WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — A staple in movies, music videos and magazines for years, low rider cars and their hyped-up hydraulics are a mainstay in popular culture. The popular low rider show at last month’s Fiesta Mexicana in Grand Rapids proves the decades-old form of expression has made its way to West Michigan.
Like so many modern American hobbies and traditions, low riding was born as soldiers returned home from World War II. Mexican-American veterans in Southern California equipped with new skills got to work filling their peacetime.
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“It’s a tradition that has actually been around a long time,” Chico Carcini of Carcini Custom Interiors and the Mexican Heritage Association of West Michigan told News 8. “It goes back to post-World War II when the car culture was mostly hot rods. A lot of the military guys gained skills in mechanics. For the Mexican community, they wanted something to showcase their cars, so they would lower their cars.”
The newfound form bred instant and exhaustive expression…