In nature, bright colors often indicate danger. Many venomous snakes and poisonous insects wear vibrant shades of crimson or indigo, warning potential predators that messing with them will be a losing battle. In much the same fashion, Christian Tovar's shocking yellow 1972 Nova SS sets the tone for other cars it rolls up next to. This yellow car has "try me, I dare you" written all over it.

Bright red is certainly an eye-catching color, and as a result many rumors have developed around bright red cars. Some people have claimed they're more likely to get tickets, more expensive to insure, or are even more accident prone. While most of these urban legends have been disproven by statistics, one fact remains: red cars turn heads. That's why Victory Red is the perfect color for Brian Greco's '64 Chevy Nova--it's a real attention-getter, and for good reason.

"Green" is a word that has come to represent much more than a color over the last few years. We're constantly bombarded with ads talking about how "green" the latest hybrid economy car is, and how it might just save the planet. Despite the growing popularity of this new definition of the word, Mike Pennington decided to build a car that returns to the roots of what a green car can be—and it's certainly not a sluggish 4-cylinder hybrid.

As much as we love seeing the end result of a full vehicle restoration, it's equally interesting to see where it all began. The process becomes even more special when you're able to talk to the builder whose blood, sweat, and tears turned an unloved shell of a car into something beautiful. In the case of this 1968 Nova, Aram Ayvazian is that builder, and the man who brought this iconic muscle car back to life.

After its release in 1962, the first-gen Chevy II / Nova didn't exactly scream "muscle car". In fact, the first 1963 Super Sport model didn't even officially offer a V8 engine. However, plenty of hot-rodders saw the little Nova as an ideal platform for their high-performance ambitions. Soon, V8 swaps were common, and before long, many dealers were offering to drop small-block engines into their new Novas for an additional fee. These lightweight V8-powered cars became hugely popular among enthusiasts, and thus a muscle-car icon was born.

If you imagine a muscle car, odds are that you picture something with wide tires, a loud exhaust, a huge motor, and aggressive styling cues. Although this traditional interpretation is undoubtedly cool, there are many ways that the idea of a muscle car can be interpreted. Here at Classic Industries, we love muscle cars of all shapes and sizes, and that's why Jack Petitt's refined take on a muscle car is so appealing to us. Jack restored this deep blue '69 Nova with the help of his daughter, and together they created a car that's as sophisticated as it is powerful.

As much as we love time-tested, untouched classics, there's also something to be said for building a car that's truly original. After all, that's the spirit of hot-rodding—putting together something unique with little more than spare parts and ingenuity. It may not be popular with everyone, but it'll certainly turn some heads and raise some eyebrows. Rebelling against the status quo might yield a total failure, or it might yield something that changes the world—you never know until you try.

Mention the Chevy Nova today, and most people will envision a high-performance muscle car. However, the Nova's beginnings were much less glamorous than that—it started out as an optional trim level on the unassuming Chevy II commuter car. The Nova's image has changed so much, most people even forget the car wasn't offered with a V8 engine for the first two years of its production, even in its top-of-the-line Super Sport form. Back in '62, you got to choose between a 153ci four-cylinder or a 194ci inline-six—not particularly exciting.

Certain things in life just seem to naturally go together. Burgers and fries, American cars and V8 engines, country music and pickup trucks. Yet another of these iconic pairings is surfers and station wagons. It has almost become a cultural cliché to see the image of a classic Woodie wagon with a surfboard on top, overlooking the beach and distant waves. With the versatility, roominess, and flat-out cool factor of classic station wagons, it's no wonder why they have become the ride of choice for the surfer subculture.

No matter who you are or what your upbringing was like, it's likely that you remember your first time driving a fast car. It's a feeling of heart-stopping exhilaration to put your foot to the floor, hear the engine roar to life, and feel yourself thrust forward as the tires scream for mercy. The experience is so life-changing that it even transcends generations, as the pursuit of speed passes from parents to their children.