The future of hot rodding/American Muscle

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boz Mon
  • 22 comments
  • 1,394 views
Boz Mon

Boz Mon

Messages
1,478
I was raised with American muscle cars around me always. A common phrase around our house is "theres no replacement for displacement." And when we go to car shows, if theres a "tuner" section we skip it because those aren't "real" cars. So I guess what I'm trying to get at is, what happens when the "tuner" kids are older? You can't make a hotrod, rat rod, or street rod out of a Honda Civic no matter how you try. That goes for pretty much any new car today. They all look the same with the exception of higher class cars and sports cars. What is the future of hot rodding? Is American muscle going to become extinct? What happens when there are no more hot rodders around? Will hot rodding become a thing of the past? Or will it be forgotten all together? I don't know about you guys but when I go to a carshow, I would rather see this:


Than this:


I guess this might be irony against me because I drive a Prelude. But it isn't modified or tweaked in any aftermarket way.
Discuss.
 
I guess an Important part of the tuner culture is the age. Most kids grow out of it. I used to be hardcore into tuner cars, I thought The Fast and teh Furious was the coolest movie ever. Now my tastes have moved over to the original Gumball Rally movie.

I have to agree with you, you would never see a rattrod civic. Then again I'm pretty sure you'd never see extra spicy ice cream. The the Tuner Culture isn't about the same ideas.
 
First of all your sig is exactly the definition mine, thats really funny.👍

I realize the age thing but what happens far down the road when all of the now 40-50 year old hot rod guys aren't around anymore? Does everything just die with them or what?

BTW, I think I outdid myself with this thread. I might have bitten off more than I can chew.
 
That was the idea...

The question is simple, but hard to answer. The tuner buzz could just be a fad, but I figure there will always be kids, and they need loud flashy cars. Hell, mine is hardly quiet, my ears hurt if I have to drive the damn thing longer than 5 minutes, (and I'm NOT talking about speakers).

And, to be fair, some people never grow out of it. I'm sure there will always be people around to apreciate the Paul Walker-mobile.
 
Well, a lot of it stems from the fact that bigger doesn't always mean faster anymore. Most modifications today are focused on efficiency and squeezing performance out of everyday comfort. 'Rodding was about power and speed, but a lack of that certain level of comfort and pragmatism is just not convenient for today's general scene.
 
This is what would happen:

713458_11_full.jpg


713458_6_full.jpg


713458_10_full.jpg


713458_18_full.jpg


The infamous 'Ovakil' Magna; tuner + Hot-rod.
 
whoever thinks that only detroit muscle can be hotrodded is an idiot.

hot rodding is hot rodding, regardless of the origin of the vehicle. and a true car fan can appreciate the work that goes into making a custom car.

id love to see kia or hyundai come up with a sexy 2 door V8 rear wheel drive concept. then make it. and see all the complaining about how its not really a muscle/ pony car. and what is, a V8 fwd impala?
 
Well crash regs have pretty much pushed car styling to ****....

I say if it doesn't have chrome bumpers then you can't hot rod it....

I think we will see more and more of repro classic car bodies creating fresh material for young rodders even if Detroit doesn't. Like the Dynacorn crate Camaros (and trucks....and Mustang fastbacks too soon). http://www.dynacornclassicbodies.com/models.html

Not to mention all the fiberglass and steel T bucket and 32 Ford bodies you can get.
 
what makes a hot roder a hot rodderr isnt just the car, its the reputation

if someone says honda, hyundai, toyota, ect. people think rice burner with a high pitched engine, however if you say hot rodder people think pop your ears loud, 8 mi. to the gallon 70's muscle cars that have a blower towering out of the hood
 
Rat rods are everywhere: it's your average meathead with an overly loud exhaust. "Modern" hot rods are just as rare as "classic" hot rods; those few with noticeable performance get lost among those with more show than go. The game is the same, but the raw materials are different. Narrowing the definition of what consists a "hot rod" is the same as narrowing your view on anything else.
 
farmboy09
what makes a hot roder a hot rodderr isnt just the car, its the reputation
if you say hot rodder people think pop your ears loud, 8 mi. to the gallon 70's muscle cars that have a blower towering out of the hood
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you on this on. I don't think that anyone can make a big, v-8 powered rear wheel drive car and call it a hotrod/muscle car. You need the reputation to back it up. "Modern" hot rodding may be all about efficiency and squeezing as much power out of a small engine, but the real hot rodders, I think, don't car about that. They want a fast car that looks cool for weekend cruising. Getting 8mpg is irrelevant to them.
 
Boz Mon
So I guess what I'm trying to get at is, what happens when the "tuner" kids are older? You can't make a hotrod, rat rod, or street rod out of a Honda Civic no matter how you try. That goes for pretty much any new car today. They all look the same with the exception of higher class cars and sports cars. What is the future of hot rodding? Is American muscle going to become extinct? What happens when there are no more hot rodders around? Will hot rodding become a thing of the past? Or will it be forgotten all together?
Click to expand...

The 'tuner kids' you talk about are exactly the same kind of people who brought hot rodding into mainstream culture in the 40s and 50s. The only difference is which cars they start with. They are literally the future of hot rodding.

In the '40s and '50s, a lot young people took old, unremarkable cars and made them fast, cool looking or both. The spirit of hot rodding was that you started with an old heap or a boring family car and turned it into something special, usually with hard work and very little money.

There is not much difference between the 'tuner kid' today and the baby boomer hot rodders from the 50s. The only real difference is what cars are popular to do it with.

The real irony is that when the baby boomers started doing this, they were in a fringe sub-culture. I'm sure they were looked down upon by the then-establishment of Cadillac, Buick, etc. owners. Now they are the establishment. When the 'tuner kids' grow up, THEY will become the establishment. In 30-40 years, when the former kids grow up, have children (and grandchildren), you'll be just as likely to see a custom Civic hatch at a show as you will a '46 Ford Coupe.

..and in 2036 the grown up tuner grand daddies will sit around and speak poorly of the 18-19 year olds hot rodding their fashionable Chinese or Indian or Russian electric-hydrogen-cold fusion cars and say something along the lines of ".. those dumb kids, hot rods are supposed to be Japanese. I don't care what you do to a peice of junk Chery, it's never going to be a Skyline." :lol:


M
 
///M-Spec
The real irony is that when the baby boomers started doing this, they were in a fringe sub-culture. I'm sure they were looked down upon by the then-establishment of Cadillac, Buick, etc. owners. Now they are the establishment. When the 'tuner kids' grow up, THEY will become the establishment. In 30-40 years, when the former kids grow up, have children (and grandchildren), you'll be just as likely to see a custom Civic hatch at a show as you will a '46 Ford Coupe.

..and in 2036 the grown up tuner grand daddies will sit around and speak poorly of the 18-19 year olds hot rodding their fashionable Chinese or Indian or Russian electric-hydrogen-cold fusion cars and say something along the lines of ".. those dumb kids, hot rods are supposed to be Japanese. I don't care what you do to a peice of junk Chery, it's never going to be a Skyline." :lol:


M
Click to expand...

:(

...because I know ///M-Spec is right...
 
///M-Spec took care of it.
perhaps the term hotrod will be lost somewhat, but maybe the term tuner will take over. either way, same end result like he said.
hotrods aren't my cup of tea, but if they respect my automotive choices, then i can respect theirs.
 
:( Aww.. Can I please have an EK civic with finned drums, Torq-Thrusts, and some bellflower tips? Please!? I promise I'll have the decency to lace the paint on the roof....

The thing that makes me sad is, M Spec may be right.. Our Generation will be thinking 40 years from now "damn kids and their flux capacitor hydrogen cells.. They should at least use a Turbonator." :p

:D
 
Look at car culture today. You decide yourself how you want to do it. We've got lowriders, tuners, sleepers, retarded ricer-vans, hot rods, and much more. Hot rodding will never die. it will evolve, but never die.
 
But what about the show: American Hot rod. They still make "old school" hot rods. Floyd Boyd (or what's his name) still has a good hot rod shop.
 
kikie
But what about the show: American Hot rod. They still make "old school" hot rods. Floyd Boyd (or what's his name) still has a good hot rod shop.
Click to expand...

Not-- Boyd Coddington is a loser.
 
Traditional hot rods dying?

Well, let's take a look at what this supposed "counter culture" is, shall we?

Many today choose the Honda Civic. Compact car. Cheap, popular, easy to modify.

back in the '50s, it was the Model "B" Ford. Compact car. Cheap, Popular, easy to modify.

You had the same things. Lowering of center of gravity. (today, springs and 'bags. then, Chopping and channeling.) Big, serious rubber. (Today, either lightweight alloys or ugly DUBs, then, Cheater slicks) Lots going on under the hood. (Today and then, Engine swaps, tuner {"hot rod"} parts) Lightening and "aerodynamics" (then, take all the fenders off. Now, Carbon Body kits)

Now, the things that have changed: Technology

now, you can get a ton of power out of an I-4, using today's Electronic Fuel injection (started with MFI in the '50s) with a big turbo (from '40s aircraft, to '50s locomotives, to '60s cars) and new materials. ('80s motorsport research) Don't forget the Engine Computer! ('80s) and that Stereo (Started in '50s, then 8-track in '60s and '70s, cassette in '80s, and C.D. in '90s, the big, powerful systems with DVD and MP3 in the '00s)

With new technology also comes new ways of making things. Tires, for example. a sports tire of today will get a better launch off the line than those bias-ply "Cheaters." These tires also handle far better laterally, even than sprots car tires of the day. Wheels are lighter, too. the lightest you got in the '50s was a wire wheel, or maybe a super-expensive magnesium wheel, if you got lucky. Now, we have far stronger, lighter forged aluminum (and Magneseum) alloy wheels. There's also the CNC machines which make those big, chrome DUBs out of a block of aluminum. Tire technonlogy allows the manufacture of the absurdly narrow tires that go around these things...try doing that with '50s Bias Ply technology!

The spirit is the same. We want a fast, loud car that gets everyone's attention, especially that of the opposite sex. That's what our fathers and grandfathers were after. That's what we're after. and that's what the tuners of the future are after.

Hot rodding is not dead. It's just changed. Whether that's for the better or worse is up to you.

((Footnote: I also heard mention of "Ricer vans," Which are basically an extension of the "Vanning" craze of the '70s. My boss is a Van guy.))
 
I don't think it's fair to say that being loud and getting attention are major goals of the tuning market. True, "ricers" tend to follow that ideal, but I certainly don't, and neither do many of the drivers I run with in the canyons and at the track.

As for modern "Rat-Rods", by the way, there are certainly an equivelant. I've always thought that the usual black-primered trackday or drift car is exactly a modern equivelant of the mythical Rat-rod. Many even add the typical red wheels that Rat-rods were so known for.
 
It's this simple:

It's all a hobby and a form or expression. If a no-nonsense racer with a track tuned suspension and a nice motor that isn't a looker is your cup of tea, then that's cool. If one likes long, late 50s full sized sedans scraping the ground with wild paintjobs, that's cool too.

Sure, paint's expensive. If one races their car with the risk of chipping the paint often, then why spend the money and time in the first place?

Hot Rodding won't die, but it has certainly changed. Due to unibody construction, our odds of seeing chops and sections is very slim. But, today's cars aren't nearly as tall as the Model A's, T's, B's, and Hudson Essexes, etc. were. Today's builders can get really crazy with things. But, the lack of a separate frame has caused many of them to focus on doors and panel work, as opposed to splicing together an Edsel and a model T. It would have been really hard for Ed Roth to have built "Mysterion" with two Honda engines going to the front wheels. Then again, The Amuse Carbon R would look funny with velocity stacks sticking out of the hood, sitting on Radirs.
 

Latest Posts

Back