Most trends, like disco, pet rocks, and the van craze of the '70s, run their course and eventually fade away. One can argue whether magazines create automotive styling trends or embrace and perpetuate them, but whoever can claim responsibility for the Pro Street movement (trend is too soft a word to describe Pro Street) ignited a powder keg of passions for a look that for many street machines lives on today. Although we brashly declared Pro Street dead years ago, we are repeatedly reminded that it lives on as strong as ever today. We truly thought we'd escaped it, but repeated visits to car shows around the country prove that it refuses to die.
Empty PromisesThe term Pro Street appeared on Car Craft's cover for the first time in July, 1981. Born in the '80s as an attempt to emulate the look of Pro Stock race cars, these cars normally fell short of Pro Stock performance-way short. Pro Street soon reached a level so over the top that many of the cars weren't even capable of idling around the fairgrounds, as much practicality was sacrificed in the name of style. Outrageous graphics, narrowed rearends, multiple power adders, and a whole bunch of other dysfunctional accouterments marked the look. The look of a Pro Stocker without the performance. All show no go, bling bling, excuse me while I hide in a corner cuz my car won't deliver the goods. Fast Pro Streeters back in the day were the exception, not the rule, as was evidenced by an article in the Nov. '88 CC in which the staff took a bunch of well-known Pro Streeters to the track and failed to publish any elapsed times. It was a sad day for hot rods across America.
Where The Rubber Meets The RoadThe most important feature of the Pro Street look is the oversized rear tires. Without the tubs and big tires, you can't have Pro Street. Most Pro Streeters tend to imitate race cars, right down to the inconvenient rollcage that makes climbing in and out of the car a bitch, and a fuel cell that limits cruising range, unless one opts for a large cell, which then renders the trunk useless while sharing space with the battery. Sometimes wheelie bars adorn Pro Streeters, which would be cool if they were justified. Skinny front tires make emergency handling maneuvers downright scary, and then there's the engine that sacrifices performance for flash. Then come the graphics; paint has to match the outlandishness of the theme. Multi-colored stripes over a luminescent base are standard issue, and chrome and anodization covering all metal surfaces under hood is commonplace. There is nothing subtle about Pro Street.
The New LookBut despite the excesses of the past, there is a new look redefining Pro Street and bringing it into the new millennium. The new look of Pro Street is smooth, subtle, and low-key. Gone are the outrageous paint and graphics that once adorned Pro Streeters in their first incarnation. Gone are the multiple power adders included solely for the sake of looks. Gone are the Pro Stock-style hoodscoops obstructing the driver's view. In place of the hoodscoop may be a cowl-induction or even a flat hood. Pro Mod wings are also a thing of the past. In place of the tunnel-ram or big roots-type blower poking through the hood (or hiding under a snorkel hoodscoop) is a single four-barrel carb and a centrifugal blower or a nitrous unit. It could also rely on electronic fuel injection for dependable induction and driveability. The big rear tires, tubs, and skinny fronts remain, although in some cases the front tires are wider and therefore provide better handling. The rears might be a little smaller, requiring only a minitub to house them.