I don't know if it's getting older or the time I've spent working here, but I've developed quite an appreciation of lowriders, as there's a lot of history wrapped up in them–and exquisite craftmanship, too.
By Guest Writer
Feb 19, 2025
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Petersen Automotive Museum,
Lowrider
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Photography by Howard Koby
Words by Howard Koby
Some say that lowriders started in Southern California. Others claim it was Tijuana, Texas or New Mexico. Regardless of its origins, young Hispanics started customizing cars to their liking during World War II.
The problem: A California vehicle code of the ’50s outlawed lowriding. The breakthrough came when a chap named Ron Aguirre installed the Pesco hydraulics from a B-52 bomber in his ’57 Corvette. Drivers could now flip a switch to lower their cars or lift them to make them street legal.
On January 1, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that lifts the restrictions on lowrider cruising. And later that year, Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum celebrated lowrider culture, showcasing some of the most significant lowrider cars, bicycles, motorcycles and trucks.
A 1958 Chevrolet Impala created by Chris Roark and dubbed Final Score sat like a steel rainbow of color with vibrant candy and metal flake paint, complete with graphics and pinstriping, airbrushed murals and intricate engraving.
Joe Ray’s 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V Las Vegas, named 1994-’95 lowrider of the year, features a casino-themed interior with a roulette wheel tire cover, playing card-shaped swivel seats and a craps table stashed inside the door.
Takahiko Izawa of Nara, Japan, developed a technique of embossing and engraving a thick layer of specialized paints to create the appearance of an engraved bare-metal body on his 1958 Chevy.
The 1964 Chevy Impala Gypsy Rose served as the centerpiece. Lowrider Magazine calls it “the world’s most famous lowrider,” while the Petersen labels it “the most influential custom car ever built.” It was featured in the opening credits of the ’70s sitcom “Chico and the Man” and, more recently, was inducted into the Historic Vehicle Association–alongside the first Cobra Daytona Coupe, Meyers Manx’s original dune buggy and Steve McQueen’s Bullitt Mustang.
Why the continued love for lowriders? “It’s tradition as our family have been builders and painters of lowriders from my grandfather to my father,” explains Albert De Alba Jr., owner of the candy-painted 1963 Impala named El Rey, Spanish for The King. “What I love about lowriding is the artistry behind it. They made a million Impalas, but when you can make one that is pearl patterned out and unique to your name, that’s the beauty and pride of the build.”
I don't know if it's getting older or the time I've spent working here, but I've developed quite an appreciation of lowriders, as there's a lot of history wrapped up in them–and exquisite craftmanship, too.
Those are masterful works of self expression. Who says everything needs to conform to a specific standard?
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