Hot Rod Milestones - America's Coolest Coupes, Roadsters and Racers

By: Ken Gross, Robert Genat .

Hot rodding, at its core, has always been about speed. But the best examples of the breed have also been able to go fast with style, and often the styling cues — chopped tops, rakes, belly pans, etc. — are what make the speed possible. If a hot rodder builds a car that succeeds and looks good in the process, it's a sure bet that their efforts will be duplicated, in part or in whole, by future hot rodders.

That's what this book is about — cars that, by virtue of their performance and style, defined our view of what a traditional hot rod looks like today.

We picked 25 of the best and took an in-depth look at each one. Who built it, what did it win, who else owned it, and most important: what makes it significant? For example, look at the McGee '32 highboy, our cover car. This car was built nearly 60 years ago, but it was done so well that thousands of hot rodders still emulate its look and stance when they build a deuce, and the restored car is virtually priceless. We can't give you lessons in hot rod taste, but we can give you the history and show you the details that make this car — and 24 others — icons.

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