We’re almost out of photos from the Chicago World of Wheels, with just one more gallery to go after this one, but if you missed any so far don’t worry because there is a link below to all of them!

(Words and Photos by Jim Hrody) World of Wheels has been a Chicago-area tradition for quite some time, and 2023 marked its 60th annual showing. Having taken place in the city proper when first started, the show was moved to Rosemont, Illinois in 2010.

This is one of the larger W.O.W. shows on the tour. On the main floor, 600ish cars, trucks, and motorcycles are spread around between seven rooms. On Saturday afternoon, the show grows in size and for that afternoon only there are more cars in attendance than at the Detroit Autorama. This is done by opening up the second floor to a few hundred more cars for what they call the Tuner Galleria. Mostly imports and exotics are to be found there, not to mention some very loud audio setups too. That room clears out on Saturday night but is perfect for the folks who are new to the indoor car show scene.

Back to the main floor…. There’s always an extensive showing of custom motorcycles with an entire room dedicated to ‘CycleRama’, where some serious workmanship is displayed. For a few decades now there’s been an unofficial lowrider area in a back room where hydraulics, pneumatics, and insane paint jobs are shown off, and there are lots of each to look at.

A special feature this year was a gathering of various drag cars set aside in a room to commemorate the painful closure of US30 Dragstrip in NW Indiana, almost 40 years ago. One more notable feature was a display of Ed Roth cars, including his personal Honda Civic.

Going to this show amounts to seemingly endless walking, but that’s what makes it worth it. For every corner you turn, there’s another room opening up with a few hundred more cars. And being in Chicagoland, there’s a wide variety of showgoers from all walks of life. If you like conversating with car people, this is the show to be at.

Sadly, tragedy hit on Sunday after the show closed. One of the entrants was driving his ’66 Chevy Nova street-strip car home and was about 12 miles south of the venue. While coming up to an intersection, for unknown reasons, the Nova veered off the road, clipped another car, and hit a bricked-in signboard of a high school. He didn’t survive.

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