 Cover of the Fall 2024 issue | |
| Editor | John McGann |
|---|---|
| Former contributors | Wes Allison, Larry Chen, Elana Scherr, Mike Finnegan, Brandan Gillogly, Phillip Thomas |
| Former editors | Wally Parks, Rob Kinnan, David Freiburger, David Kennedy, Evan Perkins, Johnny Hunkins |
| Categories | Automobile magazine |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Total circulation (June 2021) | 385,333[1] |
| Founder | Robert Petersen |
| Founded | 1948 |
| First issue | January 1948 (1948-01) |
| Company | Motor Trend Group (Hearst Communications) |
| Country | US |
| Based in | El Segundo, California |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0018-6031 |
Hot Rod is an American carmagazine devoted tohot rodding, drag racing, and muscle cars—modifying automobiles for performance and appearance. It was published monthly until 2024, when it transitioned to quarterly publication.
Hot Rod is the oldest magazine devoted to hot rodding, having been published since January 1948.[2][3]Robert E. Petersen founded the magazine and his Petersen Publishing Company was the original publisher. The first editor ofHot Rod wasWally Parks, who went on to found theNational Hot Rod Association (NHRA).[4] Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisherEMAP in 1998, who then sold the former Petersen magazines to Primedia (nowRent Group) in 2001. Today, it was published byMotor Trend Group, formerly known asTEN: The Enthusiast Network andSource Interlink Media. Source Interlink acquired the magazine along with Primedia's Consumer Magazine division in 2007.[5]
In December 2024,Hearst Communications acquiredMotor Trend Group and most of its assets includingHot Rod fromWarner Bros. Discovery.[6]
Hot Rod has a strategic relationship withUniversal Technical Institute,[7] referring to UTI as its sponsor.[8]
In March 1948,Hot Rod published the first appearance ofTom Medley's cartoon hot rodder,Stroker McGurk. The feature would survive until 1955.[9][10]
Between 1961 and 1969, theHot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races, "one of the most significant drag racing events" of that era, were hosted by the magazine atRiverside Raceway.[11] The championship offered a US$37,000 prize, greater even than aNational Hot Rod Association national event prize at the time.[12]
The "Hot Rod Power Tour" is an organized tour where hot rodders drive a pre-planned route throughout the United States. It began in 1995 whenHot Rod staff members decided to take some of their project cars on a cross-country drive from Los Angeles, California toNorwalk, Ohio. Thousands of people participated along the way but only seven participants (other than staff members) made the entire journey and were inducted into the original "Long Hauler Gang". It is typically six to eight days in length and held in late May or early June. In recent years, the tour has evolved to become what is essentially a continuous trek around the United States in that it begins in or near the location that it ended in the previous year. Each stop is combined with varied events or activities.[citation needed]
The starting points can change from year to year on the power tour. Tour Stops along the way on the power tour often feature entertainment, celebrities, contests, and games.
Burnout: Championship Drag Racing (1998) was licensed by Hot Rod.ValuSoft has publishedHot Rod: American Street Drag andHot Rod: Garage to Glory,drag racing video games in which the goal is to win the cover feature ofHot Rod magazine.[13]
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