Southfield, Lathrup Village residents to show cars at Detroit Autorama

SOUTHFIELD/LATHRUP VILLAGE —  The 72nd Detroit Autorama is vrooming into the motor city Feb. 28-March 2 at Huntington Place, 1 Washington Blvd., with hot rods ranging from the Megamorph giant transforming robot car to the Barbie Cadillac convertible.

From watching their fathers work on cars to racing them as teenagers,  Mike Marmorstein and Ernest Morrison Jr. have cultivated a lifelong passion for classic hot rods, and both will be among a number of Southfield and Lathrup Village residents showing their classic cars at this year’s Autorama.

Marmorstein will show his lime 1932 Ford five-window coupe, and Morrison will show his green 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle.

For Marmorstein, his wife Laura got out of his dreams and into his car when they met at Albion College. During their 41 years of marriage, the couple has driven many cars together, including a ‘68 Chevelle, a ‘65 Barracuda, a ‘66 Charger, a ‘49 Chevy delivery truck, a ‘69 Cadillac Fleetwood, and a ‘52 International Harvester pickup truck. Those are just a few examples that come to mind for Marmorstein, a member of the Twisted Axle Car Club.

“My wife, she’s always had a passion for cars, which is something that attracted her to me because I already was driving kind of a hot rod when I met her, and she said, ‘Wow, that’s really cool.’ So that was something that we had in common,” Marmorstein said.

Marmorstein’s lime 1932 Ford five-window coupe was purchased about 10 years ago. It was built from the ground up and completely customized by him and his wife, fulfilling a childhood dream for him.

While Marmorstein’s passion for cars began at a young age, watching his father work on a variety of cars, it wasn’t until he saw the classic film “American Graffiti” that he became enchanted by a particular car, the 1932 Ford five-window coupe.

“In 1973, I was 13 years old, and the movie American Graffiti came out,” he said. “That’s where I got the idea that someday I would own a car like that. Maybe not exactly that yellow coupe that was in the movie, but that ‘32 five-window Ford coupe. It’s an iconic-looking car. It’s got a grille shell only onto itself for the one year, and it just hit me as something, ‘You know what? I got to have that.’”

In 2015, the coupe took third place at Autorama, and since then, it has only frequented local car shows, such as the Frankenmuth Auto Fest and the Woodward Dream Cruise.

“We didn’t build it to win trophies, we built it to drive and go have fun with it,” Marmorstein said.

He added that he is excited to attend this year’s Autorama for the camaraderie and fun.

“We really love the car culture,” Marmorstein said.

Like Marmorstein, car culture has been ingrained in Morrison since he was a kid, when he watched his uncle and dad with their cars.

“My dad, he didn’t have any muscle cars, but he cherished his cars and always took care of them,” Morrison said. “My uncle had a car that he raced around the neighborhood in, and that just drew me in.”

In 1999, Morrison brought home two babies, his oldest daughter and a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle. After owning his classic car for 26 years, this year will be his first displaying it at Autorama.

“This is my first major show, Autorama, other than just going to a regular car show or going to the cruises,” Morrison said. “This is the first show I ever had my car in.”

He decided to show his car after being asked to by the Chevelle Club of Michigan, which he has been a part of for about a decade.

He has enjoyed attending Autorama as a viewer and is looking forward to showing his own vehicle.

“It’s wonderful. You get to see the other people and their cars —how they do their cars,” Morrison said. “Sometimes I go and I just look to see how they did the car —might see something I like and put it on my car or something.”

Morrison added that he loves the car community and the conversations that ensue standing around a car with a couple of guys. However, there’s one thing he doesn’t like.

“The community is great. Only thing I don’t like about it is when they keep asking me if I want to sell it,” Morrison said.

According to him, so many people ask about about purchasing his car that he and his wife, Rochelle, can’t stop a red light without someone making him an offer.

“It’s not for sale,” Morrison said. “Unless we’re talking a ridiculous number where it’s too good to be true, I won’t part with it.”

Having a supportive spouse can make life a lot easier for a car enthusiast.

“I thank my wife, Rochelle, for understanding my love for the hobby and the things I’ve done to the car,” Morrison said. “She’s pretty understanding.”

Tickets for Autorama are $28 at the gate for adults and $10 for children ages 6 to 12. Children 5 and under are admitted for free. Discount tickets are available at O’Reilly Auto Parts. For more information, visit www.autorama.com or call  (248) 373-1700.