Can They Outlaw Hot Rodding?

Can They Outlaw Hot Rodding?
From the December, 2010 issue of Hot Rod
By Drew Hardin


We may not want to admit it, but hot rodding has a long history of running afoul of the law. Making a car go faster or radically altering its appearance just doesn't sit well with The Man. It's been that way since rodding's first big growth spurt following World War II, when the common perception was that rodders were outlaws blatantly ignoring traffic laws in fast, noisy jalopies. The reality then, as now, is that few rodders actually lived the thug life, but it didn't appear that way when local newspapers exploited the tragedy of street racing fatalities with lurid front-page headlines and grim accident-scene photos. In fact, one of the reasons this magazine was founded was to burnish the already tarnished reputation of the men who hopped up cars.

Since then, rodders have had to bear the brunt of what often seem to be punitive vehicle codes. But we're not alone in this. Vehicle manufacturers have also historically felt government heat, from the emissions and insurance regulations that emasculated muscle cars in the early '70s to the ever-growing list of safety and emissions standards that today's cars have to meet.

A lot has changed in the years since those early gow jobs shot rooster tails of dust across the dry lakes. For the most part, hot rodding-and general tinkering around with cars, be they rods, customs, sports cars, 4x4s, you name it-has become a family-friendly hobby. It's also a $32 billion contributor to our nation's economy annually, thanks to all the parts and services purchased for those hobby cars. Yet car enthusiasts of all stripes are still under attack. As cars-and society-have become more complex, so have the laws that govern them. And we're not just talking about the regulatory standards faced by carmakers. Individual hobbyists can, unknowingly, break the law simply by parking a project car in their own backyard. A muffler that's legal for street use in one city could be illegally loud in another. And one man's wheeled treasure may be deemed a "clunker" by a politician eager to prop up his environmental cred by sending a perfectly fine vehicle to the crusher.

We are not paranoid. The threat to our automotive lifestyle is real, and it continues to change and evolve as automobiles are portrayed as the root cause of problems ranging from global warming to natural resource depletion.

This story is a modern update...

The good news? Knowledge, as always, is power. Knowing what you're up against and who can help you in the fight to keep fun cars fun, is everything. We're here to help you gain that knowledge. What follows are some of the major legal and political issues automotive hobbyists face today, as well as some of the assets at your disposal to fight for our hobby. They've tried to outlaw hot rodding, and they haven't beaten us yet. Let's keep it that way.