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57-846: The Michigan Hot Rod Association is an association of 7 smaller automotive enthusiast clubs in Michigan; Shifters, Millwinders, Spark Plugs, Road Knights, Bearing Burners, Motor City Modified, and Competition Specialists. The association puts on the Detroit Autorama car show held every year in March at TCF Center in Detroit , Michigan. The Association also hosts the Rod Repair Trailer which goes around to various NSRA and other events to help show participants in need of repair. This article about an automotive organization

114-692: A Ford 406 cu. in. engine under the hood; he drove this car to his shop every day for years. In 1962 the Revell model company began selling plastic models of Roth's cars and from 1963 to 1965 Revell also manufactured plastic models of many of Roth's monsters, including Rat Fink, Brother Rat Fink, Drag Nut, Mother's Worry, Mr. Gasser and other weird creatures created by Roth. Revell continues to re-issue Roth's Monsters and Kustom Car kits. In 1963 The Hawk Model Company issued its line of "Weird-Oh's" plastic models and Marx Toys issued Nutty Mads , both clearly inspired by Roth's work. Both items were quite popular in

171-624: A $ 10,000 check. Along with receiving a personal Ridler Award, the owner's name is also engraved among the list of past recipients on the full-scale Ridler trophy, which is kept at GM Performance 's Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan . The 60 recipients and/or builders of the Don Ridler Memorial Award are shown below: *The 2021 show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic . Ed Roth Roth

228-515: A Buick V6 engine, Mega Cycle was designed to carry Ed's Harley XLCH. Later Ed felt that the XLCH just did not work and, through a series of trades, ended up with Bob Aquistapase's award-winning Triumph. The Mega Cycle is currently on display at Motorcyclepedia Museum in Newburgh, NY. In 1968 Mattel introduced Hot Wheels and Roth’s Beatnik Bandit was one of the first 16 die-cast toy cars produced by

285-488: A Difference". A hall of fame, entitled "The Autorama: Circle of Champions", was also introduced and has inducted at least one member every year since 1997. Inductees include George Barris (1999), Ed Roth (2000), Crain Communications ' Keith Crain (2003), Street Rodder 's Brian Brennan (2010), Chip Foose (2013), and Hurst Shifter girl Linda Vaughn (2014). Autorama also introduced for their 50th anniversary

342-417: A full article about the entire exhibition. Artist Jean Jacques Bastarache collaborated with Ed Big Daddy Roth for this exhibition creating paintings called Master Finks. Images were used from historical watershed paintings by well-known artists like Duchamp, Whistler and Miro among others. Roth drew an image of his Rat Fink character acting out in a funny way on each painting while Jean Jacques Bastarache created

399-605: A single point in the ISCA standings, which is split into four overall classes: Rod, Custom, Truck, and Bike. If at the end of a season, a single contributor has four Outstanding Awards in a single category, they are locked-into the ISCA Championship Finals. Many Ridler Winners and Great-8 cars have gone-on to tour the CASI/ISCA event circuit to win an overall Class Championship. Autorama's "best in show" award

456-623: A special "Builder of the Year" award to honor past Ridler-winning or major show contributors. Past "Builders of the Year" include the Alexander Brothers (2002), Blackie Gejeian (2004), Ed Roth (2006), So-Cal Speed Shop (2007), Gene Winfield (2008), Darryl Starbird (2009), Bobby Alloway (2011), and Troy Trepanier (2014). To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ridler Award in 2013, the 61st annual Detroit Autorama "Builder of

513-422: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Detroit Autorama The Detroit Autorama, also known as America's Greatest Hot Rod Show , is a showcase of custom cars and hot rods held each year at Huntington Place in Detroit , Michigan, in either late February or early March. It is promoted by Championship Auto Shows Incorporated (CASI) and hosted by Michigan Hot Rod Association (MHRA). It

570-468: Is best known for his grotesque caricatures—typified by Rat Fink —depicting imaginary, out-sized monsters driving representations of the hot rods that he and his contemporaries built. Roth began airbrushing and selling "Weirdo" T-shirts at car shows and in the pages of Car Craft magazine as early as July 1958. By the August 1959 issue of Car Craft "Weirdo shirts" had become a full-blown craze with Roth at

627-659: Is part of the International Show Car Association (ISCA) schedule for the Summit Racing Equipment Show Car Series, which includes other prestigious show car events such as the Chicago World of Wheels and Houston Autorama. The show features a selected group of 800 custom and restored vehicles from across the world and more than 140,000 spectators annually. Detroit's Autorama is best known as home to

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684-445: Is the Don Ridler Memorial Award, named after Don Ridler , a former Michigan State Football Player, Lawrence Tech Basketball and Football Coach and athletic director, and Autorama's first promoter from 1956 to 1963. It was presented for the first time at the 12th annual Autorama in 1964, and has been awarded annually since. The Ridler Award winner is selected out of a pre-determined group of eight cars, known as "The Great 8". On

741-644: The Grand National Roadster Show and its America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) Award. The first Detroit Autorama was held at the University of Detroit Memorial Building on January 31 and February 1, 1953. It featured only 40 cars, and was hosted by members of the Michigan Hot Rod Association (MHRA), which was created only a year before to "organize small local clubs into one unified body that could raise

798-725: The Iron Cross into his artwork (surfers had previously been using the iron cross as a symbol of youthful, carefree rebellion). Roth did not own a bike at the time, so he bought a brand-new Harley-Davidson Sportster and then proceeded to paint its gas tank a flat black color. Roth painted white lettering on one side of the tank that said: "Love is Hate"; and on the reverse side: "Hate is Love". Roth had taken black and white photos of different bikers. He made posters, with titles like "Beautiful Buzzard", or "Gray Cat" out of these photos, and sold them at car shows. Roth would periodically give these bikers small amounts of money, but soon some of

855-563: The Michigan State Fairgrounds Colosseum , where it was held from 1954 to 1960. For the fourth event in 1956, the MHRA hired a local band and sporting-event promoter Don Ridler to help the show reach a broader audience. Ridler served as the show's first true promoter until his death in 1963. The following year, the MHRA created a "best in show" award for Autorama, named after the man who made the biggest impact on

912-644: The Miss Autorama Contest. The show also began incorporating live acts. Celebrities including Wolf Man Jack , Adam West , Mark Hamill , and Lou Ferringo all made autograph appearances at Autorama during the 70's. Bob Seger performed at three Autoramas in the early 70's. Mitch Ryder , Alice Cooper , Bo Diddley , and Chubby Checker also performed during show weekends in the 1970's. Builder Jerry Pennington's rear-engine Corvette ( Scorpion ) and hand-built custom street rod ( Devilfish ) with their velvet interiors and sharp body lines rank among

969-567: The "Autorama" and "World of Wheels" banner, including those in Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Pittsburg, Houston, and the ISCA Championship Finals, which are currently held in Cincinnati. CASI and ISCA combine to promote and judge shows in sixteen states and four provinces, with events running from Thanksgiving weekend through mid-April. All ISCA events have a series of "Outstanding Awards" for more than three-dozen classes. Each one counts as

1026-489: The "Great 8" finalist out of the contender pool. An entire staff of ISCA Judges are assigned solely to the Great 8 cars, and go through each one before deciding on "the best in show". After a decision is made, the winner is announced alongside more than 240 other vehicle classes on Sunday Night. The Ridler Award Trophy, designed by Larry Erickson, is presented to the vehicle's owner, who is also given an embroidered jacket and

1083-533: The Detroit Autorama has become one of the two "Crown Jewels" of professional show car competitions, often sharing cars and builders with the other "Jewel", the Grand National Roadster Show . Both Autorama's Ridler Award and the GNRS' " America's Most Beautiful Roadster " Award have been awarded annually for over 50 years, both are presented to vehicles being shown for the first time, and both have been won by

1140-535: The Don Ridler Memorial Award, considered the "Nobel Prize of Hot Rodding". It's presented to the "best in show" at each year's event, and has been won by many well-known car designers and builders, such as Chip Foose , Jerry Pennington, Troy Trepanier , Jerry Pennington, and Dave Kindig. Together, the Detroit Autorama and Ridler Award are considered among the two "Crown Jewel" competitions and awards for professional show car builders in North America, alongside

1197-655: The Julie Rico Gallery in Santa Monica shortly after the Laguna Museum show "Kustom Kulture". It was at this time that the lowbrow art movement began to take on steam. Featured in the exhibition titled, "Rat Fink Meets Fred Flypogger Meets Cootchy Cooty" were Roth, Willams, and Mouse and their creations. The L.A. Times placed Roth's Rat Fink on the cover of the Culture section December 20, 1993, with

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1254-569: The Master Fink underlying painting. The paintings in all can be seen in the book titled Rat Fink: The Art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth published by Last Gasp in 1993. The Orbitron , a Roth custom car that was the subject of a number of articles in automotive enthusiast magazines (most notably, in Car Craft magazine in 1965) which was feared lost in subsequent decades, was discovered in Mexico in

1311-643: The Ridler since 1973 was Dale Hunt's late-model Pro Stock Pontiac Grand Am at the 34th annual Detroit Autorama in 1986. Hunt's Grand Am remains one of only two Pro Stock cars to have won the Ridler (the other being Bob Rizzoli's '92 Mercedes 560 SEC). Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the Autorama continued to grow into one of the most prestigious car shows in the country. Fueling growth was a next generation of professional builders and renowned car owners who began to make their way to Cobo every winter in hopes of capturing

1368-499: The Ridler. Among this next generation were California's Bobby Alloway and Boyd Coddington , Memphis' George Poteet , Ohio's Don Pilkenton , and others. With the influx of new talent in custom car building, the show started to gain national press, with annual coverage in Hot Rod and Street Rodder magazines. The only downside to the growing national attention was felt by local Michigan entries. As exhibitors started traveling from across

1425-471: The Year" exhibit was replaced with the largest gathering of former Ridler-winning cars ever assembled. To cap-off the celebration, the winners of the 50th Ridler Award (Rob & Deb Cizek & their 1940 Ford "Checkered Past") were presented with the first-ever Gold Ridler Award. During the 2010s and '20's, recognition for the Detroit Autorama among car builders has continued to grow, with contenders traveling as far as Western Australian with hopes of capturing

1482-492: The application for Autorama, a box is to be checked to indicate to the promotional staff if the submitted entry is a Ridler contender. Once entered, each vehicle must meet two specific guidelines in order to qualify for the Great 8, and thus, the Ridler. The entered vehicle must be making its public debut with "limited media exposure", and must be in "minimally operable" condition. Once a "Contender" vehicle has met those requirements, it inspected by ISCA judges, who then determine

1539-410: The bikers started to feel that Roth was "getting rich" off of them and they wanted a larger cut. Despite Roth's agreement, rumors began to circulate that a certain club intended to attack Roth's shop. The gang arrived at the shop with guns drawn, but Roth's crew defended themselves. Roth challenged the head biker to a one-on-one fist fight to settle matters in the middle of the shop. Eventually Roth gained

1596-468: The company. From 1970 to 1975, Roth worked for Brucker's Movie World and their "Cars of the Stars" display. Brucker said that Roth was very loyal and a very hard worker, even though he was not making much money. Brucker said that when building something, Roth had a natural knack for seeing how things fit together — he would build something in a few days which would take others a couple of weeks. Although Roth

1653-442: The country, many local Detroit and Michigan customizers became less competitive against those from out-of-state. Though the Alexander Brothers and others continued to build local cars for the show (including a Great-8 competitor in 2012), as of 2023, Dave Emery's 1997-winning Ford Roadster ( Revolver ) was the last Michigan-built entry to capture the Ridler. The new millennium brought a freshly redesigned Ridler Award trophy, and

1710-402: The creation of the "Great 8" finalist. It also brought a third generation of professional car builders. Wes Rydell's '35 Chevy Grand Master became the first built by designer and TV personality Chip Foose to win the award in 2002. Foose returned again the following year with a '34 Ford, Stallion , for Arizona's Ron Whiteside, which made him only the third builder in the show's history, and

1767-569: The first known VW powered trike. Roth built many trikes for himself and others, including Candy Wagon, California Cruiser, Secret Weapon, Rubber Ducky and The Great Speckled Bird. In 1967 Roth built the Mega Cycle, Originally named by Robert Williams, "Captain Pepi's Motorcycle & Zeppelin Repair" was later changed to the "Mega Cycle" after a strong suggestion from car show promoters. Powered by

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1824-571: The first since Jerry Pennington, to win the award two consecutive years. Foose returned again in 2005 with a '36 Ford ( Impression ), built for Littleton, Colorado 's Ken Reister. It was with Impression Foose set a record, joining Don Pilkenton as only builders to win three Ridler Awards, with Foose being the quickest to accomplish that feat in only a four-year span. Foose would snap his own record yet again ten years later, when his '65 Chevy Impala ( Imposter , built for Don and Elma Voth) captured his unprecedented fourth Ridler in 2015. Following

1881-501: The forefront of the movement. The article featured Roth along with fellow Kustom Kulture pioneers Dean Jeffries and Pete Millar . Inspired by Roth and Barris Kustoms (whose shirts were airbrushed by Dean Jeffries), Detroit native Stanley Miller , a.k.a. "Stanley Mouse", began advertising his own shirts in the pages of Car Craft in January 1961. The lesser-known Rendina Studios of Detroit and Mad Mac of Cleveland also joined in on

1938-423: The leading governing body of show car events and competitions in North America, with its own rulebook, classification, and points system. Along with CASI (now "North America's largest producer of indoor hot rod shows" ) they co-promote and judge events from coast-to-coast. The most events ever on an ISCA schedule was 99, set during the 1982–83 season. The current schedule features 21 long-running indoor events under

1995-532: The lettering on many of the descriptive labels for objects in the Western Trails Museum at Knott's. In December 1977, Robert and Suzanne Williams, along with Skip Barrett, organized the first Rat Fink Reunion to celebrate the legacy of Roth. Rat Fink Reunions are still held to this day at the site of Roth's final residence in Manti, Utah and near Los Angeles. In 1993, a major exhibition was held at

2052-404: The likes of Foose, Trepanier, and Alloway. The Detroit Autorama has been organized in-collaboration between the Michigan Hot Rod Association (MHRA) and Championship Auto Shows (CASI) since 1961. In 1963, CASI President Bob Larivee Sr. and fellow CASI showrunners formed a new governing body for indoor show car events, titled the International Show Car Association (ISCA). The ISCA has since become

2109-418: The mid 1960s Roth began customizing motorcycles. Mainstream motorcycle magazines refused to run his articles and ads, so he started his own publication called Choppers , which featured articles on extending forks, custom sissy bars, etc. It was a small, black and white publication that ran from 1967 to 1970, and was the first magazine ever to exclusively feature custom motorcycles, or choppers . Roth also built

2166-618: The mid-60s and remain sought after collector's items to this day. Hawk Models continues to re-issue its "Weird-Oh's" periodically. A “corporate publicist” gave the 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall Roth the nickname "Big Daddy". Numerous artists were associated with Roth including artist David Mann , Rat Fink Comix artist R.K. Sloane, Steve Fiorilla who illustrated some of Roth's catalogs, and most notably, Ed Newton, who worked for Roth and designed several of his cars and T-shirt designs beginning in 1964, and Kustom Kulture icon Robert Williams who began working for Roth in late 1965. In

2223-507: The money needed to pull drag racing off the streets and into a safe environment". Eventually, the MHRA grew to also include clubs from the customizing and hot rodding scene, such as the Motor City Modifieds , Bearing Burners and Spark Plugs, who combined efforts to pull-off the first event, along with other Detroit car clubs such as The Road Kings, Shifters, and Milwinders. For the second show, activities were moved to

2280-519: The monster "Weirdo" shirt craze, but Roth was certainly the person who widely popularized the "monsters in hot rods" art form. In 1959 Roth created the Outlaw. This fiberglass Kustom hot rod was featured in the January 1960 issue of Car Craft . The car was covered in Car Craft and Rod and Custom , and appeared at custom car and hot rod shows. Other hot rods include the Beatnik Bandit (1961),

2337-452: The most over-the-top and iconic Ridler cars ever built. 1974's event was a first for Autorama, as Wimauma, Florida 's Don Campbell and his '27 Ford became the first out-of-state entry to capture the Ridler Award. The decade was then capped-off with a series of six Ford T-bucket Ridler winners. The roadster trend continued throughout the 1980s, with nine of the next ten Ridler winners being '29 through '34 Fords. The first non-roadster to win

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2394-457: The next ten years saw growth both in the number of exhibitors, as well as the number of professional custom car builders competing for the show's new top prize. Early Ridler-winning entries included vehicles built by Larry and Mike Alexander , Jerry Pennington, and George Busti. Starting in the early 70s, the MHRA began to incorporate other exhibitions and attractions to Autorama. This included Soap Box Derbies , an MPC Model Car Contest, and

2451-891: The original artwork. Roth had his shop, that he started in early 1959, at 4616 Slauson Avenue in Maywood , California (about 8 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles). He ran an ad in Car Craft magazine that year announcing the new address of his shop. During the mid 1960s, Roth associated with various outlaw motorcycle clubs who congregated at his shop as a lot of bikers were then living in Lynwood and Maywood. Musicians, police officers, FBI agents and various people involved in Hollywood would visit as well, providing an environment for one of Ed Roth's most creative periods, and an important time in Kustom Kulture. Roth incorporated

2508-435: The prestigious Ridler Award. The growing recognition also led to an expansion of Autorama EXTREME, a special portion of the show featuring traditional Rat Rods , customs, and other patinaed vehicles. In 2023, the Detroit Autorama celebrated its 70th anniversary with more than 800 vehicle entries, over 240 different class awards, and an estimated 149,000 visitors through the weekend. Out of shared competition and history,

2565-461: The roadster trend has begun to fade with only six of the last fifteen Ridler winners being pre-'39 Roadsters. Most Great 8 Contenders and Ridler winners today are professionally build for clients, with J.F Launier's '64 Buick Riviera as the only owner/builder to capture the award since 1998. In 2002, the Detroit Autorama celebrated its 50th anniversary with special promotions from Murray's Auto Parts, and inducted an honorary list of "50 People Who Made

2622-415: The show also generated attention from other big name customizers , including Bill Cushenbery , Jack Florence, Dean Jeffries , and Gene Winfield . In 1964, the MHRA created the Don Ridler Memorial Award to recognize the most "outstanding car shown for the first time ever". The inaugural Ridler Award went to Macomb 's Al Bergler, with an Alcohol slingshot dragster . Following Bergler's win in 1964,

2679-542: The show during its infancy. With increased membership and the success of the first four shows, the MHRA had the necessary capital to build its dragstrip. Motor City Dragway, located in Fair Haven, Michigan , opened in 1957 as the first dragstrip in Metro Detroit. The MHRA would continue to manage both the Detroit Autorama and Motor City Dragway until the track's closure in 1978. The 9th Annual Detroit Autorama

2736-455: The show's "Circle of Champions" in 2000, and was showcased as its "Builder of the Year" in 2006. Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos was a 1960s novelty music group led by Roth, who was known as Mr. Gasser. Formed in the early 1960s, they released a few bizarre surf rock albums, most notably 1963's Hot Rod Hootenanny . One Way Records released a two-CD set (S22-18319) containing the three LPs and

2793-435: The success of Foose Designs, most Ridler contenders transitioned from individual to professional builds. Ross and Beth Myer's '36 Ford ( First Love ) was the first Ridler-winner to be built by "Rad Rides By Troy" ( Trepanier ). The transition to professional builders continued with T&T Customs (2010), Torq'd Design Lab (2012), Cal Customs (2013), Super Rides By Jordan (2019), and Pro Comp Shop (2022 and '23). Since 2008,

2850-580: The summer of 2008. The Orbitron was built in 1964. The car, in dilapidated, inoperative condition, had been parked for some time in front of an adult bookstore in Ciudad Juárez . The owners of the shop were also the owners of the car. It was purchased and taken back to the United States by Michael Lightbourn, an American auto restorer who did business in Mexico. The Orbitron has been restored to its original condition by Beau Boeckmann . Roth

2907-736: The twin Ford engined Mysterion (1963), the Orbitron (1964), and the Road Agent (1965), among others. In 1965, Roth's surf buggy, the Surfite, was featured in the film Beach Blanket Bingo starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello , and also in Village of the Giants , featuring Beau Bridges and Tommy Kirk . One of Roth's personal drivers was a tangerine orange 1955 Chevy 2-door post with

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2964-579: The upper hand and "just started to beat the living crap out of the guy". After this incident, Roth burned his biker posters, leaving the lifestyle behind. Things started winding down at the shop in the late 1960s, and in 1970 the shop closed. Roth was married four times. His fourth wife, Ilene, lives in Manti, Utah , where Roth spent the final years of his life. Roth joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1974. He shaved off his goatee and

3021-404: Was active in counterculture art and hot-rodding his entire adult life. At the time of his death in 2001, he was working on a hot-rod project involving a compact car planned as a departure from the dominant tuner performance modification style. The year after his death, he was named as one of the "50 Who Made a Difference" at the 50th annual Meguiar's Autorama in Detroit. He was also inducted into

3078-618: Was born in Beverly Hills, California . He was the son of Marie (Bauer) and Henry Roth. He grew up in Bell, California , attending Bell High School , where his classes included auto shop and art. At age 14, Roth acquired his first car, a 1933 Ford coupe. He studied engineering at a Los Angeles college, then served in the United States Air Force , and by the early '50s, was experimenting with fibreglass modelling. Roth

3135-418: Was heavily involved in social work through the church. His brother Gordon also became a Latter-day Saint. At a 1999 lecture given at Brigham Young University 's Museum of Art , Roth shared some lessons he had learned in life: "accept criticism; if you can't do it get help; you don't need fancy tools or a fancy garage; and if you fulfill your duty Heavenly Father will bless you in what you do." Roth died of

3192-404: Was laid-back and amiable, Brucker also remembers that Roth was a fighter and if anyone came through the museum causing trouble, Roth would put them in line. He was fearless. Roth's Druid Princess was one of the many cars displayed there. Also during the 1970s, Roth worked for Knott's Berry Farm as a sign painter and artist. He worked there for 10 years until about 1980, and among other things, did

3249-612: Was the first to be held at the new Cobo Hall . That year featured a new-record 230 cars competing, and filled all 10,000 sq ft (930 m ) of Cobo's lower-level basement. The 1961 show's last day also broke the event attendance record by drawing a crowd of approximately 35,000 people. During these early years at Cobo, the event began to attract industry names from outside the Motor City, including George Barris, Darryl Starbird, Carl Casper, and "Big Daddy" Ed Roth . And as part of Ford Motor Company 's "Ford Custom Car Caravan",

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