Esteemed hot rod journalist, author, and historian Pat Ganahl looks at the rat rod trend positively, sharing withHOT RODin 2010, "These are rods and customs built the way Ed Roth painted them on ...

To create a rat rod out of a hot rod, you need to inflict deliberate, controlled damage upon it with the ultimate goal of creating something rugged and lived-in. It's kind of like acid-washing jeans.