2006 Cleveland CarQuest Auto-Rama

Part II

After shooting pictures out in the parking lot for a good hour, the Stylin' Trucks photo team finally went into the event to see what was what.

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The first thing you notice when you walk in the door is the shear size of the place. The IX Center, where the event is held, was a tank factory back in World War II and is absolutely huge. It was the perfect venue for an event such as this.

There was a dual dyno setup, complete with drag-race style starting lights, a huge swap meet, a little model car show, and an arcade where we saw some Amish youth dropping free-throws like they were hot, "Too easy, Ezekiel, too easy!"

This isn't just some hokey little car show either. It's huge, really huge, and there are a bunch of guest celebrities that show up. "Q" from West Coast Customs, Batista from WWE, and those jokers from Cincinnati that won "The Amazing Race - Family Edition" were there.

Once we got our tickets and slid past an awesome mustang to the concourse, you can either go into the Auto-Rama, to the huge food court, or to the other show that the building was hosting, the "Sport, Travel, and Outdoors show".

Once you get into the actual Auto-Rama, there are custom cars as far as the eye can see. There were some really nice sport compact cars, lots of old-school muscle, and some one-off customs.

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One thing that we did notice almost right away was a huge crowd gathering across the show floor. We walked over and saw a badass Chevelle SS on the dyno, getting ready to humiliate some poor sucker's Corvette.

Most often, if ever, you only hear an 1100HP car out in the open on a drag strip, or going down the street. Let me tell you that you never want to be inside the same building with one as it tries to prove its manliness. The pulsing, throbbing roar of the engine shook the walls of the building, turning it into a massive subwoofer enclosure. It can only be described as Satan clawing his way out of the gateway to hell and slamming you in the chest with a sledghammer the size of a buffalo. It was intense...

To sum it all up, the show was pretty darn good. There were lots of custom vehicles there, especially lots of trucks. Check below for our great pictures (click on them to expand) from inside the event. And don't forget to check out Part I where we look at nice trucks that show-goers drove to the event. Enjoy...

This is the clown that terrified children with his balloon-work, his smile, and his nose. Stepside Ford Ranger with sick paint. A nice classic Dodge van with a custom interior. Old-school Silverado with a kickin' speaker system in the audio competition. Another nice Ford Ranger with dual exhaust and nice paint. a custom Dodge Ram with air suspension and sick paint. This Dodge fullsize pickup had huge wheels, killer paint and a custom air suspension setup. A Ford Ranger completely carved out of wood. Our friends DA Motorsports were there too. A slick yellow truck with custom tail lenses. A classic body style Sierra with clear lenses and lowered suspension. Many years after it's birth, this 1972 Chevrolet Silverado wows people at the show. This Ford F150 had a custom stereo and huge video game system in the bed. A Ford F-150 with custom grills and a chrome bull bar. An S10 with billet grilles, a custom airdam, no top, and Mercedes-style roll bars. A lone soldier perched atop this intimidating Hummer H1 Alpha. This blue mini has a clean engine with custom front inner fenders. The bed floor is custom smoothed and the paint is slick. This little GMC SUV has a phantom grill and flashy paint. A Cadillac Escalade from Roman Chariot had huge chrome wheels. A ram air style hood and diamond wire grille adorn this Escalade's front. A clean, stock-looking GT-F-150 with GT graphics. This Chevrolet Colorado had custom paint, lambo doors, and Cadillac tail lenses. This is a really great example of a show truck. Mirrors and carpet make a nice display. Big wheels and custom paint also adorned this Silverado. This lifted Chevy, aside from the CXT, was the biggest truck at the show. This axle brake, steering dampers, and huge differential means that this truck is serious.

Our friends from HMH Offroad were there, representing the off-road crowd. A classic Ford fullsize pickup with bright red paint. The Ram van had shag carpet and hardwood floors. This classic Chevy pickup had clear parking lenses, a billet grille, and extra alternators. A custom Honda Ridgeline with billet grills and big wheels. This Dodge Ram has custom air suspension and a custom interior. The interior of this Ram was laid out with a custom steering wheel and electronics. This wooden Ford was a crowd pleaser. A custom Toyota 4-Runner with nice paint. This international CXT was on display in the off-road section. This SS Silverado was here promoting a local autobody shop. A custom flamed paint job adorned this lowered classic Chevrolet pickup truck. This lifted 4x4 Chevy sported a chrome grille guard and off-road lights. This guy received the "Small Shorts Award" from our photo team. This chopped S10 featured big wheels, euro tails, and a custom tailgate. An SS Silverado with big wheels and bright red paint. A mini-truck with nice blue paint and pinstripe flames. The interior of this mini is clean and neat. The GMC Jimmy has old-school wheels and graphics. A nice cascading fade goes down the side of this Escalade. This Colorado was a giveaway for WMMS. Throw  a paper airplane into  the window and you could win it! The front of the GT-F-150 had a clean billet grill. The Colorado also featured a billet grille, large wheels, and a lowered suspension. This truck has clear corner lenses, a billet grille, and custom lowered suspension. This is one wet floor sign you need to pay attention to. The whole undercarriage was painted and chromed and a brush guard covered the bumper. This lifted Chevy was displayed in memory of Josh Whaley, a truck enthusiest who died of cancer at 22.

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