LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Lowrider Cars
built 613 days ago
In 1957, Gov. Edmond Brown outlawed lowrider cars. The California law prohibits drivers from lowering the frame of the car past the lowest point of the wheel rim. Police ... apply the law against driving in unsafe condition to cars that have tiny steering wheels and tires, and hydraulics.
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Lowrider culture has its own established traditions and avant-garde. The Chevy Impala is the classic and revered mechanical icon and fetish of Cold War post-industrial America. The tradition prohibits worship of other models: "You shall alter the function but not the shape of the Chevy Impala". This affordable and roomy family car was originally inherited by teenagers in the barrios. With an average length of more than 215 inches, the Impala was a lowrider from the beginning. The frame of the Impalas, especially the x-frame on the '64, became the ideal chassis for hopping.
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While lowriders first registered in the American mainstream consciousness decades ago, they went big time as the cars of gangsters. Not Al Capone-style bootleggers, but early-‘90s hip-hop “gangstas.” The first image in the music video for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s seminal 1993 rap single “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” is Dre pulling up to Snoop’s house in a 1964 Impala lowrider. They spend half of the video cruising around Long Beach accompanied by other gangsta lowriders.
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Lowriders distinguished themselves from hot rodders by driving "low and slow" - "bajito y suavecito" - sometimes dragging the body of their cars so low to the pavement that they created dramatic sprays of sparks. Lowrider customizing began to incorporate creative painted murals with historic and religious themes, featuring figures such as la Virgen de Guadalupe, Aztec warriors, as well as images from pop culture. Lavish additional features -- sound systems , upholstery, glass etching and hydraulics - amplified the lowriding experience. Like other automotive hobbyists, lowriders spend considerable time, money and skill on perfecting their rides.
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Lowriders do not race their cars, they parade, "low and slow," so the cars can be appreciated. The parade is a "paseo," a cruise. The hopping or dancing of the car is a way of giving it life. Exhibiting at organized car shows is an important part of lowriding; the cars are judged for mechanical ingenuity and workmanship, hopping ability, artistic execution in the paintwork, and creative design.
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At least one Austin shop sells lowrider parts as well as completed lowrider bicycles. Rene Martinez opened his East Cesar Chavez Street business as a Mexican import shop before moving into lowriders about six months ago at the suggestion of his nephew.
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Lowrider Cars