The business of speed

"David N. Lucsko provides the first scholarly history of America's hot rod business." "Lucsko examines the evolution of performance tuning through the lens of the $34 billion speed equipment industry that supports it. As early as 1910, dozens of small shops across the United States designed, manufactured, and sold add-on parts to consumers eager to employ new technologies as they tinkered with their cars. Operating for much of the twentieth century in the shadow of the Big Three automobile manufacturers - General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler - these businesses grew at an impressive rate, supplying young and old hot rodders with thousands of performance-boosting gadgets." "Lucsko supplies a rich and heretofore untold account of the culture and technology of the high-performance automotive aftermarket in the United States, thus offering a fresh perspective on the history of the automobile in America."--BOOK JACKET.