The Detroit Autorama - The Best Reason

Here's a trend I noticed in the basement on a few Fifties cruisers: slammed stance, fairly stock body with suede paint, and a painted and detailed engine compartment. In years past we'd see this as someone was in the process of painting their car and jambing it before finishing the body. It appeared to me that Jason Poirier's four-door Pontiac and its 3x2-equipped '67 Corvette 327 and Brandon Hibdon's '50 Ford Club Coupe and its 3x2-equipped 302 are finished and ready for a good time.

If you're a Barris fan and didn't make the show you may have missed a once-in-a-lifetime display. The Sam Barris' Merc was parked next to the Ala Kart along with recreations of the Hirohata Merc and the Kopper Kart. And George was there to sign autographs and tell stories.

At a quick first-glance these two blue coupe might look very similar but, if you look beyond the noticeable difference in the suede paint on Mike Szuba's '32 Ford five-window (below) and the shiny finish on Mike Busateri's coupe, you'll notice that the latter is actually a '32 Chevy with a '32 Ford grille.