Grosse Pointers in Autorama turn heads with their unique vehicles

DETROIT/GROSSE POINTES — It’s only fitting that the Motor City is home to countless special vehicles, and each year, local residents and vehicle aficionados from across the globe have a chance to showcase their sweet rides during Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama, which this year runs Feb. 24 to 26 at Huntington Place.

“We are so thrilled to be celebrating the big 70th Anniversary of Detroit Autorama this year,” said Peter Toundas, president and owner of Championship Auto Shows Inc., producer of Autorama, in a press release. “Detroit’s Autorama was the first and is the most revered hot rod custom car show in the country. We are so proud that it all started in Detroit, and getting to a milestone like the 70th year is a real reason to celebrate. Autorama attracts a significant amount of national attention to the motor city and spotlights the important historic role Detroit has played in the world of custom cars and hot rodding.”

This year, the event — also known as “America’s greatest hot rod show” — will include a few Grosse Pointers and their vehicles.

They include Howard Kay, of Grosse Pointe Park, who said he has “an absolute passion for Detroit automotives.” Kay and his wife, Maurya, co-own a 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1971 Mach 1 Ford Mustang and 1973 Ford Mustang convertible; the last two vehicles will be on display this year.

“I’ve been building cars since I was born,” said Kay.

But while he said Autorama has always been “very special” for him, it wasn’t until Kay put his fourth child through college in 2019 that he was able to acquire his first vehicle for Autorama — the Grand Prix. Just eight weeks after getting it, he said he was at Autorama with the vehicle. While it looked good on the exterior, Kay quickly learned from the evaluation by the judges that the vehicle needed a lot of work to get up to Autorama’s exacting standards to win an award.

“I had to go back to the drawing board with that car,” Kay said.

A year later, in 2020, Kay again entered the Grand Prix and won a fifth-place ranking — not bad at all for a vehicle that he said will never be entirely pristine because he likes to drive it and lets friends drive it as well.

“Part of the appeal is sharing them with other people,” Kay said of his cars. “They’re meant to be driven.”

The Grand Prix is a four-speed stick shift, which makes it rare — only about 5,000 of the more than 70,000 of these Grand Prix cars were stick shifts, he said.

In the 2022 Autorama, Kay earned a fourth-place honor for his Grand Prix, and his Mach 1 — which he purchased in 2020 — won a sixth-place honor during its Autorama debut. It’s an especially high honor for him because he said Autorama is “in the top five shows of all of the judged shows in the country,” Kay said.

Kay said there are usually about 800 to 900 cars at Autorama.

“It’s really grown in popularity,” he said.

It’s become an annual tradition for Kay, his friends and his family.

“(I’m) really looking forward to it,” Kay said. “It’s my break from the winter.”

Autorama is also a family tradition for Jake Sippl and his dad, Gary Sippl, both of Grosse Pointe Woods. Jake Sippl will be displaying his 1930 Ford Model A.

“I’ve been to every Autorama since I was in a stroller,” said Sippl, 27, “It’s a whole-family affair. I’ve been surrounded by autos my whole life.”

His vehicle is no conventional Model A.

“I built this up to be a traditional hot rod,” Sippl said. “The whole car’s been very heavily modified.”

It’s a vehicle that people hear before they see; Sippl laughingly said the hot rod is so loud, it causes buildings to shake.

“My dad and I built this car together,” Sippl said. “It’s a fun experience that him and I do.”

The custom Model A “has won a significant amount of awards,” said Sippl. He enjoys driving it in the summer.

Sippl — a CNC machinist — makes race car components professionally, and he races go-karts for fun.

“Cars and stuff with engines and racing — that’s my world,” Sippl said.

He hails from an automotive family but said his dad never pushed him into that field — it was just something he gravitated toward on his own. Like a lot of young people, Sippl remembers driving “crappy cars” as a teen, so he learned how to fix them because they often needed costly repairs that didn’t fit in with a young person’s budget.

Jon Clark, of Grosse Pointe Park, is slated to be in this year’s Autorama with his 1919 Dodge Speedster, according to event organizers.

There will also be bands, vehicles by famed custom designer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and more.

Celebrity guests appearing at Autorama will include Henry Winkler — aka “The Fonz” from “Happy Days” — as well as hip-hop legend Flavor Flav and Dave Kindig of TV’s “Bitchin’ Rides.”

“It’s just a fun place to hang out for a couple of hours,” Kay said.

Discount Autorama tickets are available at participating O’Reilly Auto Parts locations. For tickets or more information, call (248) 373-1700 or visit www.autorama.com.