Eventually, the MHRA grew to also include clubs from the customizing and hot rodding scene, such as the Motor City Modified, 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. 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 the money needed to pull drag racing off the streets and into a safe environment'. The first Detroit Autorama was held at the University of Detroit Memorial Building on January 31 and February 1, 1953. The Detroit Autorama is best known as home to the Don Ridler Memorial Award, which is 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, and Bobby Alloway. It is promoted by Championship Auto Shows Incorporated (CASI) and hosted by Michigan Hot Rod Association (MHRA), 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 Detroit Autorama, also known as America's Greatest Hot Rod Show, is a showcase of custom cars and hot rods held each year at TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan, in either late February or early March. 64th Annual Meguiar's Autorama, presented By O'Reilly Auto Parts, February 26–28, 2016, at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Chip foose ridler award car