HOT ROD Top 100...............Pretty damn GOOD!

I just finished the new issue of Hot Rod 60th anniversary issue and their Top 100 list. I think they did really well.

My faves:

-95 Old Yeller I
-92 Larry Ernst's '51 Chevy
-89Jim Lytle's Allison-powered Tudor
-86 Gl*** Slipper
-85 Jungle Jim's Vega funny car
-82 Jack Chrisman's Tudor
-72&71 Rice and Thompson's slingshots
-67 Ram Chargers' '49 Plymouth
-66 Winged Express
-54 So-Cal Streamliner
-37 Larry Watson's T-Bird
-34 Andy's Instant T
-33 Norm's Kookie Kar
-30 R&C Dream Truck
-29 Baskerville's roadster
-28 Hirohata Merc (I'd have put it closer to the top)
-27 Doane Spencer's roadster (Also could have been higher)
-24 The Bug!
-22 Burke's Belly Tank
-18 The Bandit Trans-Am
-13 Little Red Wagon (Cooler than the Hirohata Merc?)
-9 Batmobile
-5 Garlits' first Rear-engine dragster
-2 Graffiti coupe (My #1)

The only only one I have a big question mark about is #1....The General Lee? It sure is cool, but number 1? Top ten definitely. Maybe even top 5.

Awesome job guys. I know how much work that was to compile. Thanks!

 

yeah i saw that too ,general lee number 1,wft

 

yeah, i think the list was 100 "most influential" hot rods. therefore, being that so many people's eyes were caught by the general lee yeee hawwwing all over the place, i can see their angle (I would dare name it as #1 myself though...)

-scott noteboom

 

I'm with you Kirk... I dunno, there must have been a DOH geek in the bunch?

 

I think Daisy had more to do with the popularity of the General Lee. Sould have had a pic of her leaning over it.

 

How about the mustang in the Bullit movie? That one was a real cool and fast car!

 

or you could read it as being the 100 most influential HOT RODS, in which case the orange car would not be in the running.

I think the problem is that DF is a youngster, and was at that influential age when the series was on TV....

 

How about pictures, you know so we can put a face to the name thing

 

go down to your local news stand and buy the magazine! the current issue of Hot Rod

 

You question the GL as being #1, yet you personnally rank the Graphitti Coupe at #1???? Why that car???? Because of it's good looks? hahahaha (it's ugly bro)...no, probably it's influence on you as a kid??? Yes??? If so, then think of the GL again in those terms....it (IMO) has influenced many more "car" guys than arguably any other car.....and I can't stand the GL. But I did watch the show every week when I was a kid....
The Bullit and Blade cars are so much cooler.....in my eyes.....

HOT ROD has a much WIDER audience than us trad guys, and it caters to it.....hence the list.....
I'm not much into lists.....
Wasn't this covered....oh, like a month ago?
Shouldn't someway say "do a search"?...oppps....just did......

Kirk.....don't take me too seriously man.....he he

 

It is great to see all of these major influence cars shown in one place. My #1 is **** Kraft's Bug-#24-now that is all out racing. My next would be a bike, not on list, (page 76)-the record breaking '46 Whizzer.
There are so many not on list that should have been, but it would take a whole magazine to list 'em all and still not be complete.
I have been impressed with recent issues of HOT ROD. They are definitely improving the content of the magazine (I do not work for them).

 

Good points and I thought about them as I was writing the original post. My take was cars that influenced hot rodders, not the general public, since the name of the book is Hot Rod. Just my personal take.

Is the Milner coupe ugly? Hmmm, it's not the coolest, but I bet a lot more people built hot rods because of that car than guys jumped creeks because of the General Lee.

No list is going to please everyone. My point was that they did a great job on what must have been a horrible undertaking. Publishing a list like that is really putting your neck on the line. They done good!

And I did do a search "Hot ROd top 100". It came up with zero entiries.

 

Yeah it was.

Still can't believe a broke down disco van topped the Pete & Jake's coupes. Even if there were a ton of vans in the seventies is is right to put one from the tail end as "influential" and they were NEVER "hot rods" even though they made the pages of the mag a few times.

 

I watchd TV in the 70s, the California Kid had a hell of a lot more influence on me than the GL.

but even back then, I wasn't a member of the "general public" when it came to cars

 

The day before I read that story, we were coming back from Ohio, and p***ed a big Peterbilt rig...I always like black steel wheels on everything, and this truck was rollin' on them, so I took notice. It contrasted really nicely with the orange paint on the tractor.
Yeah, you guessed it--pulled up along side, and there was the big "01" on the sleeper box.
THAT'S influence. There's a pile o' junk '80-something Mustang running around town that's orange with '01 on the door too.
Every roundy-round track in the nation has a car running '01 on the door, or is orange with a flag on the roof.
For millions of 30-somethings, The General Lee greatly influenced our love of cars. Hell, I'd even go so far as to say that the General Lee contributed to the love of cars of EVERY 30-something in the hobby right now. I've never met a guy my age (37) that didn't watch the Dukes of Hazzard. And while Daisy was surely fine to look at, an 8 year old boy is watching a bright orange hot rod fish tailing more than he's drooling over **** cheek poking out below cut-offs.
When is the last time you saw a clone of ANY of the other cars on that list? Compare that to the number of General Lee's you've seen over the years.

As for Little Red being higher on the list than the Hirohita Merc; I once commented to someone that the Little Red and Bill Golden were at the first drag race I ever went to, and the guy I was talking to said "Bill Golden and the Little Red Express were at the first drag race EVERYONE ever went to!"

I thought it was a ballsy list, and very accurate.
-Brad

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222696&highlight=general+lee+charger

There haven't been many HOTRODS in HOT ROD in a long time......

I agree with ya on that last point......however there are plenty of guys jumping their cars.....usually cheapie econoboxs (or rentals...haha)....many times with "01" rattle canned on....hehe
YEEEE HAWWWWW!!!!

 

I thought it was a good article. Do I agree with all their picks? No.
My first reaction to the G.L. being #1 was WTF!?! But, they did make their case, and there were ALOT more i was pleasently suprised to see in there. Good job guys.

 

These stupid top whatever lists are just a marketing ploy. No matter what they do, there will always be arguments on what was best etc...

They should have re named the list "most famous/popular domestics of the last 70 years"

 

Wow, I can't believe you didn't make a comment on how the list was your idea.

 

My self-important pomp***ness only stretches so far, but thanks for noticing.

 

Was Ed Iskenderians's '24 T roadster on the list?

 

Now that's a good comeback! Awesome.

 

One of the members of the 409 forum wrote the editors, asking about the lack of any 409 mention. The reply was "get over it". I guess PR isn't their stong point. No wonder so many long term subscribers have let it go.

 

With the amount of research etc involved in compiling a list like that, I may have had the same response.

It's just a list for entertainment purposes. I'm pretty sure there will be no laws enacted because of the choices.

 

Well it does have the number on the door.

 

Hate me if ya want, but I think "Top whatever" lists are stupid for the most part . About as relevant as beauty pageants and movie and music awards---they're all based on somebody's(or several sombodys') OPINIONS....
When I see a top list in a car mag, I just figure they didn't have much to print/feature that month....or it's a lazy way to fill pages.

That's just my OPINION

 

You're right, but it entertained me for a good 30 minutes. That's hard to do!

 

HMMMM?

General Lee?
I am pretty sure that is a muscle car not a hot rod.

 

General Lee?

List Schmist.

Specifically, the list should'a been either, "Top 100 cars that made converts of normal citizens" OR "Top 100 hot rods that inspired hot rodders"

Their list is too homogenized to be accurate.

 

The reason why real car guys are not subscribing anymore is the whole entertainment direction the mag has gotten into the last decade or so. I mean articles on Bumblebee from transformers and the new bullitt mustang?

I miss Magnate and Baskerville ):