Voodoo Magic: Jerry Gardner's Voodoo Special

63 While some fabricators built just one car, in many cases five, ten or more examples were produced. Many of these newly designed sports cars were available for purchase as components too, motivating Americans to build them on their own. The process of building a sports car was not for the faint of heart. Period magazines reported that building a car using an available fiberglass or aluminum body took an average of 2000 hours – 3000 hours if you designed and built your own body too. But that didn ’ t stop sports car enthusiasts – they built concept cars, custom cars and hot rods as well. The only limitation was an individual ’ s imagination and talent. With passion and time, an enthusiast could fulfill their desire to own an affordable American sports car. Handcrafted American sports cars are often seen as quintessential “ Americana ” due in part to the “ Hands - On ” approach to showcase their creativity, engineering, innovation, tenacity, and sculpting expertise. Influence on Mainstream Auto Design In 1951, Walt Woron, Founding Editor of Motor Trend magazine (November issue) wrote about the topic of handcrafted cars in an editorial titled “ Amateurs are Creating New, American Designs ”: “ It has been freely admitted by top Detroit automotive designers that many innovations on production cars are the result of watching the developments of these enthusiasts who build their own custom cars, sports cars and hot rods. ” Walt confirmed this perspective again – 60 years later – in a personal interview on May 31st, 2011. Automotive journalist Ken Purdy offered additional insight in his 1952 book “ The Kings of the Road .” The final chapter is dedicated to his 1952 hopes for modern sports cars: “ From the point of view of functionalism and taste, some of the best designing being done in America today originate in California – and the designers are the young non - professionals who dream up what used to be called ‘ hot rods. ’ Many of these cars are soundly and solidly built; they have no excess chrome – most of what they do carry is on the engine – their detail finish is usually of high material quality and in excellent taste and they will go like the hammers of hell. What more can be asked of an automobile? Exactly the same words can be used to describe the 4.1 Ferrari, one of the fastest (140 mph) and most beautiful passenger cars in the world. Article Continued on Next Page