Drum role please!!! The 2012 Ridler award goes to Dwayne Peace with his custom 1955 Ford Thunderbird. The car was designed by Dwayne’s son Jonathan Peace of Torq’d Design Lab and built in conjunction with Jesse Greening of Greening Auto Company in Nashville, TN. The Thunderbird - a unique choice, make and model that has never won a Ridler before… The car showed off beautifully sculpted, refined lines, and unique modifications mated with a 1,150 horse power engine… You gotta love that!

The Ridler Award is essentially Autorama's "Best in Show" award, the Ridler Award is named after Don Ridler in honor of his memory. As indicated by Autorama, the Ridler is geared to honor new creations and is only available to cars that show for the first time.

Before the Ridler winner is announced, the Pirelli Great 8 (top eight finalists) were announced at a brunch on the second day of the competition. They were named from a field of 63. The owners and builders received a trophy, customized jacket and a check for $1,000 from Pirelli Tire North America.

The Pirelli Great 8 for 2012 were:

Ronson Burton of Milton, Delaware with his 1963 Chevy Nova

Gordon and Carol Phillips, Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada with their 1967 Ford Mustang

Robert Komlofske of Prineville, Oregon with his 1953 Chevy Pick-up

Dwayne Peace of Tyler, Texas with his 1955 Ford Thunderbird

Dave and Joyce Emery of Rochester Hills, Michigan with his 1932 Ford

Johnny Edmundson of Athens, Tennessee with his 1955 Chevy

Mike Alexander of Grosse Ile, Michigan with his 1933 Ford

Peter Datino of Valhalla, New York with his 1932 Ford

Check out these videos and enjoy some of the cars that were at this years 2012 Autorama Detroit.

http://youtu.be/QzClNmzb53o

http://youtu.be/LULbbSjg0i0

http://youtu.be/lxdSsJMYyqI