My observation is that it depends a lot on age,....... and for some, on budget. It's not surprising that many of these "rebels" might be on the other side of the fence if they actually had the option.

Also, the "young man's rebellion" that we all have in the teens and twenties, probably plays some roll. I did the opposite of my dad's choices in many things too, and that may influence us so we automatically reject the last generation's values.

Now I'm in my late 50s, and have spent the last 40 years working my butt off to make every project into a piece of rolling art. It goes against everything I have done to revert to the POS look! My very first project included new paint, and the hundreds I've done since then have had the same goal. I still am working to make every "next project" my most stunning, and to me, it is a key part of the hobby.

Here is a real inspiration for rat rodders: I once paid $75 for a '58 Chevy 4 door, since my primary ride was down for a while. We drank in it, jumped on the roof, hood and trunk, wrote on it with spray cans, and I drove it with the rods knocking until I traded it to a friend for two used tires, when he needed a temporary ride.

Now, do you want to build it the way it really used to be.....or the imaginary way that you think it was? :-)