Lowrider
A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smaller than the original wheels, ranging down to 13 inches (330 mm). They are also often fitted with hydraulic systems[1] that allow height adjustable suspension, where the vehicle is raised or lowered at the owner's command. Given these specific characteristics, while a lowrider is always a lowered car, a lowered car is not always a lowrider. The term is used to describe a class of vehicle, not simply the height from ground to chassis.
The term lowrider can also refer to the driver of the car.
Origin and purpose
The lowrider car serves no practical purpose beyond that of a standard car. Lowrider car culture began in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-to-late 1940s and during the post-war prosperity of the 1950s. Initially, some Mexican-American youths lowered blocks, cut spring coils, z'ed the frames[clarification needed] and dropped spindles. The aim of the lowriders is to cruise as slowly as possible, "Low and Slow" being their motto. By redesigning these cars in ways that go against their intended purposes and in painting their cars so that they reflect and hold meanings from Mexican-American culture, lowriders create cultural and political statements that go against the more prevalent Anglo culture.[2]
Legal issues
The rise in popularity resulted in a backlash: the enactment of Section 24008 of the California Vehicle Code on January 1, 1958, which made it illegal to operate any car modified so that any part was lower than the bottoms of its wheel rims. In 1959, mechanic Ron Aguirre found a way to bypass the law by installing hydraulics that could raise and lower a General Motors X-frame chassis by flipping a switch.[3]
Lowriding became popular in the 1980s and 1990s,[4] and then regained popularity a little in 2009, then significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[5] In the 2020s, activists argued that the practice was harmless and banning it was simply the result of prejudice against Mexican-Americans. Bans were enacted in San Jose in 1986 and Sacramento in 1988,[4] but repealed in 2022.[6] In 2022, the State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging all remaining cities with bans (including National City, which banned it in 1992) to repeal them.[7]
Adding height adjustable suspension
In 1959, a customizer named Ron Aguirre developed a way of bypassing the law with the use of hydraulic Pesco pumps and valves that allowed him to change ride height at the flick of a switch.[8]
Role of the Chevrolet Impala
The preceding year, 1958 saw the emergence of the Chevrolet Impala, which featured an X-shaped frame that was perfectly suited for lowering and modification with hydraulics.[8] On this car, the standard perimeter-type frame was abandoned, replaced by a unit with rails laid out in the form of an elongated "X." Chevrolet claimed that the new frame offered increased torsional rigidity and allowed for a lower placement of the passenger compartment. This was a transitional step between traditional perimeter frame construction and the later fully unitized body/chassis, the body structure was strengthened in the rocker panels and firewall. This frame was not as effective in protecting the interior structure in a side impact crash, as a traditional perimeter frame.[9]
Lowrider culture
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Between 1960 and 1975, customizers adapted and refined GM X-frames, hydraulics, and airbrushing techniques to create the modern lowrider style.[10]
At first, lowriders were only seen in places such as Los Angeles, especially in the 1970s on Whittier Boulevard when lowriding came to its peak. Whittier was a wide commercial street that cut through the barrio of the city in Los Angeles, California. Throughout the 1970s that culture spread throughout the Central Valley and San Jose areas of California, helped by release of the R&B song “Low Rider” by War, and creation of low riding clubs such as Carnales Unidos in 1975,[11] and further expanded with the publishing of Low Rider magazine by San Jose State students in 1977.[12] At its peak, Low Rider magazine had over 60,000 copies of monthly sales in 1988. Lowriders were featured in the 1979 film Boulevard Nights, which some blamed for associating lowrider culture with street gangs.
Expanded audience in U.S.
In the 1990s, low riders became strongly associated with West Coast Hip hop and G-Funk culture. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Game, Warren G, South Central Cartel, Eazy-E, Above the Law and John Cena (In a music video of "Right Now") among others featured low riders prominently in their music videos.[13]
Today, the lowriding scene is diverse with many different participating cultures, vehicle makes, and visual styles.
Expanded audience in Japan
Lowriding culture has also spread to Japan.[14][15]
Junichi Shimordaira continues to import and sell these cars through his business, Paradise Road.[16] The spread of lowrider culture and the fame of Paradise Road even raised the attention of Ed Roth, who is famous for creating custom cars such as hot rods and a prominent figure in Kustom Kulture.[17] Since the introduction of lowriders in Japan and the rise of lowriders in Japan in 2001, it is estimated that there are still 200 car clubs that are related to the lowrider scene that are still active to this day.[18]
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1948 Chevrolet Fleetline lowrider "bomb" -
Test of a 1964 Chevrolet Impala hydraulic system
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1988 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham lowrider -
Chevrolet wagon lowrider equipped with hydraulic suspension hopping -
A 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood lowrider 3-wheeling during the Fiestas Patrias Parade, South Park, Seattle, Washington -
1991 GMC Sonoma pickup modified in the lowrider style
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See also
- Lowrider bicycle
- Chicano Rap
- Gangsta Rap which includes the track: Ridin' Low
- G funk
- West Coast hip hop
- Kid Frost
References
- ^ Stavans, I.; Augenbraum, H. (2005). Encyclopedia Latina: history, culture, and society in the United States. Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. Grolier Academic Reference. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-7172-5818-5. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ Sturken & Cartwright, Marita & Lisa (2009). Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-531440-3.
- ^ What Happened To Hydraulics? Nothing. It’s Still Here
- ^ a b Sacramento repeals ban on lowriding
- ^ The lowrider is back: The glorious return of cruising to the streets of L.A.
- ^ The lowrider community wants all of California to join San Jose and end cruising bans
- ^ State Assembly encourages California cities to repeal cruising bans
- ^ a b "Going "Low and Slow" in East Los Angeles". The Golden State Company. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Niedermeyer, Paul (19 January 2012). "Automotive History: An X-Ray Look At GM's X Frame (1957 – 1970)". Curb Side Classic. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Rong, Blake (16 July 2016). ""Ghetto Famous" Lowriders Reach For The Sky In Odessa, Texas". Road & Track Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Carnales Unidos Car Club - Lowrider Magazine". MotorTrend.com. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ "The life and death of Lowrider: How the Chicano car magazine shaped California". Los Angeles Times. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ Strait, Kevin. "Lowriders and Hip Hop Culture". Smithsonian. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ Frost, Bob. "History of Lowriders". Historyaccess.com.
- ^ "LOWRIDER HISTORY". Convictedartist.com. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ Lirones, Brett (28 February 2019). "Here's Why You'll Find American-Styled Lowriders Roaming Around the Streets of Japan". Hagerty. Hagerty. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ Mendoza, Beto (27 November 2014). "Paradise Road - Shop Stop & Talk". Lowrider. Lowrider. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ Donoghue, JJ. "The Elaborate Customized Cars of Japan's 'Lowriding' Subculture". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
Further reading
- Brown, J (2002). "DIPN The Industry of Low Riding", Dream Factory Films, 1(2)(3).