The Lowriders: From Detroit to L.A. and Back

The cars that serve as traditional lowriders were originally designed and built in Detroit. They were sent around the world and eventually inspired a number of automotive customization cultures, many of which worked their way back to the Motor City itself. In Los Angeles, late 1930’s Pachuco culture popularized the low slung stance that came to be emblematic of lowriding as a social and stylistic statement. L.A. eventually innovated hydraulic suspensions in the 1950’s, a qualifying modification of lowriders soon thereafter, with the ability to adjust the cars’ ride height while still driving, to subvert law enforcement’s targeted crackdowns. Since then lowriding has traveled across time, c...View all