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This year’s presidential election will likely come down to a single issue; the economy. Are Obama’s stimulus plans and green energy investments helping bring the economy back, or does Mitt Romney’s promise of lower taxes and less government lead the way to economic vitality?
We’re no economists, and many real economists seem divided as to the overall health of the economy, citing this study or that report in an effort to make sense of it all. But economics website Marketwatch took a decidedly different approach to measuring economic health, looking specifically at 
the hot rod and custom car business as a sign of the economy’s strength or lack thereof.
And what Marketwatch found might surprise you. The economic eggheads took a look at Los Angeles-based Hot Rods and Hobbies custom car shop, run by one Scott Bonowski. Bonowski says that as of late, his shop has been flooded with orders for custom cars after a scary couple of years that saw him cutting his staff in half.
Now, with the recent uptake in business Bonowski has hired back his entire crew as business continues to pick up. At one time many people were putting projects on hold when they lost their jobs or got behind on other bills. While measuring economic health via hot rods is a bit of a stretch, as such a business caters solely to a crowd of passionate hobbyists, it is certainly an encouraging sign for the economy. If people are feeling comfortable enough to invest into custom cars, maybe the economy really is heading for a recovery.
Then again, maybe not as fast of a recovery as we would all like to see. Have you been able to find the extra money to invest into your own project cars, or has the economic crunch put the pincher on your wallet?
