1955 Chevy Nomad ‘Gray Madder' Wins Ridler Honors at Autorama
The 2025 Detroit Autorama has wrapped with the 1955 Chevrolet Nomad 'Gray Madder' taking top honors.
This year's Autorama goes into the books as the 72nd in the show's history.
The Detroit Autorama sits as one of the premier custom car shows in the world, with the Ridler award cementing cars, owners, and builders in hot rod lore.
Another Detroit Autorama is in the books, and a 1955 Chevrolet Nomad was crowned the latest Ridler Award winner. Dubbed 'Gray Madder,' this custom '55 Chevy bested seven other would-be winners and gave owners Tom and Christy Bresnahan and their son Josh some serious trophy case hardware.
Built by North Carolina-based Southern Comfort Customs and Interior, this radical '55 Chevy rides on an Art Morrison-supplied chassis with a hydraulic suspension.
Powering this Nomad is a modern LS3 mill that is mated to a 6L90E six-speed automatic transmission. Power travels to the rear wheels through a custom rear end derived from Ford's legendary 9-inch unit.
Gray madder sits on a set of custom wheels from Evod Industries that are wrapped in Diamond Back Classic rubber. Joining a set of custom wheels is a laundry list of one-off parts and pieces that include a custom steering column, grille, and fuel tank.
Those familiar with the pomp and circumstance of the Detroit Autorama will know that the 'Gray Madder' was selected from a small pool under the Great Eight banner. This year's Great Eight, excluding this year's winner were:
1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by John and Kelly Ayers
1963 Chevrolet Corvette owned by Dan Patrone
1957 Chevrolet owned by David Bradwell
1949 Pontiac Silverstreak owned by Danny Asher
1963 Chevrolet Corvette owned by Dave and Rhonda Ralph
1937 Chevrolet owned by John Farrow
1933 Ford Roadster Pickup owned by Detroit Metal Shaping
Outside of the Great Eight finalists and the Ridler Winner, there was more variety than ever at this year's Autorama. The top level was filled with traditional custom cars in the Cavalcade of Customs, which included the famed Larry Ernst 1951 Chevy, and a clone of the Alexander Brothers-built 1960 Ford Starliner, dubbed Adonis. Also out in force was an array of current and vintage drag racing machines, lowriders, and more.
Below the top deck, the Autorama Extreme played host to its fair share of sharp hot rods, custom cars, and vintage motorcycles. For those unfamiliar, the Autorama Extreme tends to lean more toward the traditional side of the custom car spectrum and offers a more approachable every-man look at the collector car hobby.
Sorry if you missed the 72nd edition of the Detroit Autorama. The only fix is to head to the Cobo Hall TCF Center Huntington Place convention center in downtown next year.
Have you ever experienced the Detroit Autorama? Tell us about it below.
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Ask The Man Who Owns One Mark Wanzel (above, with fiancé, Julie Ward) is a photographer who shoots freelance and for The Barrie Examiner in Ontario, Canada. Why I like it: 'Without even discussing its innovations, for me, the Mark I CRX will always be great because of its light weight and sporty feel, useable practicality, and boy-racer looks. Few cars in history deliver like the CRX, and when you consider the Si, it becomes a full-package car. It's way too much fun for a road car.' Why It's Collectible: Most Mark I CRXs were driven hard and allowed to rust, and there won't be a modern sports car this light, efficient, and affordable again. Restoring/Maintaining: Engines are bulletproof if maintained. Most other parts are unavailable without a parts car. Replacement plastic front fenders and hood headers are available from China and European/Japanese-spec engines are available from Japan. Beware: You'll find examples that haven't rusted away only from California and Southern states, so watch for faded and damaged interior/exterior plastics. Shocks, struts, and boots went quickly and must be replaced regularly, now only with aftermarket parts. Timing belts must be replaced every 60,000 miles to avoid valve damage. Expect to pay: Concours-ready: $2450; solid driver: $1200; tired runner: $575 Join the club: CRX Owners Group, Club Si, Northern California CRX Club, Red Pepper Racing, Our Take Then: 'Honda's all-new Civic CRX 1.5 suggests the term 'Rollerskate GT.' Not only is it roomy and neatly done inside, it's a delight in motion. Running around town, blitzing a mountain road, or cruising cross-country, you have a responsive, well-balanced performance automobile under your command.'—Kevin Smith, MotorTrend, November 1983. Now: What the enthusiast world needs is a car this light and this much fun, one that delivers equal helpings of performance and efficiency. If only Honda had kept developing the car, like BMW with the Mini, instead of replacing it with the Dull Sol. My CRX I test-drove a white 1984 Honda CRX five-speed at a dealership in Brookfield, Wisconsin, figuring the payments on a $6600 car wouldn't be much more than what I spent on parts in an average month on my 1977 Triumph Spitfire. I didn't buy one until three years later, after leaving the Quad-City Times for the San Diego Business Journal. California dealers were still getting close to sticker on CRXs (and most other Hondas). Insurance rates were especially high on the Si for twentysomething single guys, so in September 1987, on the day after my 29th birthday, I bought a red DX five-speed with no A/C for, I think, $8125. I ran it up and down Highway 1 between San Luis Obispo and San Francisco whenever I could. I drove it fast and hard, was meticulous with service, got 33 mpg in the city and about 40 mpg highway, and moved to Washington, D.C., in it. In February 1994, a lawyer with a medical condition who shouldn't have been driving his 1981 Olds 98 passed out on a boulevard outside Georgetown, plowing into oncoming traffic and taking out my CRX at low, constant speed. I had only a sore wrist from clenching the wheel. I still miss that car.
