WKustom Kulture is a neologism used to describe the artworks, vehicles, hairstyles, and fashions of those who drove and built custom cars and motorcycles in the United States of America from the 1950s through today. It was born out of the hot rod culture of Southern California of the 1960s.
WAloha, Bobby and Rose is a 1975 American road drama film written and directed by Floyd Mutrux and starring Paul Le Mat, Dianne Hull, and Robert Carradine. The plot is about a young working-class couple who accidentally cause the death of a store clerk during their first date, and go on the run from the law.
WAmerican Graffiti is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Harrison Ford, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Bo Hopkins, and Wolfman Jack. Suzanne Somers, Kathleen Quinlan, Debralee Scott and Joe Spano also appear in the film.
WThe Beatnik Bandit is a custom car created in 1961 by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. The car featured a clear bubble canopy. Speed and direction were controlled by a central joystick in the cabin.
WCadZZilla is a custom car built by Boyd Coddington.
WA chopper is a type of custom motorcycle which emerged in California in the late 1950s. A chopper employs radically modified steering angles and lengthened forks for a stretched-out appearance. They can be built from an original motorcycle which is modified ("chopped") or built from scratch. Some of the characteristic features of choppers are long front ends with extended forks often coupled with an increased rake angle, hardtail frames, very tall "ape hanger" or very short "drag" handlebars, lengthened or stretched frames, and larger than stock front wheels. The "sissy bar", a set of tubes that connect the rear fender with the frame, and which are often extended several feet high, is a signature feature on many choppers.
WCruising is a social activity that primarily consists of driving a car. Cruising can be an expression of the freedom of possessing a driver's license. Cruising is distinguished from regular driving by the social and recreational nature of the activity, which is characterized by an impulsively random, often aimless course. A popular route is often the focus of cruising. "Cruise nights" are evenings during which cars drive slowly. A cruise can be a meeting of car enthusiasts at a predetermined location, organised predominantly through the internet but also largely through mobile phone, word of mouth or simply by a cruise being established enough that it becomes a regular event.
WThe Fraternal Order of Moai is a fraternal order and social club founded in 2005 by Matt "Kuku Ahu" Thatcher, Jim "Chisel Slinger" Robinson and Joel "Cowtown Kahuna" Gunn. The Order uses the Moai statues of Rapa Nui as a theme. An initial goal of the group was to preserve the history of and artifacts from the closed Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus, Ohio. Since then it has grown into "a serious group of tiki aficionados" with activity all over the United States. Some describe the group as "a cult within a cult" when discussing the modern Tiki revival.
WA gasser is a type of hot rod originating on the dragstrips of the United States in the late 1950s and continued until the early 1970s. In the days before Pro Stock, the A/Gas cars were the fastest stock-appearing racers around.
WThe Hirohata Merc is a 1950s custom car, often called "the most famous custom of the classic era". Setting a style and an attitude, it had a "momentous effect" on custom car builders, appeared in several magazines at the time and has reappeared numerous times since, earning an honorable mention on Rod & Custom's "Twenty Best of All Time" list in 1991. The impact may be measured by the fact that, after more than fifty years and numerous owners, it is still known as "the Hirohata Merc".
WHot rods are typically old, classic, or modern American cars that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines modified for more speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made to go much faster." However, there is no definition of the term that is universally accepted and the term is attached to a wide range of vehicles. Most often they are individually designed and constructed using components from many makes of old or new cars, and are most prevalent in the United States and Canada. Many are intended for exhibition rather than for racing or everyday driving.
WThe Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby is the title of Tom Wolfe's first collected book of essays, published in 1965. The book is named for one of the stories in the collection that was originally published in Esquire magazine in 1963 under the title "There Goes That Kandy-Kolored (Thphhhhhh!) Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (Rahghhh!) Around the Bend (Brummmmmmmmmmmmmmm)…" Wolfe's essay for Esquire and this, his first book, are frequently hailed as early examples of New Journalism.
WKustoms are modified cars from the 1930s to the early 1960s, done in the customizing styles of that time period. The usage of a "K" for "Kustom" rather than a "C", is believed to have originated with George Barris.
WIn automotive usage, a lead sled is a standard production automobile with a body heavily modified in particular ways ; especially, though not exclusively, a 1949, 1950 or 1951 model year Ford 'Shoebox' or Mercury Eight car. In the name, "lead" refers to the heavy weight of the body, and "sled" refers to the lowering of the vehicle, giving these vehicles the appearance that they were "slip sliding" down the highway.
WA lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smaller than the original wheels, ranging down to 13 inches (330 mm). They are also fitted with hydraulic or air bag systems that allow height adjustable suspension, where the vehicle is raised or lowered at the owner's command. Given these specific characteristics, while a lowrider is always a lowered car, a lowered car is not always a lowrider. The term is used to describe a class of vehicle, not simply the height from ground to chassis.
WThe Mercury Eight is an automobile that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford between 1939 and 1951. The debut model line of the Mercury division, Ford slotted the full-size Mercury Eight between the Ford Deluxe model lines and the Lincoln. In total, Ford assembled three generations of the Eight.
WRat Fink is one of several hot rod characters created by artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, one of the originators of Kustom Kulture of automobile enthusiasts. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. Rat Fink is usually portrayed as either green or gray, comically grotesque and depraved-looking with bulging, bloodshot eyes, an oversized mouth with sharp, narrow teeth, and wearing red overalls with the initials "R.F." on them. He is often seen driving cars or motorcycles.
WA rat rod, as usually known today, is a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts. These parts can include non-automotive items that have been repurposed, such as a rifle used as a gear shifter, wrenches as door handles, or hand saws as sun visors. Whether or not so appointed, the rat rod uniquely conveys its builder’s imagination.
WThe Red Baron was a custom t-bucket hot rod built in 1969.
WEd "Big Daddy" Roth was an American artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder who created the hot rod icon Rat Fink and other characters. Roth was a key figure in Southern California's Kustom Kulture and hot rod movement of the late 1950s and 1960s.
WA T-bucket is a hot rod, based on a Ford Model T of the 1915 to 1927 era, but extensively modified. T-buckets were favorites for greasers.
WThe Reactor is a custom car built by Gene Winfield. The low slung car featured height adjustable suspension, front wheel drive, and a powerful engine, and appeared in episodes of three TV series: Bewitched, Star Trek, and Batman.
WTwo-Lane Blacktop is a 1971 American road movie directed by Monte Hellman, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and starring songwriter James Taylor, the Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, Warren Oates, and Laurie Bird.
WVan Nuys Blvd. is a 1979 comedy film written and directed by William Sachs and released by Crown International Pictures. It features 1974 Playboy Playmate of the Year Cynthia Wood. The film's tag line is: "The Greatest Cruisin' in the Land Takes Place on the Street -- Where it all Began ..."
WVolksrods are modified Volkswagen beetles. They are used as an alternative to traditional Ford-based hot rods. Classic Ford Model Ts and Model As are becoming more scarce and more valuable than ever. VW Beetles are much more affordable, easier to find, and easier to find parts for. It is also a 1930s design, which is well-suited to hot-rodding's roots and tradition.
WA woodie is a wood-bodied automobile, that became a popular type of station wagon where the bodywork is constructed of wood or is styled to resemble wood elements.