Sometimes you’re in the mood to nail the throttle in a straight line, and other times you just want to carve up the canyon road.

There’s been a lot of talk around the office lately about what exactly is Popular Hot Rodding. Is it about street/strip cars? Or is it about Pro-Touring, otherwise known around here as g-Machines? To be frank, I think it’s really an answer to a question that doesn’t exist—at least in the minds of the readers I talk to. We’re fortunate at PHR that we don’t have to pigeon-hole the cars we feature; with an assortment of everything under the musclecar umbrella (from budget to the high stratosphere, and from drag race to corner carving). In a nutshell, PHR blankets the world of musclecar street performance. If it’s a rear-drive domestic musclecar, PHR is on it like white on rice.

I can’t play favorites in the split between street/strip and g-Machine. Why? Because it’s like asking a father to choose between his two children. Having said that, there are plusses and minuses about each. In my world, we’d all have at least one of each, and some that do everything. If you’ve been following the ’68 Street Sweeper Chevelle and the ’70 Fastlane Fairlane, you’ll see that both are switch hitters. A change of tires is all that’s necessary to go from wicked street handler to dragstrip brawler. That was intentional, and done to show you that there is really less difference between the two than meets the eye.

Editorially, we try to keep an even split down the middle. Most issues have fairly equal coverage of both topics, with some stories—like the annual Year One Experience—handily covering both. I am aware, however, that people (and even geographical areas) have their favorites. We are paying attention to this, and you will be gratified to know that a good mix of brands, power levels, cost, performance, and handling will continue to be a part of PHR.

It’s really quite simple. Ever since the second car was built, guys have been trying to outdo each other. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a straight line, around the corner, or at the car show—the competitive urge never sleeps. And the common thread through all of this? We like to do it out on the street, where it really counts. Whether we’re covering 91-octane pump gas engines at the Engine Masters Challenge, the NMCA’s True Street class, or the tire-shredding autocross at the Year One Experience, PHR’s emphasis is on street performance you can really use!