A
s automobiles
offered by the
major automakers began increasing performance, the lure of Hot
Rods began to wane. It
was no longer necessary to put a Cadillac
engine in aFord roadster to be fast. It was
now possible to buy a
muscle car that outperformed just about any
hot rod, with more passenger room, and without having to expend
the effort of building
and tuning the car
oneself. After the 1973
Oil Crisis, the public
called on automakers
to offer safety and fuel
efficiency over performance. The resulting
decrease in an average
car's performance led
to a resurgence of Hot
Rodding, although the
focus was on driving
Hot Rods over racing
so the term 'Street Rod'
was coined to denote a
vehicle manufactured
prior to 1949, often
with a more reliable
late model drivetrain.
Street Rodding as it
was now known was
a different phenomenon than Hot Rodding,
as Street Rodding was
mainly family oriented. National events
were hosted by the National Street Rod Asso-
36 driverlifestyle.com
ciation (NSRA), which
also stressed safety as
the NHRA did 20 y X\