this was considered normal. This was, for what it might be worth, in the 1990’s. Things changed in 10 years, I suppose.
The bottom line is this; if you do not mind crowds, rude people and want to see some nice classic cars, this is the show to see. The cars, of course, come from an era when Detroit was on top of its automotive game. Like good, moral women —-they just do not build them like that anymore.
