American Icon - The Hot Rod

The introduction of the Ford Model T in 1908 and the seminal 1932 Ford V-8.

After the war, thousands of young men applied the mechanical skills they'd learned in the military toward going ever faster in their home-built cars.

As more and more people got into hot rods, entrepreneur Robert E Petersen launched Hot Rod Magazine in 1948, creating in the process the keystone publication for the culture.

With hot rodding exploding in popularity across the country thanks to Hot Rod Magazine, drag racing became the easiest way for people without access to Southern California's unique geography and climate to run their cars.

Led by Wally Parks, hot rodders began to trek to a remote corner of northwest Utah in 1949 to take advantage of the miles of salt flats that were an even better venue for high-speed runs than the dry lakebeds.

The speed equipment industry started off as an amateur pursuit, but today it's a multibillion-dollar business.

As the culture grew, the look of the car became as important as the performance, which gave rise to the cruising culture of the 1950s.

Hot rodding technological and cultural innovations including Tommy Ivo's four-engine dragster and the creation of the Speed Equipment Manufacturer's Association.

Renowned hot rod patron Bruce Meyer helped revive interest in old cars by hiring celebrated builder Pete Chapouris to restore some of the finest hot rods ever built.

Alex Xydias closed the doors of the original So-Cal Speed Shop in 1961. But the shop reopened in the 90s with the restoration of the So-Cal Belly Tank.

As hot rod enthusiasts began to grow older and more affluent, they began to ask for different things from their cars, as raw power gave way to comfort and reliability.

For a culture that's been in existence since the 1930s, there are a surprising number of younger builders who revere the culture's past and are looking to make their own marks on hot rodding.

Trends like the comeback of hi-boy styling and nostalgia drag racing show that hot rodding's past remains powerfully evocative.