"Rat Rods"

I am surprise at how many Hot Rod Guys are insulted or get all bent out of shape by the term "Rat Rod." It reminds me of "Punk Rock" back in the early '80's. This one dink on a message board told me that the Rat Rod Guys were inferior and their rides were crap and how dare they call their cars "Rats" and that was stupid because you don't call Hot Rods "Hots." When "Punk" became a term for the music I was making in 1981, I embraced it. It killed the "Sleeper Rock" of the time and re-birthed not only Ska, Rockabilly, New Wave etc. but eventually Metal and Hip Hop. Rat Rods have spark a new interest in Hot Rods from a younger generation and helped kill Street Rods (aka Sleeper Rock) and rebirth Traditional Hot Rodding (guys who didn't like the Rats but wanted the credibility of a DIY ride as opposed to a 1-800-BUYMYROD approach).