Hot Rod Mag Top 100 Hot Rods Of All Time Article

Latest issue of Hot Rod has their opinion of the most influential 100 cars/Hot Rods of all time. I thought overall it was pretty accurate.

American Graffiti coupe came in 2nd place. Saw another thread on this site hammering Barris but he had numerous cars in the top 100-some I even forgot about.

The #1 car? General Lee 69 Charger.

 

Sweet
Dave

 

the black 55 chevy from two lane black top is my all time fave , its also the same black 55 in american graffitti ..wtf you guys already know that

 

Most recognizable- Maybe. Influential- NO WAY!

 

Gotta agree with that for sure..
I havn't seen the article myself so i have no idea what other car's were mentioned, but this one surprises me as being the first..even if as i kid i did want one of my own

 

Oughtta, shoulda be two lists.

General public (Batmobile, General Lee, any of Dale Earnhardt's cars, etc.....)

&

Car minded folks (Pierson Bros Coupe, Hirohata Merc, Scott Sullivan's '55 Chevy, etc...)

 

On the Andy Griffith Show, this guy was a bad ***.

 

I dont know them duke boys sure couldnt tear that car up! What number was Christine? You could watch her transform back before your eyes!

 

i agree with the General Lee choice as most influential hot rod. Reason being is that it caught the eye (that's the influence) of more people than most the cars we think are great in our little circle. TV has a funny way of influencing americans overall...

For me TV gave me car influence. As a kid, it was all about evel kneivel vehicles, the Munsters car, Batmobile, and most of all the General Lee.

-scott noteboom

 

I guess I am anxiously waiting for the mailman to finish reading my copy...

 

Every time I see a whip antenna, push bar or a guy getting out of his car through the window at a car show I realize how INFLUENTIAL the General Lee was!!!

I was a kid hooked on that show like kiddy crack- but number one? Only a Mopar nut could come to that conclusion.

Also where would the sport of "Down Bridge Jumping" be without the Duke influence??? Maybe they started the whole police chase phenomenon?

 

I must be looking at the wrong issue. I'm looking at the dec.2007 issue. This issue they have the 10 top speed parts of all time, the top ten cars of 2007 chosen by the Hot Rod staff and the hot rod of the year, which is '69 Plymouth Barracuda(Blowfish).

Have to dig out my Nov. 07 issue. Never had time to read it. Maybe that one?

 

Hit the nail on the head......great response.

The GL is arguably the most copied/cloned car.........being a Charger owner, I hear it all the time... "Hey man, you should paint it orange with an 01 on the sides!"

 

I think Barris had the most cars on the list. Aka Kart, Batmobile, Hirohota Merc, Munster's Koach, "The Car" many other customs. I think Roth had 2-3 cars on the list.

I don't remember seeing the SWC Willy's on the list but don't have it in front of me so it may be on it.

I really liked how the article put the reasons for making the list under each car. If someone told me the General Lee made #1 spot I would wonder why until I read the reason.

 

It's the January issue

I also wonder why they did not include Steve McQueens Bullit Mustang? Probably one of the most influential cars a**** the Mustang /Ford crowd.

They did include Eleanor from the latest remake of Gone in 60 Seconds.

 

The General Lee was an influential car for many younger car guys....but it isn't a hot rod. It was a movie prop, similiar to Christine, the Smoky and the Bandit Firebird, etc., etc.
These cars did get a lot of guys into cars, which is great, but I do wish the list was more exclusive to real hot rods.
Someone else mentioned it earlier, but a list of the most "influential hot rods" and another list of "influential cars" would have been better.
I haven't seen this issue yet, but I can't imagine mixing the likes of a Doane Spencer roadster, the Grabowski or Ivo "T", or a Pierson Brothers coupe with the General Lee or the Monkee Mobile.
Separate lists would have been better (in separate magazine issues).
It's an oxy***** with way too much *****.

 

Sullivans 55 is definitely a top 10 maybe even a top 5 to me, as well as his 57. I am as big a dukes fan as any body was but I do not see it as a number 1. It deserves its spot, but not number 01!

 

Oughtta, shoulda be two lists.

General public (Batmobile, General Lee, any of Dale Earnhardt's cars, etc.....)

&

Car minded folks (Pierson Bros Coupe, Hirohata Merc, Scott Sullivan's '55 Chevy, etc...)

I couldn't agree more. But I am hoping the Starsky & Hutch Torino makes the list for selfish reasons... I own one of the 1000 S&H Torinos Ford built in 1976. (Certainly not a 'Hot Rod' with the 351W, 2 bbl carb, and automatic - but it probably gets more attention than any car I've ever driven).

 

Was at a car show in Branson, MO this summer. There were at least 3 copies of the General Lee there. They took people for rides in them.

 

This is such a good idea that you should suggest it to HRM as a future article.

Speaking from my time with Hot Wheels, I ran into this all the time. Popular choices like the Batmobile, Dukes, MonkeeMobile were NEVER my picks; while stuff like Metranga, Pierson, Schenck were extremely difficult to sell to the marketing guys (well, I got 1 out of 3).

The ONE exception -- popular car that I liked too -- was Grabowski's car. It was too complex to make as a Hot Wheels, unfortunately.

I think what distinguishes the Kookie Kar was that Normie built it as a driver/show car FIRST, an expression of his personal originality and style, and it became a movie car second -- as distinct from the **** that was built specifically for showbiz exposure.

 

The number of clones is what determines INFLUENTIAL? Then look at the number of T-Buckets built since 1955- Or '32 Coupes since American Graffitti. Sorry those are not close minded EXACT clones like the General Lee, but I still fail to see any "influence" on the "general" world of hot rodding.
I went to EVERY Goodguys show for 3 years and don't remember seeing ONE General Lee clone- or even more than a couple Chargers total- So is it just "influential" a**** Mopar fans in the Southeast reagion of the USA - or the entire world of Hot Rodding?
Anyone offering General Lee reproduction bodies or kits like the "Kookie T" kits that sold thousands?

 

Did I SAY that???? Nope......clones doesn't = influential.....just agreeing with notebooms, and saying that I'd be willing to bet that there are more GL's than any other car cloned......And I for one can't stand 'em.....

Reproduction bodies???? Nope....and I'll also bet that all the "Kookie T" kits sold were NOT built as EXACT copies of the original.......

Now, there are a few companies that WILL build you a GL.......admit it, you want one....hahaha!

na na naa naa naa na na naa na na naaaaaa........yee haw.......

 

Where did Herbie or the Scooby-Doo van rank? Must have made Top 10!

 

Came across this:

http://www.roadsters.com/deuce/#Deuces

 

O.k. being it's the Jan. issue explains why I don't remember it. I must have a mailman like AnimalAin. I hope he finish reading it pretty soon. You guys are making me want to read and see it for myself.

 

can i take second of yalls time to say "**** THE GENERAL LEE" and yes thats comin from a southener!

 

You guys have forgotten of one of the best of all tim was the A-team van those guys where total customizers they made that van into anthing they wanted thats a hotrod!

 

LOL

 

If the top hotrod chosen by hotrod magazine, is the General Lee, it shows what has happened to the magazine. It certainly isn't the magazine that I remember, a magazine wirtten by hotrodders, for hotrodders.
This is plain embar***ing.
I haven't recieved my copy yet, but this is disappointing news. I am going to start fazing out my subscriptions and stay more with the internet.
Hotrod hasn't been my favorite for a while, so it will be the first to go.

 

This one was going to win- but they were worried about the "import" backlash.