Hot rod birthday party; Detroit's Autorama revs up for its 50th anniversary.(Brief Article)

For the automotive straight world, there's the North American International Auto Show at Detroit's Cobo Hall to kick off the year. But at Cobo a few weeks later comes an event of a decidedly different flavor for hard-core motorheads: Autorama, the Detroit area's annual rod and custom show. This year's event, to be held Feb. 22-24, marks its 50th anniversary, and show promoters are preparing for a historic celebration.

Hosted every year by the Michigan Hot Rod Association and its affiliated hot rod car clubs, outfits including the Road Knights and the Competition Specialists, the Autorama began in 1952 at the University of Detroit Field House, outgrowing several venues before landing at Cobo Hall. The show winner that first year was Frank Mack's Model T Ford track roadster. Now a Midwestern hot rod icon, the Mack roadster, tiny but built like a brick house, is normally on display at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles. It's returning for the anniversary celebration in Detroit this year. ``We'll have around 100 cars related to the history of the Autorama,'' says show producer Bob Larivee Jr., son of pioneering car show entrepreneur Bob Larivee Sr.

``We're putting together three special exhibits this year. One is a tribute to the Alexander brothers, Mike and Larry,'' says Larivee. The Alexander brothers were Detroit customizers whose creations became factory concept cars and plastic model car kits, and at least one, the Deora, a radical custom based on a Dodge forward-cab pickup, became a Hot Wheels model. ``That display will feature ...