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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Tucsonan Artimus Gil has no problem driving a vehicle that looks like it came straight out of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” In fact, it is kind of his thing. Over the last decade, one of Gil’s primary rides ...

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 ...

Wikipedia defines a rat rod as "a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts. These parts can include ...

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.