Hot rodding began as a cult movement in the 1920s, and flourished in Los Angeles—first with illegal street racing, then moving north and west of the city to the boundless Mojave Desert, with devotees competing on dusty, alkalai-based dry lake beds like El Mirage and Muroc.

What is the origin of hot rod?

Hot rods first appeared in the late 1930s in southern California, where people raced modified cars on dry lake beds northeast of Los Angeles, under the rules of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), among other groups. ... Hot rods built before 1945 commonly used '35 Ford wire-spoke wheels.

Who started hot rod magazine?

Petersen, Founder of Hot Rod, Motor Trend Magazines and Benefactor of the Petersen Automotive Museum Passes On at 80.