Recently at the 14th Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise (the annual car cruise held in August along a 16-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan), the inaugural Woodward "Dream Show" auto competition was held.
An invite-only event, the show was judged by some of Detroit's best automotive designers and executives (and also featured Grand Marshal Troy Trepanier). Custom trophies, designed by longtime GM designer Dick Ruzzin and sculpted by Don Sommer of Meadowbrook Concours d' Elegance fame, were made of stainless steel and weighed close to 80 pounds each.
There were 50 competitors in 10 different classes (from Hot Rod Racers to eco-friendly Green Machines), and divided by three eras of automotive construction (1916-1948, 1948-1990, and 1990-present).
Judging followed a d' Elegance format, where design was as important as engineering. One People's Choice award was recognized (won by Mary Dudek for her late husband's '40 Ford coupe) as well as one Best of Show, won by 20-year-old Ashley Webb for The Wedge Roadster she and her father scratchbuilt at his shop in Burton, Michigan. (The car was featured in the May, 2008, issue of STREET RODDER).
With an estimated 40,000 cars, the Dream Cruise is touted as the world's largest one-day cruise-in, and next year's event happens on August 15, 2009.