These machines have been chopped, dumped, cut, bored, lifted, lowered and sweated over by professional designers and backyard mechanics -- not to mention loads of friends -- who have spent countless hours elbow deep in an engine or laying across cold concrete floors.
No doubt, last night, hundreds of people around Detroit were in garages or workshops touching up paint jobs, engrossed in grease-smudged pages of a Chilton's manual or calling a buddy to help figure out how to get the engine to fire.
Some cars at Autorama, such as Chip Foose's Hemisfear, a two-seater, 500-horsepower roadster, are just the next masterpiece for a legendary designer known for melding art and power.
Others, like Riverview resident Gary "Boogie Man" Zarborowski's '56 Chevy, are the dreamed up tour de force fabricated from a passion for cars.
Zarborowski, who started transforming his 51-year-old Chevy into a modern day cruiser three years ago, says Autorama has always been the place to see some of the wildest cars in the world.
"I've been going to Autorama since 1971," says Zarborowski, who is entering his car for the Ridle Award, the equivalent to "best in show." "It's the biggest, most prestigious show around."
"The show is awesome," says car designer Murray Pfaff, who will feature his '56 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. The car, aptly named Firemaker for the 20-foot flames it shoots out the back, started with much more humble beginnings, Pfaff said.
"I've owned it for 15 or 16 years and like most hot rod stories it starts with my Dad telling me not to buy it," he said with a laugh. "I can't even begin to tell you how much time I've spent working on it."
Pfaff, who has had seven of his cars displayed at the Specialty Equipment Market Association's trade show, known as SEMA, in Las Vegas, says Detroit's Autorama still brings out the best in vehicle designs.
"These hot rods are each person's personal stamp on what they want in a car and what they think it should be," Pfaff says. "It's their chance to stick a flag in the ground and say, 'This is it, this is what a car should be.'"
For organizers, Autorama continues to grow in size and importance. More than 160,000 people filed through Cobo Center during last year's show.
"The Detroit show has become the best hot rod show in the U.S.," says Bob Larivee Jr., Autorama show manager. "We thought the 50th annual show was going to be the high point, but it just gets better every year."
It's the year of the '57 Chevy
And the 2007 show promises to recognize a few landmarks for hot rods.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1957 Chevy, a bubble-curved machine symbolic of the hey-day of American car culture.
Rochester-based Cars Inc. has made a living out of the '57 Chevy Bel Air. The company sells replicas of the iconic vehicles -- as well as a number of other classics.
"It's been a lot of work getting this car ready for the show, but it's worth it," said Cars Inc. sales manager Dale Deaton, who estimates he's spent more than 300 hours working on the show vehicle.
Unlike some shows, Autorama includes an application process monitored by the Michigan Hot Rod Association. Only the best make it to Detroit.
"It's an honor just to get in," says Zarborowski, who has shown cars at the show for the past 15 years.
'32 Ford Coupe gets its due
The 55th annual Autorama also will offer a special exhibit honoring the 1932 Ford Coupe -- one of the most used bodies for hot rods -- and the first production vehicle to come with an inexpensive V-8.
