Muscle Car
Muscle Car Talk: Do You Own A Hotrod, Ratrod Classic. Sir?
By Mark Weisseg
What is a hot rod today? Is it the rat rod with the blemishes or is it the clean hot rod as we knew them before rat rodding came of age?
Ideas change, people change and definitions change over time. So, what is the state of the union here? Maybe it is both. Maybe it is neither. Let’s discuss this in brief as there is an eventual point here.
If I have a ’69 Mustang Boss 302 is that a hot rod? Ok, so now I have thrown another wrench in the discussion but we better come up with some answers soon or we could get caught up in a war of words and nobody wins.
It used to be that if you had a car with a big engine, loud exhaust, and maybe some cool accessories you had a hot rod. Or, you had a bad neighbor who didn’t know when to give up on his Rambler.
I admit I am older than dirt at times and get lost in the definition wars but I bring this up for a very important reason. Insurance.
I had to get on a phone recently and explain to the other person what car I had. She said I have an old car. I agreed I have an old car but with a big engine and to me it is worth a lot of money. This is where I could hear the crickets.
My insurance costs are all over the board basically because someone somewhere decided what a hot rod is versus an antique. It had to be an insurance agent or a government employee because it is not correct. So, I am asking our readers to help figure out what is what. Now, in my state where I reside they consider any car 25 years or older to be an antique. I get that but, antique is very different in my mind versus a hot rod or a classic. Heck, I could have a 1994 Pontiac sedan and have it listed as an antique, therefore eliminating the state inspection laws and other items associated with a newer car. I heard this argument while in Viva Las Vegas last year as it relates to the smog tests out there. Smart folks are registering the older cars as antiques to bypass the law. Back in the Flintstone era, if a car got 100k on the odometer you were thinking of the bone yard soon. Today, I have a Caddy at 98k and it is no where near bone yard ready. That overpriced puny engine has at least 50k left for me to use. But this brings me full circle again to define what is a hot rod, what is a classic, what is a rat rod, and what is just an old car?
Nailing the right term might just cost you or save you when it comes to your insurance.
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