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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

A 1948 Ford Rat Rod Fusion... Jay Leno, renowned for his extensive automobile collection and vast driving experiences, is no stranger to rare and unique vehicles. Yet, even he was left astounded by ...

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 ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Feb. 14—DICKINSON, N.D. — The world of rat rods, once dismissed as little more than heaps of scrap metal, has captured the hearts ...

Roger Rentola and Bryan Dagel don't worry about waxing their quirky vintage vehicles. They are, after all, rat rods. Unlike their more polished cousins in the antique and street rod family of older ...

When William "Kid Billy" O'Brian started collecting castaway speed parts for a budget-build 1929 Dodge, he never imagined that rat rods would become such a sensation. O'Brian just wanted to put ...

Rat rods aren’t anyone’s idea of typical cars. T.J. Lutkins, 46, of St. Clair Shores, said his 1950 Ford Custom, “affectionately known as a Shoebox by car afficionados,” might even be too ratty for ...

Regardless of being admired or mocked, rat rods are a work of personalization. They harbor innovation instead of conformity, functionality instead of precision, and enthusiasm instead of refinement.

They say life is an experience, each one of which makes us bigger. Ford Motors' legacy is a true testament to this quote. With a history that dates back 119 years, only a handful of competitors enjoy ...