agreed, fuck rat rods.

I never found them appealing.

I say instead of getting rid of the rad rods we get rid of people that think they have rad rods. and i agree with Kori, specially with the soshinoya’s!

LOL… I’m relieved there’s no chance I’m in volation of the true meaning of JDM. I only deal in the ADM anymore.

Well I don’t really know too much about the hot rodding scene, but I do know a little bit about rat rods and i will agree that this is DEFINITELY not one…
However, along with your train of thought on rat rods in the U.S., I think it’s easy to point out what “JDM” has become in the U.S. also. Like you said, people with incomplete cars, skewed perspectives, etc. the title “JDM” has been, now, redefined in the U.S. as:
1) anything you can find on ebay thats labeled JDM
2) anything with the word “altezza” in it
3) people who think wheel/tire fitment is the definition of JDM
4) Soshinoya’s on your car (most “JDM” heads probably dont even know what that is)
5) ANY body kit/rim/interior option you can think of, as long as its in a japanese car, people think its JDM

in all honesty, i think the fact that america is so obsessed with trends and americans fitting in with one-another, that anything that was once original, and once had a true value and name, soon becomes crap because of the amount of posers, wannabes, and cheap asses that are out there.

hopefully there will be a time where any hot rod is a true hot rod and is labeled as it should be, and any car thats labeled as JDM, really is that..something from the japanese domestic market.

The seller is or thinks he’s being savvy, basically “hey, I paint the thing matte black (a very forgiving finish when spraying it on), make the steels some outlandish color, clean it up, put a Mexican blanket or two over the seats and I got a Rat Rod… people pay too much on Ebay so I can’t lose…!”
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The sad thing? He very well could be right. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if someone got enthused about thie “Rat Rod” enough to take ownership.
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That’s the way the world is. Stupidity has no remote control.

A well done rat rod can be cool, but flat black and red wheels does not a rat rod make my friend. Rat rods also tend not to have perfect body panels like this Rambler. They are supposed to have a well worn look. That body looks mint and the paint looks fresh. This is a poser rat not a real rat. As stated before a rat rod is ‘ratty’ because good looks does not always mean fast. I have a friend with what i would call a muscle car era rat rod. It is a Nova with 4 different color body panels and not a single spot of shine on it but in a drag race it moves like a bat out of hell.

Hey, that hot satin-black paint is what I wanna use on my diesel Escort! That doesn’t make it a rat rod, though…

I like some rat rods but not all. I think its like any trend, when it becomes popular people who just dont get it start trying it and missing the whole point. The other problem is its a term but like most car terms not well defined or a huge distinction. Kinda like street rod, to some people its any car that is driven on the street, to others any pre 57 car with performance modifications and yet others like me it means a pre 49 car with performance modifications. What makes a muscle car? Ask 5 different people and you will get 5 different answers on years, the first muscle car, the cut of date for muscle cars and a million other things. Rat rod is the same deal, when it was new there were some cool creative cars, now every deuschebag calls any unfinished car a rat rod regardless of vintage, make or style. To me it will always be a car no newer then the 50s left unfinished with old school speed equipment. I guess just part of a successful trend is that people who dont get it will try to replicate it and the people who do get it will just have to shake their heads and laugh a little.