A number of these hot-rod flicks were released back in the '50s and '60s, apparently to at least one eager segment of the movie-going public. (Why else would the studios keep churning out these ...

Originally published in the April 1999 issue of Hot Rod magazine: Los Angeles custom builders, led by George Barris, created a series of prop cars for the movie and TV industry.

That was a moment of transition, a truly seismic shift. Phillips: “American Graffiti” is the quintessential hot-rod movie. It’s a coming- of-age story that came out at the right moment.