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1960s Handbook - Hot Rod Culture

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The hot rod phenomenon exploded in popularity after World War II and came to define a generation while sowing the seeds for youth culture as we know it. After the war, used automobiles were cheap and plentiful and the returning servicemen were skilled enough to tailor these roadsters to drive with more power and speed and less weight. When the hot rods were finished, the cars were often raced -- in all their chopped-top, pinched-frame, dropped-axle glory-- on the flat dry lake beds around Los Angeles.

Interestingly, hot rod racing, along with rock and roll, exposed what was perceived to be the darker side of America's youths. Fears of juvenile delinquency grew as street racing -- dangerous and sometimes fatal -- caught on. There were also concerns about the new uniform of these hot rodders:

Leather jackets, blue jeans and T-shirts that had packs of cigarettes rolled into the sleeves. It was a look that defined the new youth culture -- embodying adolescent rebellion and giving off an anti-social, edgy air of insubordination. In an effort to gain some respectability, the National Hot Rod Association was formed in 1951.

Hot rodding in the U.S. reached its peak in the 1950s and early 1960s. It symbolized "cool" but eventually gave way to a different kind of counterculture. The hippies.

Posted by Carolyn Koo
October 23, 2008 12:22pm

Filed under: 1960s Handbook

Comments

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By Dry Manhattan on October 24, 2008 11:17 AM


.....Hi Carolyn....Great article, thanks for touching on this. Living in a California beach town, hot rods are very present even today, except now it's not "Rockabillies," "Hoods," "Greasers" or "Hippies," it's corporate CEOs and moms and dads! (Who are also often the "senior" surfers....) There are a surprisingly large number of hot rod street fairs and shows, and the culture supports several successful local businesses.

I hope the series throws us a few details at some point as to how Dick Whitman went from the hot rods "light bulb" to his own dealership, to where he is in advertising now. I've enjoyed the "trip to California," and hope we can see "Anna" and the West Coast again.

Thanks again for a great article.

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By kikkoman on October 24, 2008 3:40 PM

hotrodsurf.com. this episode was great. Don lokks as if he were on another planet!

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By Hapynzap on October 25, 2008 4:40 PM

Get real - what shot down the hot rods and brought on the hippies was - VIETNAM

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By mgn on August 24, 2009 6:03 PM

After the show was over and I waited and waited for Season Three, I wondered if Don wouldn't invest some of his $500,000 in the hot rods and the guys he met in California. It would be an excuse for him to head to California every so often and fill his need to escape. Apparently Betty is using some of the money to redecorate (hopefully that ugly kitchen).