Road Rocket

by Henry Gregor Felsen

Can a teenager afford a car? Even a cheap old one? Woody Ahern thought he could. He had a job after school, he had saved a little money, and, as he pleaded with his father, the main reason he and the other members of his car club wanted a car was so that they could work on it. “It could be an old car,” Woody was quick to explain, “that we can rebuild and put in good working condition.” So Woody got his car–for forty dollars. He named it Sidekick. And from the moment the thirteen-year-old wreck became his very own, Woody lavished on it all his love and devotion, to the exclusion of virtually all the other activities that are a normal part of a teenager’s life. But Woody didn’t mind. Just wait till he got through with Sidekick! It would be the most beautiful car imaginable. He could see himself driving Sandra to the spring dance. . . No, Woody didn’t begrudge Sidekick all his spare time and all the money he was able to scrape up. He didn’t even mind the other fellows’ snickers when he bragged about Sidekick. He’d show them! There came a time, however, when Woody ran out of money for the tools and spare parts he had to have for his beloved Sidekick. And he almost lost his girl through a misunderstanding that arose over the car. In fact, before Sidekick was safe to drive, Woody had learned a great deal―not only about cars, but also about human relationships and his own goals in life.

286 pages, Paperback

Published January 31, 2024

About the author

Felsen was born and attended school in Brooklyn, N.Y.C. He taught part-time at Drake University (1964-1969), and in 1977 left Iowa to spend his remaining years traveling.

After struggling financially during the Depression, Felsen sold nine books and hundreds of stories in his first eighteen months of full-time freelance writing in the early 1940s. After war service with the Marine Corps, during which he edited the corps magazine Leatherneck and also wrote magazine articles while stationed in the Pacific, he returned to Iowa where he lived for most of his life.

Felsen was a prolific author. He wrote more than 60 books and hundreds of articles and short stories. Felsen's most popular writings were his car series books. The series (Hot Rod, Street Rod, Rag Top, Crash Club) was especially popular with teenage males, and sold more than eight million copies. Hot Rod (1950) was the most popular title and remained on the best-seller list for 27 years. Even though his books were about young men, fast cars, and girlfriends, Felsen used many of them to moralistically explore the evils of drug abuse, sexism, and racism. He claimed that "I was years ahead of my time to approach and explore these topics in literature aimed at the young reader. "The car series also appealed to young readers because it realistically paralleled the car culture of the 1950s and the craze of "hot rodding." The realism in his writing was also evident in the unhappy endings and heroes who were often rebels. Felsen's books reflected the morals, values, and prejudices of the time.

He is also credited with one screenplay, the 1968 film Fever Heat, based on his novel of the same name which had been published under the pen name of Angus Vicker.

Felsen was married twice and had two children and two stepchildren. In 1977 he left West Des Moines to move to Vermont and later lived in Michigan. Felsen spent much of the last two decades of his life traveling. He lived in Grandville, Michigan, and died of a heart ailment in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1995.