Why hot rodders choose Cadillac 472 and 500 V8 engines over Chevy 454s. These luxury engines deliver 525-550 lb-ft torque at ...

â ¢Exterior view of compact new V8 engine shows location of accessories.Accessibility is good due to big engine compartment.â ¢HRM's Tech Ed, left, and Managing Ed give Chev V8 engine the eyeball.

You've probably heard of hot rods, street rods, and rat rods before, but there are quite a few distinct differences to them ...

It's not like the roads are littered with hot rods, far from it. In fact, each time you see a hot rod out in the wild, it's a cool experience — even the best factory hot rods are few and far between.