That's alot of the problem, where it exists. I don't know what the guy thinks a rat rod is when he calls both of mine rat's. The 66 chevy pickup is flat black until I get the metallic black on it this spring. Or the 48 that is engineered well, handles like a dream. Drives straight at 90 with hands off the wheel, is in gloss paint with clear coat, upholstery and not a drop of rust anywhere. It's a personal opinion, and most can't even tell you what a rat rod is. They just think they are looking at one. Junk is junk, whether its a 30 model A or a 94 Geo Metro. I get kinda testy when mine are referred to as rats, but all have meant it in a good way. There was a time, as they say back in the day, when being a hot rodder was like being a gang banger. Greaser was a derogatory term. When I first herd the term rat rod, I thought of the RAT Fink, I thought of those crazy rod driven by monster like characters drawn by the likes of Roth. That's not it, apparently. People like labels so if they don't know or don't understand maybe it's a rat. I try to react to the way it's said rather than what is said. Cause they don't know, and I sure don't know. What I might call a rat, you call art. What I think is traditional, someone else will call antiquated. Live and let live.