I think we have covered everything here. Everyone has their own opinion.
In the end, who really cares about the name of the style of car. Build what you want, if you like it, you like it. I would stay away from purposly using shoddy workmanship. That can only be bad for all of us.
I overheard some guys at a show offering the best wording, when they were talking about my truck. One guy says to the other, "did you look at that rat over there?" the second one says, "yea, it is not really a SHOW car, but did you see all the workmanship in it? A rat is not a restoration, not a traditional hot rod, ( ie period correct) and it is not a show car, (ie wax and polish car).
What it is, is a lot of fun to build and drive.