4 ms·

That's why it was mind blowing for me (Europoor) to see hot rods and things like that on public roads in the US. There truly is more freedom in the US than the

That's why it was mind blowing for me (Europoor) to see hot rods and things like that on public roads in the US. There truly is more freedom in the US than there is in Europe in that context.

morsch 2y ago
Land of the free, home of the noise pollution
- bigfudge 2y ago
  And pedestrian fatalaities. Although to be fair the autobahn is more fun than the highway.
sandworm101 2y ago
Hotrods are dissappearing quickly. They cost too much. They are a pain to insure and have very low resale potential. As the culture changes, cars are moving from personal expressions to comodified fashion statements. It is rare now to even see a repaint driving on the road, let alone major engine mods. Hotrods are now just expensive weekend toys alongside boats. The market for RV mods probably now double the north american market for car mods.
- more_corn 2y ago
  Not sure where you’re getting your information. There is a huge market for classic cars. Ever heard of Concours? Most of that crowd like to keep them stock, but there are tons of sub-genres like drift kids and Stance nation to name a few weird ones. Hotrodding is alive and well. There are car shows in most major us cities featuring hundreds of tricked out, restored and modified cars. The classic car market regularly appreciates. Just try to find an Alpha for a good price, or graph the price of a 1970 911 over the past 30 years. Also you can insure a classic for cheap since they see less road time, are garaged and generally well cared for. (see Hagerty) As for getting hotrods and restored classics on the road. California has half a dozen classic car rallies where roadworthy classics get out on the road for a couple days. I assure you the culture is alive and well.
  - mp05 2y ago
    A "hot rod" need not be a "classic car" and I'm sure that most Europeans don't know nor care about the nuance that we understand as Americans. They mean "that 5.0 Mustang doing burnouts at 2am" not a '32 Ford coupe.
  - sandworm101 2y ago
    Correct. It has moved from a home hobby to an elite show. The number of young (ie poor) people doing tuning up their own cars is practically zero. The average young driver cannot change a tire, and I'd bet that half those under 30 have never even popped their hood let alone modded anything. Hotrodding is now all rich people "getting stuff done" by shops, always on their second or third car. The closest we see on the street is the occasional muffler mod, usually only installed as the cheaper option after the stock pipe has worn out.
    - juliusgeo 2y ago
      There are many young people (myself included, though not nearly as skilled as most) that are modifying their cars in pretty substantial ways. Just in my own friend group there are multiple under 30 with their primary car being a heavily modified sports car. I myself own 2 relatively old sports cars (90s Acura, and 00's Audi), both obviously in manual, both of which have had significant work done in my driveway. The way that I would frame it instead is that the concentration of interest has increased. Nowadays with social media, etc, there are infinite ways to learn about, do, and compare various modifications to cars. People who do not care about cars are now in a position where essentially zero knowledge is required to use them as a method to get from A-B. However, those who are interested in it for process of building itself still exist, and the resources are better than ever. For the time that I've been around, I've been seeing increasing, not decreasing, interest in older car platforms primarily for the reason that they are easier to work on compared to new cars.
- mp05 2y ago
  FWIW I haven't heard the word "hot rod" in a long time, so that could be some indicator. It's not to say that "nice cars" are disappearing though. When I was a literal child in rural Appalachia, the standard fare Dream Car was a Dodge Viper or a Corvette and I did indeed admire those cars. But tastes certainly change as you get older and while I still have a "nice car", it's of a different breed than the All-American Dream Car. I'd dare say that demographic died off and hasn't been replaced due to cultural and economic shifts. Also, the whirl of a turbo is a more appealing sound than the roar of a supercharged V8, to me anyways. Edit: and yeah those types of guys just drive a lifted diesel truck with giant wheels now. At least they can do work with them.
  - sandworm101 2y ago
    There has also been a disheartening shift with supercars that, imho, has damaged the industry. In the 90s, if you won the lottery you could buy a Lambo or a Ferrari and have one of the best cars on the planet. Become a top lawyer/doctor and and you could buy one too. Today, the elite cars require one to win the lottery multiple times. The market for cars worth 10m+ and even 20m+ has exploded since the 90s. Something like a Zonda now cost more than the flyaway price of a Learjet. Kids don't dream about great cars anymore because, short of marrying a world leader, there really is no possibility of attaining such things. They instead dream of tictok fame and one day owning their own house in the burbs.
- oceanplexian 2y ago
  Vintage hotrods might be dropping off but off-roading culture has exploded where I live and you’ll see heavily modified Trucks, Jeeps, 4runners, and Broncos on a daily basis. I think car culture just takes different forms (In the 70s and 80s it was American hot rods, the 90s and 00s JDM and Euro, 2010s and 20s it’s all about trucks and diesels).
andrepd 2y ago
There is freedom to run it in a track where the only person you can kill is yourself lol, definitely not on public roads where you can kill and maim other people (not to mention pollution, noise, etc). If feel rules about cars are such an obvious example of "your freedom to punch ends where my nose begins" that I'm not sure if the comment I'm replying to is satire x)

That's why it was mind blowing for me (Europoor) to see hot rods and things like that on public roads in the US. There truly is more freedom in the US than there is in Europe in that context.

morsch 2y ago

Land of the free, home of the noise pollution

bigfudge 2y ago
And pedestrian fatalaities. Although to be fair the autobahn is more fun than the highway.

sandworm101 2y ago

Hotrods are dissappearing quickly. They cost too much. They are a pain to insure and have very low resale potential. As the culture changes, cars are moving from personal expressions to comodified fashion statements. It is rare now to even see a repaint driving on the road, let alone major engine mods. Hotrods are now just expensive weekend toys alongside boats. The market for RV mods probably now double the north american market for car mods.

more_corn 2y ago
Not sure where you’re getting your information. There is a huge market for classic cars. Ever heard of Concours? Most of that crowd like to keep them stock, but there are tons of sub-genres like drift kids and Stance nation to name a few weird ones. Hotrodding is alive and well. There are car shows in most major us cities featuring hundreds of tricked out, restored and modified cars. The classic car market regularly appreciates. Just try to find an Alpha for a good price, or graph the price of a 1970 911 over the past 30 years. Also you can insure a classic for cheap since they see less road time, are garaged and generally well cared for. (see Hagerty) As for getting hotrods and restored classics on the road. California has half a dozen classic car rallies where roadworthy classics get out on the road for a couple days. I assure you the culture is alive and well.
- mp05 2y ago
  A "hot rod" need not be a "classic car" and I'm sure that most Europeans don't know nor care about the nuance that we understand as Americans. They mean "that 5.0 Mustang doing burnouts at 2am" not a '32 Ford coupe.
- sandworm101 2y ago
  Correct. It has moved from a home hobby to an elite show. The number of young (ie poor) people doing tuning up their own cars is practically zero. The average young driver cannot change a tire, and I'd bet that half those under 30 have never even popped their hood let alone modded anything. Hotrodding is now all rich people "getting stuff done" by shops, always on their second or third car. The closest we see on the street is the occasional muffler mod, usually only installed as the cheaper option after the stock pipe has worn out.
  - juliusgeo 2y ago
    There are many young people (myself included, though not nearly as skilled as most) that are modifying their cars in pretty substantial ways. Just in my own friend group there are multiple under 30 with their primary car being a heavily modified sports car. I myself own 2 relatively old sports cars (90s Acura, and 00's Audi), both obviously in manual, both of which have had significant work done in my driveway. The way that I would frame it instead is that the concentration of interest has increased. Nowadays with social media, etc, there are infinite ways to learn about, do, and compare various modifications to cars. People who do not care about cars are now in a position where essentially zero knowledge is required to use them as a method to get from A-B. However, those who are interested in it for process of building itself still exist, and the resources are better than ever. For the time that I've been around, I've been seeing increasing, not decreasing, interest in older car platforms primarily for the reason that they are easier to work on compared to new cars.
mp05 2y ago
FWIW I haven't heard the word "hot rod" in a long time, so that could be some indicator. It's not to say that "nice cars" are disappearing though. When I was a literal child in rural Appalachia, the standard fare Dream Car was a Dodge Viper or a Corvette and I did indeed admire those cars. But tastes certainly change as you get older and while I still have a "nice car", it's of a different breed than the All-American Dream Car. I'd dare say that demographic died off and hasn't been replaced due to cultural and economic shifts. Also, the whirl of a turbo is a more appealing sound than the roar of a supercharged V8, to me anyways. Edit: and yeah those types of guys just drive a lifted diesel truck with giant wheels now. At least they can do work with them.
- sandworm101 2y ago
  There has also been a disheartening shift with supercars that, imho, has damaged the industry. In the 90s, if you won the lottery you could buy a Lambo or a Ferrari and have one of the best cars on the planet. Become a top lawyer/doctor and and you could buy one too. Today, the elite cars require one to win the lottery multiple times. The market for cars worth 10m+ and even 20m+ has exploded since the 90s. Something like a Zonda now cost more than the flyaway price of a Learjet. Kids don't dream about great cars anymore because, short of marrying a world leader, there really is no possibility of attaining such things. They instead dream of tictok fame and one day owning their own house in the burbs.
oceanplexian 2y ago
Vintage hotrods might be dropping off but off-roading culture has exploded where I live and you’ll see heavily modified Trucks, Jeeps, 4runners, and Broncos on a daily basis. I think car culture just takes different forms (In the 70s and 80s it was American hot rods, the 90s and 00s JDM and Euro, 2010s and 20s it’s all about trucks and diesels).

andrepd 2y ago

There is freedom to run it in a track where the only person you can kill is yourself lol, definitely not on public roads where you can kill and maim other people (not to mention pollution, noise, etc). If feel rules about cars are such an obvious example of "your freedom to punch ends where my nose begins" that I'm not sure if the comment I'm replying to is satire x)