D-Rod: Promoting Detroit Muscle

HOLLY, Michigan — The upcoming Autorama show, the annual edition of Detroit's long-running hot-rod extravaganza, will showcase yet another '32 Ford re-creation, this one dubbed D-Rod and intended to promote the city's image and "rebrand Detroit."

The D-Rod is the brainchild of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, which commissioned a local builder, Detroit Muscle, to construct the vehicle. The bureau wants to promote Detroit as "a leisure and meeting destination."

Curiously, the D-Rod is a mix of Detroit-based hardware. Under the Deuce-like skin, the car boasts a Chrysler 392 Hemi crate engine mated to a Chrysler 518 four-speed automatic transmission. The bureau said it chose the classic '32 Ford partly to commemorate the car's 75th anniversary.

The street rod's interior is a weird blend of snakeskin and Pendleton — the latter done in a Del Rio pattern blanket that is meant to reflect the city's Native American heritage, according to the builder.

Detroit Muscle will showcase the D-Rod at its exhibit at the 55th Detroit Autorama, which will be held March 9-11 at Cobo Hall.

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