It's a very sad day to see this old timer has passed on at only 63 years of age, I was shocked to read this on the net. Just this afternoon I was watching the show on Discovery, its hard to get my mind around this. I've only known him from "American Hot Rod". But I absolutely loved the show. The edgy remarks and tension in the show all added to a good and sometimes funny TV show.
A lot of people could not stand him and his management style, but it is what made the show. Part of me thinks it was part of the camera's involved, but some of his decisions were controversial. I did find it quite disappointing that he didn't support his empoyees view on some things. Most of the time he gave them freedom to be creative, but after a while pulled the leash and changed things to his liking once more (The word "Boydster" comes to mind). His cars look awesome of course, but more variety would be nice from the guys (employees) themselves would be nice.
All the things he has done for hot rod development and getting the word out on hot rods is a big part of him and his family. He is one of the top legendary hot rod builders out there and also a very big player in the hot rod industry.
R.I.P mr. Coddington, you will be missed! My sincere support and condolences go out to his family.
(02-27) 11:43 PST Los Angeles (AP) --
Car-building legend Boyd Coddington, whose testosterone-injected cable TV reality show "American Hot Rod" introduced the nation to the West Coast hot rod guru, has died. He was 63.
Coddington died at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in suburban Whittier at 6:20 a.m. Wednesday. His La Habra office spokeswoman Amanda Curry wouldn't disclose the cause of death.
Coddington, who started building cars when he was 13 and once operated a gas station in Utah, set a standard for his workmanship and creativity, with his popular "Cadzilla" creation considered a design masterpiece. The customized car based on a 1950s Cadillac was built for rocker Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.
"That was a groundbreaking car. Very cool," said Dick Messer, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
"This was your modern era George Barris," Messer said. "He did things to hot rods and customs that weren't being done by anyone else. But the main thing is he designed cars that were drivable."
Coddington was a machinist by trade, working at Disneyland during the day and tinkering with cars in his home garage at night and on weekends. His rolling creations captured the imagination of car-crazy Southern Californians and soon he was building custom cars and making money.
Most often, he customized 1932 Ford "little deuce coupes."
"It was one of those things when a hobby turned into business," Messer said, noting Coddington was also "one of the first guys to get into the custom wheel business."
Wheels by Boyd were fetching $2,000 apiece, which was unheard of two decades ago.
Coddington also surrounded himself with talent. Alumni from his shop include Jesse James and Chip Foose, who went on to open their own shops and star in reality TV shows.
Coddington twice won the Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence Award and he was inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame and the Route 66 Wall of Fame.
Always dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, Coddington said he loved his "American Hot Rod" Discovery Channel show, which featured ground-up construction of $500,000 hot rods.
"The viewers are ... people who lived in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and loved these cars. Now, they have money," Coddington told The Associated Press in a 2004 interview.
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