The 9th Annual Detroit Autorama was the first to be held at the new Cobo Hall. That year featured a new-record 230 cars competing, and filled all of Cobo's lower-level basement. The 1961 show's last day also broke the event attendance record by drawing a crowd of approximately 35,000 people. During these early years at Cobo, the event began to attract industry names from outside the Motor City, including George Barris, Darryl Starbird, Carl Casper, and "Big Daddy" Ed Roth. And as part of Ford Motor Company's "Ford Custom Car Caravan", the show also generated attention from other big name customizers, including Bill Cushenberry, Jack Florence, Dean Jeffries, and Gene Winfield.