The Rules have Changed: 2011 AMBR Award Judging Explained
How to Win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award
In case you haven’t already heard, the 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Daryl Wolfswinkel’s and built by Doug Jerger and crew at Squeeg’s Kustoms in Chandler, AZ won the highly coveted “AMBR Award” or America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award. Those of you who’ve seen the story posted here at MyRideisMe.com about the 2008-2010 AMBR winners are SHOCKED! (but maybe tickled too!!)
Disagree? Here’ your chance to Vote on the AMBR winner yourself!
At the Grand National Roadster Show on Saturday morning, I learned the judging criteria for the AMBR award changed. Guess who told me? Ironically, it was my buddy Doug Jerger! (I’m in Chandler too) Sniffing a great story, I asked around and found Vic Cunnyngham, the judges coordinator for the 2011 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. (Yes, that’s the correct spelling of his name…)
Vic, a long time hot rodder and hot rod builder set me straight on selecting the 2011 AMBR award winner. 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!”
Compare the display of the 2011 AMBR winner to past years. Quoting a friend, “It looks like the car exploded!” 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
I can understand the first one, but had to ask Vic about the seating position. 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.
For the engine sound, I couldn’t agree more. America’s Most Beautiful Roadster should make a point that it can walk the walk too. Having heard Daryl’s 34 Roadster running, I promise you it helped this car win.
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. (Click the pic to see it full size)
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. Finally, they wrote one number in the box for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. I assumed there was a weighted criteria for the list above or that the roadster with the most votes in any judging criteria would win. NOPE! Vic told me that 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…
Vic concluded, “It’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster! That’s what it is, not what it was. That’s why they changed it.”
No points, not anymore… and the competitors and spectators I talked to like it. How about you?
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It was definitely not the most outrageous or even most beautiful roadster there, but it was well done. I have a feeling a lot of people were shocked to see the results.
I left the same question on AutoWeek’s page about the 2011 AMBR awards. Even though the criteria was “beauty”, I thought that the cars had to be street legal. I know of at least one car that had “hidden” but legal- tail lights. However, it appears that the winner does not have headlights. Have the rules changed that much?
Ron, I’m sure they get terrible gas mileage too. I don’t know about the other cars, but I can guarantee the black 34 roadster and AMBR winner has alot of street miles. It’s a driven hot rod!
I like the new rules. But the judges got it totally wrong. The winner is a embarassment to the AMBR tradition and set the award back 20 years. The AMBR is about innovation, style and panache. You can see a car just like the winner at every car show you attend. A very nice car but not an AMBR car. It wasn’t even in the top 5.
America’s most beautiful roadster. The absolute quality of the winner is imposible to appreciate in a few photographs. Everything about this car is spot on. The things that the judges spoke about in the discussions were the stance, perfect fit, sound, flawless finish, trick subtle engineering, including the removable headlights, the overall quality and the incredible perfect “look”. This car just had everything they were looking for. All of the judges are the very best in the different disciplines of the hot rod industry. They are designers, builders, publishers and experts in their fields. Not everyone will ever agree with a choice and some of the other entrants will always be disappointed (1 winner and 11 losers).
Being a car show producer for over 15 years,and a hot-rodder for 50 + years and attending the show and taking the time to look at all the entries,I was very surprised! I also, know many of the judges talked with them and knew the rule changes. Still I was surprised. I guess I just didn’t understand that there really was no criteria except beauty in the eye of the beholder. That certainly can cause controversy and politics. Wherever there is a winner ……..Certainly the car that won is a nice car,but even seeing it in person I know nothing about the car..drive-train,suspension, chassis etc. If the only criteria is looks we just as soon judge a full size scale model, and dem it most beautiful. I know from producing and having a large show judged ,if every class was judged on just what is the most beautiful in the judges opinion and not take anything else into consideration it would cause allot controversy and allot of unhappy exhibitors. Participants want to know why their car didn’t win. If you look at Pebble Beach it seems their system allows for booth beauty & execution, however Goodguys is strictly a pick and everyone knows it going in. If the AMBR is most beautiful as determined by less than10 knowledgeable judges and everyone knows it great! I think that this being the first time for that many people including myself just didn’t get it. It will be interesting to see the contenders next year.
Thanks for your comment Joe. It’s great to have the insight of long time show promoters and judges like you.
Is this the same Dennis Decamp with the F-32 Roadster?
Yes, I am the same Dennis DeCamp that was the owner of F-32. We were a strong contender for AMBR in 2007. Many thought we were the winner. No sour grapes here though. We went on to win Goodguys Street Rod of the Year and I just won the Goodguys Muscle Machine of the Year with my 1970 Mustang named John Henry.
OK, one final question from me. This one is from the rumor mill but did the judges also change the rules to allow non-steel bodies? I heard, don’t know for sure, that winner was not a steel bodied car. If that is the case, the changes went way beyond beauty.
My understanding is that Squeeg’s is building another roadster for the same owner that will compete in next year’s AMBR. I believe it’s a 32?
I told my son that the Squeeg car DESERVED to win but probably wouldn’t because it didn’t have the “bling” of recent winners. I was pleasantly surprised at the results. Finally a REAL hot rod wins AMBR.
I realize there haven’t been any comments about this lately but I worked on the car originally when Squeege built it for Daryl. He definitely has some great ideas. At first it was going to run a dropped axle and quick change rear end. Doug wasn’t even in the picture yet. Usually everybody that worked on cars kept presenting their ideas to Daryl and projects got pretty mixed up. I did the doors and hidden hinges and firewall. I remember using VW Rabbit latches and know for sure those doors did shut decently. Another thing the trunk corners are rounded with a small radius. We had a falling out while I worked on the car which didn’t last cause I did the metal work on Squeege’s ”41 later.
I have to admit the car is beautiful and I’m happy for Doug. Daryl and Squeege. They are deserving of rewards like this and hopefully many more will be in their future. I know that car is street driven because Squeege came over to the house when it was done the first time and gave me a ride in it. Whether it was on the show floor or the street, the cars a winner in my book.
Thanks Ken! Always great to get the inside scoop. I know Doug drives it too… he drives all of his rides. I watch him get pulled over following a semi-smokey burnout in his 32 Ford AMBR contender after our morning “Church of Hot Rod”.
I walked away from the car scene over a dozen years ago so a friend gave me a copy of a mag with the car on the cover. Truthfully I never could see Daryl going after that award. He has always been very supportive of Squeeg so I though he enter the car for them more than himself. He definitely likes cars and always has since I’ve known him.
I’m a little older then Squeeg and grew up in the fifties. Squeeg has always showed that background with his cars. His 41 came from his youth when somebody had a convertible like his is styled after. Even Dave Bell uses old car magazines for ideas when he made drawings for the car. So to me Squeeg’s 50’s influence along with Doug’s creativity made a excellent combination.
When it comes to Oakland I did metalwork on cars. I used to go over to CA to work for a guy. He talked a father son team to enter their hand built metal car in the show. People that knew of this car flocked around it admiring it. When it came trophy time the show gave them an award for ‘best kit car.’ That was like a slap in the face. Also I’ve worked on cars for ‘Blackhawk museum’ which were high end cars. One car I worked on, a 1937 Adler, was looked down on because it belonged to Blackhawk. Human reasoning makes it hard to please everybody when it comes to shows.
I did personally like the way Daryl’s car did things like improve on the teardrop taillight design. I felt like they took the fifties and brought it into the present without over kill. I was glad for them winning the AMBR award but did feel other cars were nice too. Competing like that is hard with all the work that goes into showing a car. I know when I did it my wife used to get on my case that it was just an activity and enjoy it as that.
Thanks for the insight Ken. I think we need a story about your past projects… got any pictures to go with the story?
I want to apologize for my original harsh comments of 2/1//11. The AMBR winner is an excellent car. I have viewed the car up close and it is very well built etc. BUT, the fact that the car was displayed in such a way as to prevent one from viewing the undercarriage should have prevented one from voting for this car. Was the builder ashamed of the undercarriage? The Frisbee built 33 roadster was far superior in every respect.
I uploaded some pictures of the car and hope this site works.
https://picasaweb.google.com/101919370258695485877/20110830DW34ProskiMerc?authkey=Gv1sRgCL_zzPSc8JzirQE#
Note that when I worked on it the car had an dropped axle as the original intention was going to also include a quick change rear end. I used VW Rabbit door latches as bear claws weren’t even around then. Also I started the car without the chassis and had to cut the firewall because when I got the frame it had changed in width.
The 34 coupe was done for a guy from Colorado but Squeeg bought it and when they opened the ‘Rod Shop’ it was used for posters. I chopped it and theses pictures show changing the floorboard.
I worked on the 34 back in 06-07 at Squeegs basically tore it down from the red version started body work.Iwas there when the taillights were made etc. That car has classis lines and flow and style with out being overdone its timeless! And Doug is the “Prince of Darkness” haha he hates that but the fit and finish on a car from Squeeg’s is 2nd to none.PERIOD! I also did a bunch on the 32 coming out next minus the wire wheels it to is a timeless work of art!
Dennis… Buy a copy of the August ’11 Street Rodder and you’ll see that the undercarriage is just as detailed and subtle as the rest of the car. In my opinion, the way they displayed the car matched the identity of the car, and seemed to be the “change in direction” the judges were looking for. As far as which car was the best? Who are we to argue with a panel that consisted with the likes of Pete Chapouris and Thom Taylor…
I was just my Squeeg’s yesterday and if the people were crying about Daryl’s car winning, they sure are in for a shocker with his new roadster. I’ve been into rods the majority of my life and don’t remember when I’ve seen something as beautiful as that. WOW, I knew Doug when he was in high school and would come out here. He’s pure creativity at it’s highest level.
Get your crying towels ready all you complainers cause you’re sure going to need them when the new roadster hits the road.
If its as good as you say it is why would anybody need a crying towel?
To: 429 You miss the point the show was in Jan not in August 11 Street Rodder Magazine. Secondly I am intitled to my opinion. Who are you to tell me I am not. Finally The choice for AMBR was not unanimous how do you know who voted for what and why do you find it necessary to hide behind a false name.