The phrase is a spin-off of "rat bike," which was in reference to custom motorcycles built on the cheap. The late Gray Baskerville, venerated hot rod writer, is said to have been the first to apply ...

We start our rat rod truck adventure in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where our man Jesse Kiser attended the Heavy Rebel Weekender rockabilly music festival and car show, a hardcore Mecca for ...

Anyone who is at least passingly familiar with custom cars has probably at least heard of the concept of a hot rod. A hot rod is, of course, a custom car designed with the express purpose of going as ...

Hot Wheels took its annual Legends Tour to Detroit, a city with one of America’s most vibrant car cultures, and the results didn’t disappoint. The winner is a 1931 Dodge Rat Rod built by three members ...

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Joe Kozuszek of Belleville admires the interior of an entry in Saturday’s Rat Rod Show in Grafton. Six-year-old Ethan Hosto of Worden gets a closer look at a “rat” on a rat rod at Saturday’s show in ...

In the world of custom builds, rat rods are a special breed. Ugly enough to be unstoppable head turners, these machines are if you like the ultimate sleepers, sending all the wrong messages to the ...

Rat rods originated as a counter-reaction to the shiny, custom-built hot rods that focused on looks rather than power. Many viewed them as expensive rolling decorations compared to the hot rods of the ...

Tucsonan Artimus Gil has no problem driving a vehicle that looks like it came straight out of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” In fact, it is kind of his thing. Over the last decade, one of Gil’s primary rides ...