Your Rod or Custom In One Word

Stinky. That’s the word I heard someone use to sum up the smell of an old Buick rumpdibumppinin across the parking lot earlier this week.

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People will argue there’s no such thing as a hard question, but to be frank—there is. Whenever an interview reaches a point of comfort, I often feel that itch to ask a question that I know might stump the source. “If you could describe this car in one word, what would it be?”

From there, the conversation either gains new life or it falls flat. It’ll turn eloquent—filled with exposition and anecdotes—or it will slump to the point where the person across the table admits that they have nothing more to add. When you look at their face, you can sometimes sense them saying, “Hey man, that’s your job, not mine.”

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A verbatim quote from the folks at Merriam-Webster is a crutch I avoid at all costs. However, in this post pertaining to language, I feel it’s fitting. And so they say:

hot rod: noun

1. : an automobile rebuilt or modified for high speed and fast acceleration

There! They did it in 11 words—but I know it can be done in one in special cases. Yes! One. A blown and injected Fuel Altered can be brutal, and a chopped and shaved custom can be sinister. Consider the sight, the sound, the smell or the gut-level appeal. And so, with a machine you know-oh-so-well, do you think you can describe your rod or custom in one word?

—Joey Ukrop

Opening Image: Kip Hansberry (@II Funny)’s 1931 Chevy Five-Passenger coupe, which I first encountered at the Meltdown Drags years ago. In one word, it’s gripping. Check out the Jalopy Journal feature here.