History of SAHotRods.com

Joe van Zyl, has been an avid Rodder and Muscle Car enthusiast from an early age. This passion was instilled in him by his father, a mechanic specialising in these curious, old machines. While Joe did not follow in his father footsteps, and went on to start a web development company, the passion for Rodding stayed with him and he continued to devour international Rodding magazines and websites, perving over Hot Rods, Customs and Muscle Cars.

A couple of years ago Joe noticed that the Hot Rod and Muscle Car industry in South Africa was on the rise, with more and more people enquiring about these cars on a daily basis. He also noted that there was no online portal in South Africa catering to this demand. It was in December 2006 that he decided to put his web development company, Brocolli Productions, to good use by building a website which celebrated Hot Rods, Muscle Cars, Custom Cars and Choppers. And so SAHotRods.com was born.

Since its inception SAHotRods.com has been welcomed by Rodders with open arms and has enjoyed phenomenal success: - The website had over 10 000 people visit the site in its first month. - In January 2007, SAHotrods.com received a listing on SA Best Directory for being one of the best motoring websites in South Africa (http://www.sabest.co.za/directory_motoring.html).

- By January 2008 the website had over 1 000 000 visitors worldwide.

SA HotRods Magazine Following the phenomenal success of the website a printed version seemed the natural progression and on a trip to Johannesburg in July 2007, Joe met long-standing Rod enthusiast, Gerald Engelbrecht. Having been very impressed with the website, Engelbrecht introduced SA HotRods to Picasso Headlines, a subsidiary company of Avusa Media Ltd (for which Engelbrecht works), which specialises in niche magazine publications. An agreement was brokered and the creation South Africa's only Hot Rod and Muscle Car magazine got underway. On the 9th of June 2008, the first quarterly, glossy SA HotRods magazine hit shelves. SA HotRods is not only aimed at promoting the cars, but also the lifestyle, that is: a love for the road, a passion for the old and new, and the insight to visualise and appreciate a blend of the two. We hope to enjoy a long-standing relationship with fellow Rodding devotees