Origins
The December 1972 issue of Rod & Custom Magazine was dedicated to the "beater", a low-budget alternative to the early car models that were slick and customized. Due to the beater's cheap upholstery, primer covering (instead of paint), and lack of chrome or polished metals, it has been considered a progenitor of the rat rod.
The origin of the term "rat rod" is the subject of dispute. Opinions regarding the term's origins were based in one of the following perspectives: The term first appeared in an article in Hot Rod Magazine, written by Gray Baskerville, about cars that, at that time, continued to be covered by primer; or, the first rat rod was owned by artist, Robert Williams, who had a '32 Ford Roadster that was painted in primer. However, Hot Rod magazine has verified the latter view. Gray's use of the term was in relation to "Rat Bikes," motorcycles that were assembled from spare parts, to be enjoyed and ridden, and not necessarily for the display of the builder's skills. It is believed that the term is likely to have originally been used in a derogatory or pejorative sense, as this remains the case among sections of the hot rod community; however, the term has also been adopted in a positive light by other parts of the sub-culture.
Read more about this topic: Rat Rods
Famous quotes containing the word origins:
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“Grown onto every inch of plate, except
Where the hinges let it move, were living things,
Barnacles, mussels, water weeds—and one
Blue bit of polished glass, glued there by time:
The origins of art.”
—Howard Moss (b. 1922)
“The origins of clothing are not practical. They are mystical and erotic. The primitive man in the wolf-pelt was not keeping dry; he was saying: “Look what I killed. Aren’t I the best?””
—Katharine Hamnett (b. 1948)