“What was the nicest, most intricately-detailed, most luxurious car at the LA Auto Show?” If I asked that to 100 people, I bet all 100 would list off high-end luxury cars offered by, say, Aston Martin, Lexus, or Alfa Romeo. But then all 100 would be wrong, because the true gems of the LA Auto show were hidden in the basement. I’m talking about the lowriders — vehicles detailed with such precision that owners confidently place mirrors beneath them to display how every single square inch of every surface has been meticulously crafted with a true artist’s vision.
I want to begin this article by stating that I’m not qualified to write about lowrider culture — like, at all. I’m writing this as someone who is, frankly, completely ignorant but at the same time highly appreciative of what I consider a consistently underrated subculture largely under-covered by mainstream automotive media. This is going to change, and The Autopian’s first step in fixing this egregious oversight is to bring you this small video from the LA Auto Show Floor:
“Freakin’ white people don’t known about lowriding!” joked Anthony, the gentleman who organized the Rockin’ Chicano exhibition at the LA Auto Show. On some level, he’s playing around, but on another level, he isn’t wrong — at least not in reference to Torch and me, two people who most would consider car “experts.” And yet when it comes to lowriders, we’re idiots, but so, so keen to learn more. Thankfully, Anthony schooled us a bit.
While standing outside this incredible copper 1963 Chevy Impala, Anthony broke down what we were looking at:
LS engine on it, they modified everything, they copper coated it, and then they got the rims, the laces. And then all the murals on it, the lining on it — it takes a long time. This you could do anywhere from six months to two years. Price wise, if this car was off the lot, easy $300,000.
I asked about the mirrors under the cars — I knew they were there to show off the undercarriage, but was keen to learn more. Anthony’s reply:
Everything has to be done. It’s called undercarriage, so right when the judging comes in — it’s: “What do you got, undies?” — like undercarriage. The undies has to be chromed out, copper…rose, or whatever the color that they gonna use. And I know that he has it, so when they lift it and he has the butt up, you gonna see the same color matching up on the trimming.
This Impala in question belongs to the LA chapter of the High Class Car Club, the most hated, feared lowrider club out there due to its members’ incredible workmanship, Anthony told Jason and me. “They’re feared — it’s like ‘We come, and we come strong.'” This Impala and others from this club are actually cars that are driven on public roads, whereas Trailer Queens “never see daylight and they never see rain,” Anthony explained.
I was curious about how these machines are built, since there are so many elements that need to be meticulously created — surely it’s not all done by the same person/shop, right? Referring to the Impala, Anthony told us: “[The owner/shop] does engravement and a gold dip, chrome dip — he does it all. You trade off, you barter work. They build the vehicles, but they send out certain things.” The artwork, which was sprayed, brushed, pinstriped, and gold-leafed, probably took eight months and $40 grand, per Anthony.
Jason and I thanked Anthony for his time, and walked around to check out the rest of the automotive art exhibit sitting there on the floor in the LA Convention Center’s basement; while we saw cars you might expect, like big-body Cadillacs and Impalas and Lincoln Continentals, we also saw some regular, run-of-the-mill malaise-era GM sedans. These are machines that are largely unloved, as they’re slow, inefficient, poor-handling, unsafe, under-styled, smog-era vehicles with pretty much only one or two redeeming qualities: they ride well, and I suppose they’re big and spacious and imposing. These rather few positive attributes, though, are apparently among the most important ones to the low-rider community. I mean, just look at the 1970s Chevy Malibu:
Nobody gives a damn about a 1970s Chevy Malibu, and yet someone did this to one, and it just works:
Yes, someone (the_wagon_one on Instagram) took a boring 1970s Chevy Malibu wagon that would blend into any crowd of 1970s-era cars, and turned it into a legitimate work of art:
Is it over the top, with a tailgate that pops out and spins, a red velour interior, chrome everything, etc. — absolutely. But over-the-top is the whole point! And the fact that this started off as a mundane family wagon brings this into an entire new category of artistic brilliance. But I’m no expert when it comes to art, so I’ll let my artist colleague Jason Torchinsky voice his thoughts on all this. From Jason:
I call these lowriders cathedrals (see headline) because that’s what they feel like to me, and I suppose I should explain that more, since most of you don’t live in my head — only a select few. When I think of the aesthetic of a cathedral, I think about how it’s sort of a record of skill and craftsmanship and labor, all done in service of intense faith and belief, and effectively written into the very material of the building.
You see it in ornate details and carvings and paintwork and stained glass. It’s almost fractal in that way, in that you see more and more levels of ornament and design the closer you look. You can feel the time it took to do this sort of work — minute in detail and massive in scale.
No other cars save for lowriders have this same quality. Every bit of a lowrider is ornately detailed, every little bolt is worthy of aggrandizing and making beautiful. You see this sort of attention to details and a complete willingness to lavish this attention on the smallest bits of a whole all over the car, like you’d see it all over Notre Dame. It’s the same idea, just different mediums — cars instead of churches.
That’s well put, and Jason really does mean “every bit of a lowrider.” Look at that Malibu’s rear driveshaft! It’s an incredible chrome twisted shaft unlike anything I’ve ever seen:
The sway bar has the same look! (It looks like a chrome Twizzler in the image below):
Notice all the mirrors on the floor — the builder wants to show you every surface on this thing, because every surface is a “class A surface,” as an OEM automakers would put it — that is, a surface that someone will see, and that should therefore be meticulously designed to look good. Trust me, no mainstream automaker has ever put this much effort into making sure their production car looks this good from every angle:
And then just look at the cabin — my god! Look at those seats!:
There’s something about those sharp chrome seatbacks, the red color, and that draping tan interior fabric that gives this interior a menacing, almost evil vibe — like the car belongs to the devil himself. It’s incredible how much looking at this car makes one feel, and that’s a high compliment for any kind of art.
Anyway, here’s a look at some other gems Torch and I saw in the basement of the LA Auto Show:
That’s a late ’80s Cadillac Brougham equipped with a beautiful trunk-mounted hydraulic suspension system. The car is part of the Eloquence Car Club in LA.
Torch and I also saw a bunch of gorgeous Impalas — that’s a nameplate that’s clearly the king of the lowrider scene:
Check out the etching on the blue Impala’s engine and pump — and look at the artwork inside the engine bay! It’s just sensational!
That’s a nice Ford Thunderbird and Galaxie wagon above. The paint, the chrome, the perfect interior — it’s all so vibrant and fun, which is probably what I love about this culture the most. It’s clear that the people doing this work have incredible senses of humor; I mean, the spinning rear door on that wagon — it’s just nutty!
“LA is the Mecca of lowriding,” Anthony told Jason and me before we parted ways (though he still gave love to Española, New Mexico, an incredible lowrider capitol of its own). I’m beyond excited to exploring that Mecca soon.
My dad owned a Caprice wagon he used to travel the country selling his artwork in. He turned that into a successful screen printing business.
He raised me on a steady toy diet of Hot Wheels, Micro Machines, Lego and colored pencils.
I love cars and I love graphic art, they are both a big part of who I am, and yet the whole low rider culture has never intrigued me until today.
Strange.
Just, thanks guys.
Great article, great video.
Boooooooring AF
(Your attitude, not lowriders.)
The yellow one in the photos was exhibited in an exhibition at the V&A in London a few years ago. great video to go with it as well! https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/car-subcultures
I would say that if you have that level of talent, you are welcome to direct it howsoever you please. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, anyway. It’s certainly not for the likes of me to tell people with this kind of skill that they are wasting their time. One could say that about most hobbies, really.
DEEP respect for what these folks do. We consider ourselves automotive enthusiasts. No, they put most of us to utter shame.
Guilty as charged — I don’t get it. (And my eyes hurt.)
I remember vividly a particular nightly newscast in the Student Union during my college days (late seventies). The closing segment, an upbeat “light news” piece, focussed on an L.A. augo scene and specifically the use of dynamic hydraulic (?) lift kits to make the cars dramatically, improbably rise and descend, even to the point of actually hopping down the boulevard.
With his signaure closing “Well that’s the way it is . . . ” Walter Cronkite couldn’t resist an accompanying chuckle.
It is a marvelously varied world we make, and it’s great to see such passion exhibited.
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I would love to see more of how these cars are made. It would be great to showcase things like how did they do the pinstriping, engraving etc.
I’d be real interested to learn what people are doing with these things mechanically, underneath all that chrome. I mean, clearly it’s not the top priority (in the sense that I usually think of it anyway) or else there wouldn’t be stuff like twisted driveshafts, but it’s equally clear that the mechanicals matter on some level or else they wouldn’t have bothered to LS-swap that first car in the article. What are people doing there, and with what goals? I get that the oily bits aren’t the most glamorous parts of these cars, but I’m always curious to know what’s been sone under the skin.
This article needs a sound track – https://ia802809.us.archive.org/28/items/warlowrider1975/War%20-%20Low%20Rider%201975.mp3
Oh this brings back many fond memories of watching low riders waft by under the brilliant lights of Van Nuys Boulevard on cruise nights.
Santé Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico also have great lowrider culture. On any given night you will see amazing cars just cruising, let alone the cars that come out for shows and cruises.
I’m looking forward to seeing the first lowrider build of a Pagani or some such exotic. I’d like to see the shift linkage on the Pagani Zonda after it’s had another $40,000 in embellishments thrown at it.
Yup, the low rider show at the ABQ convention center this year was top notch
Pure art. Love to see all corners of car culture appreciated, variety is life! Enjoying only one part would be like listening to only one genre of music your whole life. And I will absolutely be calling stunningly customized cars cathedrals from now on – excellent.
That driveshaft makes me grin. I’ve never seen one like that. Seems like it would be hard to balance because you can’t just slap some weights on there like your local machine shop does. Great article!
I dream of having the time, talent, and skill to do this level of work. I’d be aiming for a different aesthetic, but… I mean, Rolls Royce basically brags that they bother to wet-sand their cars by hand in order to achieve a smooth finish. These cars are lightyears beyond Rolls or Bentley, in terms of the sheer amount of skilled labor that has been lavished upon them. I’ve never seen a restomod by Icon, Singer, or anyone else that’s anywhere close to this level.
They are not my thing, but the results are undeniable – wow!
I find myself wondering how many cars could be restored/personalized if all of the labor hours spent on one cathedral were distributed over a bunch of projects. Or maybe it seems unusual because I’m not capable of focusing on one project at a time, let alone to even 2% that level of detail. 🙂
It’s amazing what can be done with a car when you’re not constantly fighting against rust.
I’ve wanted to do the low rider treatment on a Jag E-Type ever since I was a kid. Given the sharp rise in E-Type prices, I’m nearly certain it will never happen, but I still imagine it happening.
I think the inspiration comes from a love of old British cars, then seeing the Jaguar hearse in Harold and Maude and several Cheech and Chong movies during a few summers growing up.
I grew up in California, in a predominantly Hispanic area so lowriders were always around on the street and at car shows.
As others said, the sheer amount of detail is staggering. Looking at the Galaxy wagon above, just the bumper, grill, and headlight surrounds seem like they would have taken dozens of-if not several hundred -hours to engrave(?). Is it possible people are using CNC-type machinery?
I dunno, the trim around the taillight in the video thumbnail sure looks hand worked, as does the blue car’s engine cover — check the little variances in the edge borders.
Mexican art has a tradition of intricate, sometimes very large scale carving and engraving and printmaking stretching back to the region’s Mesoamerican civilizations, a lineage that today can be seen in the almost bas relief appearance of Chicano tattooing, so I think it’s entirely plausible that all of the engraving on these cars was done by hand.
Lowriders are amazing and I”d love more coverage of it. Anyone I’ve ever met who claims to hate them always ends up being the most boring type of car enthusiast. They’re usually someone so set in their ways and in one specific style, that they refuse to even consider respecting a style that they might not personally find appealing to them.
I’d love to check out the lowrider scene in LA sometime. I’ve seen on instagram that they still regularly cruise and recently got a city ordinance overturned to let them cruise again. Believe it or not, there’s a pretty big lowrider scene in Japan too. When I was there in 2018, I just happened to be in Tokyo the first Saturday of the month which is when tons of lowrider guys all cruise a specific area of Tokyo. Nothing beats watching an early 90s Cadillac Fleetwood 3 wheel high enough to throw sparks from the rear quarter panel, all of this a block away from the big crossing in Shibuya.
We have a pretty thriving low rider culture here in Sacto, and a couple of my buddies and I have come across shows at local parks a couple of times.. The owners of the cars look mildly amused at us older-white-dude types, walking around and staring at their cars with our mouths agape. It would be great to see more articles on these cars – I’d like to know more about them. Also, I like the “cathedral” comparison!
There was an event and display at the Sacramento Auto museum over the summer about lowriders with a massive turn out for the kickoff.
The exhibit after that one was on the history of alternative fuel vehicles. When I dropped off my ’77 Lyman to be part of it the staff parked it in the recently vacated area but they hadn’t yet redone the walls for the new exhibit. The museum remained open during the transition, of course, so the result must have been puzzling for visitors in the interim…
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52569566937_24f4b6b2db_c.jpg
I’ve probably seen some of the same cars in local shows at parks as you. Amazing works of art sometimes. My Latina wife has been in the Carnaval San Francisco parade a number of times and there are always a bunch of great low riders in the parade. A woman from South Sac that posts to our local Nextdoor blog is into low riders and her and her husband have one. Kind of funny as her daily driver is a Tesla.
I’ve always appreciated lowriders even though stylistically it’s not what I’d choose to ride around in. The sheer AMOUNT of work is staggering but the quality and detail is what always grabbed my attention.
I love checking out the low rider shows in my neighborhood (the Mission in SF, center of the NorCal lowrider scene) but boy, some of these from LA are entirely next level. More reporting on this, please!
I have seen immaculate highly detailed show cars and customs, but these are on a different level.
Thanks for this article, it is not my thing, but it is furthering my education and I’m hungry for more insight.
If there’s one thing about Low Riders it is that they can raise their cars up when need be so that they’re at least SEMI PRACTICAL TO DRIVE unlike the stupid “stanced” abominations that are stuck with NO ground clearance.
There was a great video a few years back of a low rider at maximum lift slowly motoring along a flooded street-wake and all. A definite bark with laughter moment.
Do yourself a favor and don’t use respect for one automotive culture to hate on another automotive culture.
Stanced cars don’t make sense to me, and anything unsafe to others on public roads should be subject to ticketing.
But I’m not going to use that as an excuse to hate on people who put their passion into their projects just because it’s not my thing.
Also, some stanced cars are also adjustable.
Just incredible!
Always wanted to check out the Lowrider scene when I make it to LA someday, still amazed that cars of the level of that bronze ’63 are being street-driven!
What I’d love to hear more about related to lowriders is how the owners/builders got their inspiration for their designs. With all of the intricacies of the details, the work must take years to complete. And, as is pointed out in this article, every possible surface is customized, so it’s definitely not a make-it-up-as-you-go endeavor — you really need to have a PLAN to execute something like this. Just looking at the first car shown, if I were to describe every detail, it would take me forever, and I have the luxury of seeing the finished product. I can’t even comprehend what it would take to start with a blank-slate Impala and dream up every customization to be done to it over the course of an eye-wateringly expensive multi-year modification process.
I really respect not only the work that went into it but also the vision that it took to conceive it.
I wonder if, like cathedrals, the work is done in phases? Do the basic mechanical modifications to turn the car into a lowrider, give it a nice coat of paint and some interior work, and then start adding details, so that every time the car comes out for the year, something new has been done: pinstripes, then airbrushing, then interior, then the “undies” (love that term), then get into the serious stuff like all that filigree work. It might very well be two years of work spread out over ten.