Hot Rods 2015 AMBR ???

Agree 100 %

 

Congrats to Bobby and his crew ! Some may say the car is a rehash of cars he has built in the past but they were Bitchin cars as well. The fit and finish on this car is perfection !

 

I read somewhere that the AMBR was a replacement for one that was burned in Alloway's shop fire several years ago?

 

Alloway's car was my choice also, but I am partial to traditional cars without all the bling and modifications. First place in the altered coupe class was this Reed's Ride Designs built Deuce. Congratulations to Ryan and Brian.

 

It's my understanding that "Riddler" cars are judged on construction excellence, not necessarily for beauty.

I, too, was under the impression that "AMBR" was for the most beautiful roadster regardless of the nit-picky detailing. But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I guess the gold chainers win this round.

Oh well, this is not a first. There have been other disappointing AMBR winners in the past where beauty got thrown under the bus in favor of some other aspect of their construction. Maybe next year there will be a stronger field of truly beautiful traditional hot rods...we can only hope.

 

guess I'll weigh in, wasn't there, haven't seen any of the contenders up close but IMHO the '36 was the one that lit my fire. The Alloway car, while no doubt a spectacular ride by talented craftsmen, caused an immediate visceral reaction on my part of "bellybutton", same way looking under a hood and finding a SBC on a really nice hot rod. The sinister black and all the louvers on the'36 had a strange "meaness" to it, edgy maybe? Spoke hot rod to me with a dash of race car too. But congrats to every contender, just getting there to the finals is a big deal! Something most of us will only daydream about.

 

It'll look good on the cover of Street Rodder. I think there were a handful of more deserving cars.

 

My personal pick was Dave Shuten's " The Grass Hopper " .

 

Who could really give a good God Damn It is who ever is dumb enough to pay not build a pos

 

Yeah, I know Bobby and he is a talented builder but he found this formula 20 years ago and doesn't deviate from this style.

His builds are instantly recognizably just like Dick Megugorac's Modal A's of times past. HRP

 

Read somewhere, the car was stretched 2 or 3 inches, didn't say where.

 

AGREED! AMBR=America's Most Boring Roadster. I liked this (and a bunch of others way more). The winning car was too every day looking IMO

 

I guess all the naysayers here have a very short memory of what kind of crap was picked for so many years. while not a HAMB friendly traditional HOT ROD, that is a cool car.

 

So is it build quality or beauty? The car that grabbed me was the 36 and if you want attention to detail I would think the grasshopper was pretty darn detailed

 

The interior on the Gold roadster probably killed it's chances.

 

Paraphrased from an interview with Vic 4 years ago:
Vic Cunnyngham, the judges coordinator for the 2011 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. (Yes, that’s the correct spelling of his name…) explains: To sum it up in one, simple sentences, I’d say: It’ll be the most beautiful roadster at the show. A quick clarification: A roadster is a car with no fixed roof (obviously) but also does NOT have roll up windows.
So what’s changed and how is “beautiful” defined?
What’s changed? First off, the points system of the past is GONE. Now, there’s a panel of 12 judges who subjectively choose the AMBR car. The process is totally different as well. In past years, it was like an ISCA points system where the bulk of the judging took place with the roadster on display on the show floor. Vic explained that on display, it’s hard to see the overall car…. “It’s hard to see if it looks like an automobile or not!”
Squeeg’s Kustoms purposefully displayed the car with doors, trunk and decklid closed and wheels on so everyone (not just the judges) could see it as it is: A Hot Rod Roadster!
Only for the judges to see, the AMBR cars were the first to arrive in the Main Hall. After staging at the far end, the roadsters were driven in, one at a time, to the center of the hall and parked on a piece of black carpet with a white backdrop. No lights, no jack stands, no bling. The car had to move on it’s own, like before, but this method accomplished two very important judging points:

• The judges can hear the car
• The judges can see the driver sit in the car

Vic explained that in past years, when the AMBR winner was leaving the show, people saw someone sitting in the car and it, “Looked like he was sitting on a milk crate!” No doubt a truly beautiful car should be something you could comfortably sit in and (gasp!) drive, in comfort. Vic and the judges made it so.

Interesting side note… Parked next to the AMBR trophy and across from the 2010 AMBR winner, Rico Squaglia’s 1951 AMBR winner sat on display. When the 23 Ford Roadster won in 1951, Vic says the flathead V8 it has now was missing! It didn’t have an engine! Starting in 1952, rulebooks stated the cars had to run.
Back to the new AMBR judging on the black carpet… the judges started from 50 feet away. Each car was judged for 10 minutes from every angle. They looked, most importantly, at the overall lines of the car. The engine and interior judging would come later. The fit quality, body gaps and the all important sound of the door closing were closely inspected. After that, the judges each had 10 minutes to interview the car owner or builder to hear the unique, but maybe not so obvious, features of the roadster.
After, the cars were put on display and judging continued during the show. At that time, the judges each had a judge’s sheet to keep notes on the following:

• Visual Detail
• Engineering
• Interior
• Engine
• Paint and Chrome
• Under carriage
• Display

In the end, the judges wrote down a number, 1-12 corresponding to the AMBR contender that was best in each category, as there are awards for those categories as well . Finally, they wrote one number in the box for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. A car that didn’t “win” any of these could still take home the AMBR award.
So who are the judges?
Vic wouldn’t name names… he did say that 2 were representatives from the ISCA. After that, the judges were from a diverse background liking different kinds of roadsters. He said some like the swoopy lines of a somewhat modern roadster and some dig the traditional or vintage look of a hot rod. On Saturday night, Vic planned for an organized dog fight as the 12 judges came together to decide which car should be labeled the most beautiful in America. I would have loved to be in that room! 12 people with 12 strong opinions… (I'm not sure who they were for 2015, but past judges have included the likes of Pete Chapouis and Peter Eastwod - real hot rodders)
Vic concluded, “It’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster! That’s what it is, not what it was. That’s why they changed it.”