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Pantera	I was wondering how well a stock Prowler is accepted at cruise nights and hot rod shows. Do owners of hand built rods look down on the Prowler as a poser? Or do they appreciate it for the tribute that it is? I love going to cruise nights and was just wondering what I should expect. Please let me know your experiences, good and bad. Pantera
Dave Mills	Over the past six years, I have experienced both ends of the spectrum at cruise nights. I would say the responses have been more favorable than not. I find as the car gets older that there seems to be more acceptance and there are still a lot of people out there that have never seen one.
Dead End Don	The responses are going to be all over the board. A lot of guys will be open to the car, but you are right - there will be some who definitely look down on us because our cars aren't "true" hot rods, in the sense of being homemade. This hasn't kept me away from any events, but a lot have cut-offs (i.e., only pre-1970 cars, etc.) to enter or be in a show or cruise-in, and if they do, you've got to go as a spectator - don't expect the car to open doors in that way. I have found that if you don't hold yourself out to be something you're not, and show that you're just there to enjoy the other cars, most people are pretty friendly, and very few people will actually go out of their way to be negative...the worst I've gotten has been the "cold shoulder", but when you walk over and start complimenting some of their cars, things seem to ease up a bit. I think if they see you're not a poser, and pretending to be "Joe Hot Rodder" with your Prowler, you're OK. But its an insightful question - you've probably run into this before with your Pantera, too (that's gonna be my next car, for sure!!!!!).
Chromer	Don't expect to be accepted as a "Hot Rod" on cruise nights. Let's face it, there are 10,000 of these "one of kind" cars out there that came from the factory. The Prowler may be described as a specialty car, a roadster, a sportscar and a lot of things. But to me..it will NEVER be a hot rod. To call the Prowler a hot rod would be a diservice to restored timeless V-8's. JMO. ------------------
Gene	The oldest cruise site in this area is on Friday nights and they have a cut off for for rods and customs so anything that falls out of this will be accepted but must park in another area.This applies to Prowler-Corvetts-kit cars etc.the viewers seem to enjoy all.
dbudner	My take is that most people accept it for what it is and with the gears you can run with most of them light to light or 1/8th. I can go to any cruise night and see 30 '55 bel-airs, a thousand vettes and camaros, and a few 32 and up coupes. None of them really stand out enough (in my opinion) to say anything. I can't think of a time when anyone made it a point to tell me hotrods only allowed or anything else durogatory. Maybe they were nice or maybe they realized that the car is cool in it's own way (and beats the heck out of having a rice burner parked next to them).
BeWare	We have received a few negative comments but the positive far outweigh them. I don't know that I would call a Prowler a Hot Rod. Tribute to a Hot Rod works for me.
toys	Pantera I've have for the most part Been very well received by the Hot rod community and my Prowler praised for being the best of both worlds, especially by the guys that take the time to take a good look at the thought & technology that went into making this car, But i have also gotten remarks from it's one of them Hot rods in a box or store bought or to its only got a six cylinder. I have always pulled in proud and left prouder. When it come's to local cruise nites (Berlin turnpike, Bristol, Newington, New Milford, ETC sound familiar) i usually end up with more people laying on the ground checking out the frame and suspension going WOW!! Toys This message has been edited by toys on 12-03-2004 at 07:58 PM
bbcar	I do cruises here in St. Louis every weekend during the summer and always get good feedback from the rest of the car community that attend these events. I have actually won a first and a second place trophy at participant judged shows. Most people simply love Prowlers and ask a lot of questions. It is one of the most fun cars you could possibly own. Barry
ed monahan	I bought the Prowler because I wanted it and I liked it. Most other people like it and if they don't like it, that is their problem. Most hot rodders did not build their own cars. If you bought a Boyd Coddington hot rod, how are you any different than a Prowler owner? They are rarer and most are very sharp but you still bought a completed car. I have heard a few negative remarks but it runs 100 to one, favorable to negative.
Pantera	Thanks for those great responses!! I agree that you can not call the Prowler a hot rod, but it is a great tribute. It is quite an oxymoron if you think about it. Being a factory made car with over 10,000 examples out there, it is everything that a hot rod is not. It has its own identity and there really is nothing to compare it to. I have never considered myself a hot rodder and I would not pretend to be, even though I have grown up surrounded by rods (T-buckets, 33' Ford coupe, 34' Ford Cabriolet, 32' Ford 3 window coupe...all my fathers, he also had a Prowler) I am a car enthusiast. I love everything from Brass era antique Oaklands to the newest Lamborghini, to nostalgic rat rods, to muscle cars. I am drawn to cars that are interesting. That's why I love the Prowler so much. Having a Pantera with a Ford V8 in it, I have experienced the cold shoulder from a lot of Ferrari owners at Italian car shows. To them, my car is a mongrel. I have also met some great Ferrari owners who are just down to earth people that love cars. I guess it will be the same with the Prowler.
Andy R	What I don't like about "hot rodders" is that many have NEWER cars than my Prowler. Just because the fiberglass body looks like a 34 Ford, to me does not make it a 34 Ford. I don't think I have ever seen any of these referred to (properly?) as a replica. I wonder if these cruise ins that have date cut offs include these modern kit replicas of old hot rods? Don't get me wrong, they can be some cool lookiing cars, but call a spade a spade.
bbcar	To be a true Hot Rod in my eyes you would have to start with a old car such as a 32 ford or whatever add a late model drivetrain and better interior, such as they did in the fifties, those were real Hot Rods. Prowlers are in a class all by themselves, I did a thread a while back asking what is a Prowler? They are not muscle cars and they are not sports cars. A Prowler is a tribute to the Hot Rod and it does this very well. Barry
GRROWL	quote: Originally posted by bbcar: To be a true Hot Rod in my eyes you would have to start with a old car such as a 32 ford or whatever add a late model drivetrain Hate to say this, but if we use this approach, the current-day hotrods are the riceburners from the 80's and 90's. -GRROWL
Georgia Prowler	A terrific question....My first Cruise-in was when we first got PT Cruisers Limited, a blue and a gray with factory ground effects. It was basically with other cruiser owners in the Atlanta area. Very positive experience...BUT when I traded my blue PT on the Prowler, the PT Cruiser folks welcomed me in the Prowler, but I got really bad vibes at a local Hot Rod cruise in. It was a voting show and one of the votes for my prowler said "Best Phony Car." But basically things have improved and I think it's more the type of people you hang with...but believe the Prowler gets more positive than negative reactions! ------------------ Georgia Prowler Dave & Joan Smith
condor	I think it depends to what show you go with the Prowler. Inthe US its may be different to Europe. In the USA many car shows have a cut up year ( Street Rods are pre 1949) or a soecial theme. On large shows like the Turkey Run in daytona or the Goodguys All American Get Together in California , Prowlers are very welcome. On Basic Cruise Nights , a Prowler is a interesting Factory Hot Rod. Customized your cat, to make it more special. I go to a few Classic Car + Street Rod meetings with my 34 Ford. On Basic US Car Meetings in Europe , I use the Prowler. here , the Cat is a big, big eyecatcher that turns many heads.
bbcar	Hey GRROWL I should have gone further and said that a true HotRod would also have to been built before 1949. Barry
ed monahan	Hot Rod was derived from hot roadster. Our cats are definitely hot and they are roadsters. I am convinced. lol
catfish	chrysler calls our cars modern street rods,if im not mistaken,its in the book produced by dc,anatomy of an american roadster.if you can find one buy it.very interesting reading.figure this out,good guys originally would let our cars into there shows,then changed there minds.to new a car?,yet they let these replicas,and thats exactly what they are,2004 replicas,and they come in all shapes and sizes.they allow those.the above is just an example,i could care less about being in a good guys show.last year at our sat.scottsdale pavillions show,open to any year,there was a black 32 ford replica parked next to the curb,mad max'es black prowler was parked right behind him.not being prejudiced we all looked and compared the two,and came to the question,which car if you had the choice, would you rather own.you know the answer.jmo,lets face it the prowler is w/o a doubt the coolest car on the road.i think many hot rod and corvette and viper owners are just plain jealous.they really like it,but would never say so.once a replica allways a replica,and some of them are cool looking but it is what it is.remember all hot rods,were built in a factory just like ours.a totally restored to its original condition, or a stock original 32 ford is not a hot rod. ------------------