Current Hot Rod / Street Rod trends

[Brian Austin]

 

 

(Courtesy November, 1973 issue of Hot Rod.)

Edited June 7, 2020 by Brian Austin

[Richard Bartrop]

Proof that they weren't all winners back than either.

There's not a lot of love for the custom parts AMT put in their kits back in the '70s, and often with good reason, then that was how people built hot rods back then.

[Jon Haigwood]

17 hours ago, Brian Austin said:

 

 

(Courtesy November, 1973 issue of Hot Rod.)

Funny, the first word that comes to mind is "Jalopy"

[Snake45]

18 hours ago, Brian Austin said:

 

 

(Courtesy November, 1973 issue of Hot Rod.)

Nothing wrong with that car that a couple afternoons and a case or two of rattlecan primer couldn't fix! 

[stavanzer]

Yet, I really Like that paint, and that car. That '29 A-Model would gather a crowd today, at any show.

Much of the Modern Trends, leave me cold. I never liked Billet, and Rat Rods went from 'Interesting Save' to 'Unsafe Junk' in about three Nano-Seconds. So, Much of this comes Taste, and more importantly, "Taste-Makers". Trendsetters, like Coddington, and Foose, and earlier names like Barris and Winfield, expand to take up much of the space in Rodding, and the whole thing turns into "Monkey-See, Monkey-Do". People Copy what the press pushes, and what they see, always trying to be seen as "Cool", going up the Edge, but never Over The Edge. Over The Edge is NOT Cool, and very few want to be there. Thus the Eighty Million copies of the Doane Spencer Roadster. Cool, but the Definition of Cool. Not too far over the edge of Cool.

The problem is that the Edge of Cool, moves. Thus, conversations like this one. "Where is the Edge of Cool?" What is 'Too Far', over the edge? What is "Just Wrong?  For instance the Two-Tone, Posies-Style rods look so incredibly dated now, yet they were the Coolest Thing, at one time. Monochrome, Pastel Rods were also the King at one time. Now, I doubt if you can find 'any' Single Colour, Pastel Street Rods left. Their day in the sun has come & gone. Yet, other styles linger on, never fully fading away. "Traditional", while being somewhat flexible in definition, has a set "Look", and  while the parameters shift somewhat, almost every body can agree that a specific Hotrod is 'traditional' or 'not traditional'.

[OldNYJim]

Well, it’s been 5 years…any new trends yet? 😂

 

[OldNYJim]

On 5/25/2020 at 8:16 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Look over the past few year's entries in the Grand National Roadster Show for a good idea of what's hot in rods, especially the contenders for America's Most Beautiful Roadster.

Straight 'traditional' cars were on top for a while, but more modern flavoring has been creeping in.

Here are the 2019 cars to get you started...

https://www.classicarnews.com/2019/01/26/americas-most-beautiful-roadster-2/   ...

 

6 years on…the 2025 winner

😂😂