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Touchy, Touchy Terms


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This will most likely go bad! But that never stopped me before.

The term Rat Rod makes me itch, bad! I like Hot Rods that look old, just hate that people call them Rats. If the word Rat Rod is in the header I usually don't even look at them.

It's like trying to change the definition of words that are 1,000's of years old. Like Marriage or Gun control. They have different meanings today than they did long ago.

So without starting a firestorm, are there any terms in the auto/modeling world that get your goat?

Edited by James2
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I initially thought that ratrod came from rat being a reference to a chevy powerplant. I think that rat motors goes back to the ratfink dragrace cartoons from the early '70s.

It does seem,however, that ratrods can be powered by anything. I do agree though, that there could be a better name than ratrod.

P.S Funny cars aren't really funny, they initially just looked funny because of their radical wheelbase and body look. Sometimes a name just becomes popular and stays.

Edited by gerdog
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'One off". what the heck does that mean. The correct term is "one of", being short for "one of a kind". It's been misused so often that it's become an accepted term used even by people who should know better. It makes me cringe when I hear it. The old NBC news man Edwin Newman was an expert on grammar (Kind of a grammar Nazi) and would get enraged over grammatical errors. I always picture him beating someone senseless after using the phrase "one off'. OK, now I feel better.

Edited by Dan Helferich
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Rat rod is another one of those descriptive terms that has been mangled thru the last few years. Like NASCAR's "stock cars"... please, really? There was a time when the NHRA wanted to use the term "fuel coupe" for funny cars. Sounds cool, but not popular at all. I remember John Force once referred to his funny car as a "hot rod" on TV; to me, that seems to be exaggerating a bit but I guess it's the truth.

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I have a real problem with the misuse of the term 'Rat Rod' .

Many of those alleged Rats running around were purposely built to look ratty ; all of the patina that was deliberately added ; the satin black paint ( a vain attempt at replicating black primer ); and the 350 engine.

The most irritating term on my list is "Posi" when referring to locking-type differential , on vehicles other than Chevrolets ! Each manufacture had its own term ; Chrysler had Sure Grip ; AMC had Twin Grip ; and so-forth .

To a lesser extent , the calling of Wheel Covers as Hub Caps bothers me . A wheel cover is just that : it covers the entire wheel ; and a hub cap is just that : it covers only the hub .

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If one were to get technical, a motor should only apply to an electric motor. An engine refers to something with pistons i.e. two and four stroke engines. This thread could get crazy real fast!

Where did the term "souped up" originate?

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Guess I been around too long. Wheelcovers are terms car salesmen used. Me an my freinds have always called them hubcaps, we've always called it Posi'traction, UNLESS we were talking about SPECIFIC rear ends, NEVER have used the term rat rod, unless it was REALLY UGLY, BBC's have always been Rat engines(ALOOOOONG time ago, we called 'em porcupine's due to the way the valve stems are all crazy angled), and I don't believe it has ANY conotation to the junk some guys call rat rods. Things change, but yet stay the same!

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'One off". what the heck does that mean. The correct term is "one of", being short for "one of a kind". It's been misused so often that it's become an accepted term used even by people who should know better. It makes me cringe when I hear it. The old NBC news man Edwin Newman was an expert on grammar (Kind of a grammar Nazi) and would get enraged over grammatical errors. I always picture him beating someone senseless after using the phrase "one off'. OK, now I feel better.

You may find this article interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/magazine/04FOB-onlanguage-t.html?_r=0

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This is a great bitch session, or should I say bitchin' ?

What really gets me, however, is how hard some automotive magazines try to create new terms and then sometimes insist these terms were originally used in the olden days. Hot Rod wont be found in any issue of the magazine Throttle from 1941. You will be hard pressed to find

"Gow Job" in any issue of Hot Rod magazine before the 2000's.

All this makes me "Dizzy" ?

hdrp_0511_55_z+flat_head_performance_gui

Edited by Greg Myers
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My nomination:

"completely scratchbuilt"

or its alter-ego

"100% scratchbuilt"

Explain.

What do you find annoying about that phrase? (I know people are always falsely claiming that their model is completely scratchbuilt, but that's not the fault of the phrase, it's the fault of the person using the term incorrectly).

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So without starting a firestorm, are there any terms in the auto/modeling world that get your goat?

*Plus shop fees. Or the similar *Plus disposal fee.

As in, "Oil Change Special, only $24.99!!!*

*Plus $3 disposal fee.

Uh, if the oil change is $24.99 plus a $3 "disposal fee," then the actual price I'll have to pay is $27.99. I assume they won't sell me the oil change without the "disposal fee," so why play the silly games?

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"Original Miles". Originally, the car had ZERO miles. It's actual miles, people....

"Tri-Power" It's a three two-bbl. carb setup... on a PONTIAC. Chevy, Olds, Ford, Mopar... those are not Tri-Power. They have their own names for their three-carb setups.

"Posi", "Posi-Track", or "Positraction". That's Chevy's brand name for a limited slip diff. Your Ford 9", therefore, is not equipped with a 'posi', no matter what.

If your 'Sawzall' isn't made by Milwaukee, it's not a Sawzall, it's just a reciprocating saw.

Silverados are Silverados. C/K series trucks are not. They also aren't called Z71s or Cheyennes.

Jeep is not a generic term for 'SUV'. (I'm looking at YOU, Missy Elliot).

They're 'brake pads' not simply 'brakes'.

There's no such thing as a Chevy GMC, Chrysler Jeep, Chrysler Plymouth, Jeep Eagle, Ford Mercury, Ford Lincoln, or Toyota Scion. It's one or the other. Also, that truck is an International, not a Navistar, or a Navistar International.

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*Plus shop fees. Or the similar *Plus disposal fee.

As in, "Oil Change Special, only $24.99!!!*

*Plus $3 disposal fee.

Uh, if the oil change is $24.99 plus a $3 "disposal fee," then the actual price I'll have to pay is $27.99. I assume they won't sell me the oil change without the "disposal fee," so why play the silly games?

The Idea is they ARE selling you an oil change for 24.99 the plus $3 disposal fee which should actually read "plus the extra tax disguised as a fee imposed by the government to appease the treehuggers!"

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Let's all calm down ....... proceed to the modeling table, take a couple of deep breaths and scratchbuild a 1:1 dodge with a posi rearend and pontiac tripower. It will have mag style wheels that are actually hubcaps. When it's finished we will call it a ratrod.

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In light of this particular thing, I think anyone working in the automotive retail end, specially car sales should have to endure these same obscenitys. "Thank you Mr. Smith, for your purchase of your grocery's. Would you like paper or plastic? The paper will be an extra $4.95. We're running a special on plastic at $3.98. Let me talk to my manager to see if I can get you the special price. By the way I hope you noticed we lowered your cart fee as you chose one of our wobble free editions. You can wait over here. It wont take long."

*Plus shop fees. Or the similar *Plus disposal fee.

As in, "Oil Change Special, only $24.99!!!*

*Plus $3 disposal fee.

Uh, if the oil change is $24.99 plus a $3 "disposal fee," then the actual price I'll have to pay is $27.99. I assume they won't sell me the oil change without the "disposal fee," so why play the silly games?

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It is just like the tire disposal fee when you buy new tires. Even if you take the old tires with you you still have to pay it says the government because you might dump them somewhere and create a superfund cleanup site! :lol:

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Her's one for ya. "Billet Aluminum" (whatever part you want to enter here) The term "Billet" refers to the blank chunk of metal in RAW form before it is machined! After that, it becomes an aluminum PART! Not a "Billet" aluminum part. They can add what type of aluminum but that still will not turn it back to billet. And to add "Aircraft aluminum" is just as bad. Building Aircraft with a large quantity of 6061-T6 Aluminum does not make a car part made from 6061-T6 aluminum an "Aircraft Part"! Like it is better because it has the word "Aircraft" in it!

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If one were to get technical, a motor should only apply to an electric motor. An engine refers to something with pistons i.e. two and four stroke engines. This thread could get crazy real fast!

Where did the term "souped up" originate?

If one were to get technical, a motor should only apply to an electric motor. An engine refers to something with pistons i.e. two and four stroke engines. This thread could get crazy real fast!

Where did the term "souped up" originate?

Had to look that one up. Interesting.http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/souped-up

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