Hot rods and building hot rods became popular in the 1940s, these souped-up Ford Model T or Model A roadsters were built with emphasis on power and performance. Since the early days the Hot Rod has also become a social statement of individuality.

The dry lakes of Southern California are generally considered the genesis of hot rodding. Mechanics became hot rod racer as the competition consisted of straight-line courses charted out on the flat desert floor. By the latter part of the mid-50s, competition both in hot rodding and customizing had grown so keen that hot rods led charmed lives,  seen only at the race tracks or expos.

The 60s heralded the coming of the muscle car, American auto makers took a shot at performance hot rodding in the form of plain looking automobiles stuffed with huge displacement engines. Early 70s gas shortages killed V8. Today hot rodding is BIG BUSINESS and popular as ever thanks to the many baby boomers and their nostalgic ways.