HOT ROD Magazine Editor, Publisher, Group President John Dianna Has Died
From a kid in the San Fernando Valley and then making the cover of the April 1968 cover of HOT ROD at 25 years old, to the head of HOT ROD’s Automotive Group, John Joseph Dianna was the classic...
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The HOT ROD Magazine Championship Drag Races
Decades before Drag Week, HOT ROD Magazine presented its own annual drag race known as the HOT ROD Magazine Championship Drag Races. From 1964 to 1969 HOT ROD’s yearly meltdown was on par with NHRA’s...
View ArticleGM’s Most Innovative Production Car—Ever
Though never considered a performance car and diluted by the many spectacular cars coming out of Detroit in the mid-1960s, the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado took the biggest leap from both an engineering...
View ArticleMagical, Mythical, and Mindless SEMA Shows From the Recent Past. #TENSEMA16
We’re getting warmed up for another trek to Las Vegas for the aftermarket’s Super Bowl, the 2016 SEMA Show. The only thing to surely expect at the SEMA Show is the unexpected. We thought it would be...
View Article100 Photos: Breakage and Beauty in Bakersfield at the 2016 Hot Rod Reunion
For the 25th NHRA Hot Rod Reunion we’re seeing a swell of participants and spectators for what should be an historic reunion of old and new warriors of the infamous Famoso strip, just outside of Bako....
View Article2016 Hot Rod Reunion Cacklefest – All of the Cackle Cars and More
When drag racing is over for Saturday at Famoso, outside of Bakersfield, and the sun has set, that’s when the Cackle cars come out at the Hot Rod Reunion. For the 25th anniversary of the event that...
View ArticleGasser Wars: Big John Mazmanian and Stone, Woods and Cook
Gone Gassers Still resonating with hot rod and drag-racing enthusiasts more than 40 years after the category was eliminated from competition, the Gasser classes continue inspiring builders to recreate...
View ArticleWow! Chevy Just Announced Connect & Cruise Combos For Old School Small- and...
Something many of us have waited for to make engine swaps more hassle-free, Chevy announced at the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas their new Connect & Cruise Powertrain lineup for 2017. Now you can get...
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GALLERY: Freaks, Failures, and Fantastical Finds at the 2016 SEMA Show PART I...
We told you the SEMA Show, Las Vegas’ biggest show of the year, is full of fun and misadventure. There are some really great builds and new components filling the Vegas Convention halls from one end to...
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Chevy Lifts The Veil On The 2017 COPO Camaro At #TENSEMA16
For 2017 Chevy wants to enhance their factory-built Camaro racecars for NHRA’s Stock Eliminator classes. Chevy unveiled the 2017 COPO Camaro with a few added surprises at the 2016 SEMA Show in Las...
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GALLERY: The Best OG Builds at 2016 SEMA Show #TENSEMA16
If you’re looking for some of the best, new pre-1972 builds, the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas is where to find them. Builders from all over the US and Canada have converged on Vegas with some new and...
View ArticleGALLERY: Freaks and Crazy Creations 2016 SEMA Show PART II #TENSEMA16
We’ve canvassed the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas and uncovered some fantastical creations beyond those from our first freaks post. You didn’t see Freaks Part I? Not all of the examples in this batch are...
View ArticleGALLERY: 2016 SEMA Show Muscle Car Mania #TENSEMA16
The mainstay of the SEMA Show has always been Muscle Cars. We have scoured the 2016 Show to bring you a gang of traditional and techie Muscle Car builds. LS/5.7-6.4 Hemi/Mod Motor/Coyote swaps are all...
View ArticleWATCH: Drifting For Dimwits at 2016 SEMA Show #TENSEMA16
Some of us dismiss drifting as figure skating, with cars instead of skates. Sure, it looks like fun, but so is drinking beer, and there aren’t serious competitions for that, right? There doesn’t seem...
View ArticleWhat Killed the Sportsroof?
Why did Ford kill one of its best-looking models of the 1970s—the Ford Torino Sportsroof Fastback—after only two years? It’s amazing to envision all of the tooling and manufacturing complexity, the...
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New Book On the Life of HOT ROD Magazine’s Tom Medley
The expanse of racing and modified cars was built upon the shoulders of giants. So, too, was HOT ROD. Within that world of stories and information founded by Robert Petersen was a unique character that...
View ArticleSelling the American Muscle Car
Holiday Gift: Selling the American Muscle Car by Diego Rosenberg We all know the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” mantra of the Detroit car manufacturers, but what makes Diego’s book “Selling the...
View ArticleFreak Day Friday: Homemade Jeep
Everyone loves Jeeps. If you live somewhere in the world that doesn’t have them, or you can’t afford to own one, then crafty hot rodders will make their own, as we see here. The post Freak Day Friday:...
View ArticleThrowback Tuesday: The Nibbler II Top Fuel Dragster
1964 Out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the crew for the Nibbler II Top Fuel Dragster, waiting for tech inspection at the 1964 NHRA Nationals at Indy. The post Throwback Tuesday: The Nibbler II Top Fuel...
View ArticleWhy the Rare Willys Is the Go-To Gasser
Fords are the most popular early hot rods for the simple reason they made gazillions of them, which made parts plentiful and cars cheap. That’s the hot rod way of doing things. Which makes the...
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