History

Hot Rod magazine is the oldest magazine devoted to hot rodding having been published since 1948. Robert E. Petersen founded the magazine and his Petersen Publishing Company was the original publisher. Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen magazines to Primedia in 2001. Today it is published by Robert Burkle's Source Interlink, who purchased the magazine in 2007.

Hot Rod Magazine has licensed affiliation with UTI (Universal Technical Institute). The first editor of Hot Rod Magazine was Wally Parks who created the National Hot Rod Association.
[edit] Sponsored Events

The Hot Rod Power Tour is an organized tour where people in the car hobby drive a pre-planned route throughout the country. It began in 1995 when Hot Rod Magazine staff members decided to take some of their project cars on a cross-country drive from Los Angeles, CA to Norwalk, OH. 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". Since its inception, this event has continued to gain in popularity and is now one of the most anticipated automotive events each year. 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 events or activities that vary as much as the participants themselves