When’s a traditional hot rod show not typically traditional? When it’s not the typical traditional cars we’re traditionally used to, traditionally speaking. More precisely, when it’s a show aptly named The Hot Rod Revolution.

In the wake of devastation, north-central Japan showed little signs, if any, it’d recently been victim to the worst dose of disaster Mother Nature could possibly muster up. Matter of fact, if I hadn’t seen the televised catastrophe myself, I’d have never even suspected anything ever occurred near Tokyo—and I’m not necessarily talking about visible structural damage, either.

Originally intended as a one-off event, 2011 saw the 20th California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway, near Bakersfield, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, and organized as part of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. Given that Steve Gibbs was the first executive director of the museum, and has been involved in drag racing almost all his life, from numbering cars, announcing and managing tracks, to running the staging at the March Meet at this very track in the mid-’60s, it was fitting that he should be named Grand Marshall for the 20th Reunion.

Produced by the Right Coast Association, the 12th Syracuse Nationals at the New York State Fairgrounds drew almost 7,600 cars this past July, with attendees from all over the United States and Canada. Having wanted to attend the show for a number of years, we finally made it this summer, thanks to the constant harassment from our old pal “East Coast” Artie (just kiddin’!).

Once again, summer capped off in sunny Southern California—Long Beach Arena, to be exact—with the second re-installment of the indoor show, originally made famous by the Renegades Car Club, The Long Beach Motorama.

Imagine what it takes to put on a huge show, then try to get your head around organizing two huge shows, only a few days apart, on opposite sides of the planet. That’s what the crew at Mooneyes do every year, with their Japanese show and the Mooneyes Christmas Party in California. The Irwindale event ain’t no little affair, encompassing drag racing on the eighth-mile track, which runs alongside the Toyota Speedway, bands, an art auction, and a pin-up girl contest, along with the hundreds of cars that show up and a not inconsiderable number of vendors. We’ve attended weekend events that are smaller than this one-day show!

The L.A. Roadsters club show has long been a staple for many SoCal hot rodders over the Father’s Day weekend, this year seeing the 47th such event. While it changed venues a couple of times as it grew in the early days, the show has been held at the Fairplex on the L.A. County Fairgrounds since 1980, with few changes over the past 21 years. This year, however, saw some major changes to the event.

Thirty years. That’s a long time for anything continuous. It was back in September 1982 that the first West Coast Kustoms Cruise was held at Lake Nacimiento near Paso Robles, California. Some of the biggest names in custom building showed for that first event, including some little kid named Chip Foose, who showed up with his dad, Sam. The show moved around a little as it grew (it went to Hollister in 1983) before settling in Paso Robles for many years, and now established in Santa Maria.

Man, I love this show. I was going to say “I used to” but honestly I still do. All the elements that made it so much fun and so cool are still there, but it may just have become a victim of its own success, as it’s grown amazingly in just 10 years, and with that is now attracting some cars that wouldn’t have entertained the show, nor it them, a few years ago. Snobby? Maybe, but I’d hate to see the Round Up turn into a fairgrounds type of event.

It had been roughly 15 years or so since I’d gone to the Detroit Autorama—I recall the Ridler winner being a ’90s Mercedes Pro Mod, if that tells you anything. For many reasons, it was about time I ended that absentee streak, and this was the year for my return to Cobo Hall.

Shortly after the buzz from the historic race car display at the 2010 Grand National Roadster Show had worn off, rumors began floating around about some sort of custom exhibit to take place the following year. Well, it didn’t take long before the hearsay turned to fact, and before we knew it, Customs Then and Now: A Historical Gathering was officially one of the premier attractions to be seen at the 62nd GNRS at the Fairplex in Pomona, California.

Despite Southern California's supposed year-round good weather and never-ending show season, the Mooneyes Christmas Party is seen by many in the kustom culture/traditional sector of this thing we call hot rodding as the end-of-season show, here on the West Coast. Of course the show season kicks off again a mere seven weeks later with the Grand National Roadster Show, so I guess it is almost never-ending!

The list of hot rod movies is quite a short one, especially those that are watchable, if you know what we mean. American Graffiti, Two-Lane Blacktop, and the made-for-TV Hot Rod all spring to mind. And while there are other cool, car-oriented films, such as Vanishing Point and Mad Max, they're not really hot rod movies, per se. Well, now there's another to add to the former list.

Like a scene right out of the movie "American Graffiti", more than 50 Tri-Five Chevys gathered in the wee hours of the morning in a parking lot in Fullerton before hitting the road for a cruise through Fullerton and Anaheim. The event marked the first annual Tri-Five Cruise and CPP ShopTour held last Saturday and it was a huge success! The rain gods were nice to us, holding off any storms for the day, and even getting sneak peaks of the sun in the afternoon. Members of the tri-five.com forum spread the word about the event as well as CPP customers. Coming from as far away as San Francisco, San Diego and the Inland Empire, shoebox owners were treated to a day full of classic rock-n-roll tunes, behind-the-scenes tours of CPP, Carl's Jr. burgers and lots of raffle prizes. Thanks to our wonderful sponsors, everyone received goodie buckets and raffle prizes totaling over $10,000. The special guest of the day was "Project X", the famous yellow '57 Belair featured in the pages of Popular Hot Rodding since 1965. CPP owner Jim Ries led the cruise having the special honor of being in the driver's seat of "X". "What an honor and thrill it was to drive such an iconic vehicle!" The event video can be viewed at www.tinyurl.com/tri5cruise2011, so be sure to check it out! At the end of the day over 71 Tri-Five Chevys came out to enjoy our first annual event along with hundreds of classic car enthusiasts.

I love going to the Hot Rod Reunion. Famoso Raceway is smelly, dusty, and in the middle of nowhere, but for three days every fall there's nowhere else I'd rather be. And judging by the increased crowds every year, I'm not the only one! In 2010 we celebrated the 19th Hot Rod Reunion, and also marked the 50th anniversary of the famed Winged Express AA/Fuel Altered, which made passes up the quarter in celebration.

It had been well over three decades since the Long Beach Renegades had staged their last indoor custom car show. This past September, the clock was rolled back those 30-odd years, and if you hadn't known better, you'd of thought it was the early '60s all over again. That's exactly what many remaining Renegades members-as well as builders (such as Dean Jefferies)-had to say about the Showcase of Kustoms at the Long Beach Motorama. It was nothing short of a historical landmark for the world of customs-from a more than impressive display of '49-51 Mercs to the '50s-60s Survivors display, it was truly an experience of a lifetime for all who attended or participated.

One of the best philosophies for building a custom car is to avoid making changes just for the sake of change. Each alteration should be purposeful and beneficial with the goal of improving a car's shape and flow.

There can't be many people, and certainly not amongst those who regularly attend NSRA events, who aren't aware of the new 1982 cut-off year for the association's events, replacing the previously set-in-stone pre-'49 limit. Concerns had been raised-and strong feelings voiced-at last year's Street Rod Nationals, forecasting doom and gloom for the future. But you know what? Sure, there were "late-models" present, but virtually all were nicely finished '50s and '60s cars, and the pre-'49 rods were still in the majority. The place wasn't overrun with Pro Touring Camaros, Donks, 4x4s, or anything else. There were still over 10,000 cars on site, but the biggest noticeable difference was how many families with young kids were in attendance. The average age of attendees must have dropped by 30 years in one fell swoop!

While the city of Santa Maria, California, is still in its infancy as the host of West Coast Kustoms' Cruisin' Nationals, the event itself has been a custom car tradition for the last three decades. For the majority of its 29 consecutive years, however, it was simply known as Paso.

It's hard to know what to say about the L.A. Roadsters Father's Day Show that hasn't been said before! The biggest turnout of roadsters anywhere, the fantastic swap meet and the great parts available therein, the packed specialty parking area for anything "non-roadster", the huge (over 200 booths) vendor trade show, and ideal location have all been mentioned in previous reports, and nothing's changed. It's still the best show for all of the above, and I could happily spend all my time in the swap meet section, as usual.

It's that time of year again, that's right, SEMA 2010 has arrived. No need to fret if you didn't make it to the show, because we have you covered. Here are the latest photos that you will only see find right here at Rod & Custom Magazine.

What can be said about the Lonestar Round Up-Austin, Texas' pride and joy of an annual "to do"-that hasn't already been put in print, or uttered from one person to the next, for that matter? Nothing. It's without a doubt one of the nation's best hot rod and custom events, and while it's hard to come up with anything new to describe it in words, the images captured from the various goings-on-morning, noon, or night-ought to do more than serve it justice. So that's exactly how we're paying homage to this year's Round Up-in living color ... with a little black-and-white thrown in for seasoning. Enjoy! (For information on the 10th Annual Lonestar Round Up, April 15-17, 2011, visit www.lonestarroundup.com.)

Since 1998, the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender (VLV) has grown in size and stature. This year's 13th happening established the four-day shindig as the largest of its type in the world, and a prominent Las Vegas event. Since the beginning, the Shifters Car Club, from Southern California, has hosted a car show alongside the musical entertainment. We attended for a few years when the show was held at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino, but to be honest, the quality of cars present started to decline and it seemed the show had maybe run its course. Sure it was a fun time, but viewed as purely a car show, it was suffering.

With the area around California's state capitol long known for its connections with custom cars, rather than SoCal's propensity for hot rods, it's little wonder that the Sacramento Autorama, which celebrated its 60th birthday this past February, showcases customs. Its sister show, the Grand National Roadster Show, which occurs a mere few days beforehand in L.A., awards the AMBR trophy, while the premier award at the Sacramento event is the World's Most Beautiful Custom. Two new awards were introduced this year, namely Custom D'Elegance and King of Kustoms, each with different eligibility criteria, as well as the established Sam Barris Memorial award and the Joe Bailon award, all of which makes for a celebration of all things "custom"'-or "kustom", depending on your preference.