Hot Rod Dreams: Car Shows and Culture

There was time – not long ago – when cars were much more than transportation. Part function, part fashion, part id, cars were the largest thing you could wear. Every American teenager dreamed of having their own car because it promised joy, freedom and self-expression. This was the era – beginning in the 1950s and extending into the ‘90s – when a car was a teenager’s avatar, when members of this booming generation defined much of their public persona around cars.