MAGAZINE

OK, some of their products, no. But we can certify that, in recent recollection........

Magnum
Stockton Wheel
Auto Loc
Borgeson
Pete and Jakes
So Cal
Heidts
C.W. Moss
Bob Drake
Polyform
Coker
Vintage Air
United Speedometer
Egge Machine
Rodders Journal
Vern Tardel
Mooneyes
Air Ride Tech.
California Car Cover
Wescotts
Stinger
Gennie Shifter
Steele
South Coast Specialties
SAC
Patrick's

.........have all been patronized by us. There are quite a few additional advertisers that we use so automatically that it doesn't even jolt our memory when we do so.

It would be cool to think that hot rodders, who know TRUTH, hand-craft every little piece they need........tin smiths, fabricators, artisans....hell...MINERS!!!

"We'll smelt that shit, then forge our own axles so we don't have to spend any money with BIG BUSINESS."

Right. That'd happen.......

Right. That's the attitude (?)...........

Some of the younger guys may have to recycle some supplied parts, and may choose to do it that way, but everybody uses something that was bought. Something. It would be reactionary of the advertising culture think that pure-hearted and pure-headed traditional hot rod guys are not a significant market.

Foolishness.

**********

In a chat with Chuck, the Red Lion Racing guy, the other day, the subject came up of Detroit's prototype efforts that show up at the new car shows and - Golly! - are even getting built and sold.

We opined that Detroit was just using its' cleverness to steal consumers from the garage and wrecking yards (and from the 1-800 catalogue guys - see above) and tricking them into buying off the showroom floor instead of groveling with the parts and tools like most of us do. That will probably be successful to a degree and the trend probably should be measured (surely it has) by the rodding industry.

They've apparently got something that looks like a 37 Ford - what a choice. We hated them in our youth because they were the least of the lookers in the Ford 30's lineup, then they were all that was left to make a rod out of, and some guys did them with graphics and fashionable wheels, the magazines wrote them up and said "This is cool, because he used all our advertisers' parts" and a whole generation grew up thinking they looked cool.

Life imitating art. Ya gotta love it. I'd take one, too, I guess....like I'm immune? Guess we got used to them!

So they chose a 37 Ford look, one of em is doing a Chevy roundtruck look-alike, they did the Prowler (don't get me started), the Viper is real good, and...........and.........do you think they are noticing that money is spent by hot roddish guys......or guys who may become hot roddish guys when they get some money and time to spend it??????

Can you say MUSCLE CAR?

This is nothing new. Add the crushing programs, look at what they're doing under the guise of clean air', their own main nemesis, and there may not be anything left.

The only style of hot rod and custom entertainment that could survive would be our own.

The smoothie, billet, computerized version of rods and customs can be done better by the big boys, and the largest percentage of their aficionados don't want hands-on, anyway, so they won't have to aggravate with under-capitalized and sometimes unreliable rod builders; they'll go to the dealership, and they'll leave with a carbon fibre bodied replica (the same thing they were getting from the billet boys) and, Glory Be!!! A payment book.

I think I'll go out to the garage for a while....................

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