Youth Car Culture

Who's Who In American Car Culture

There are many variations of the modern version of the hot-rodders of the cult-classic American Graffiti that premiered more than 30-years ago. Today's youth car culture can be classified as Performance Tuners, Aesthetic Tuners, Drifters, Low Riders and Competitors. Each is a subculture in its own right.

While some people misinterpret the tuner crowd to be interested in street racing, enthusiasts do not consider tuning a back-alley activity. It is an outlet for personal expression and has become a competitive and skilled sport. Import tuner shows continue to be popular venues across the United States because they're designed to showcase creative genius in car customization and the loudest, fastest or simply the "phattest" vehicle on the road. Tuners today work primarily with small import cars, fuel injectors, computer chips, mobile surround-sound and DVD technology. They fall into two categories: performance minded and aesthetic minded.
- Performance-minded tuners pay special attention to fuel injectors, suspension and accessories to enhance the speed and performance of the vehicle. For this group, Pioneer's vehicle dynamics gauge is a great way to determine the benefits of the aftermarket parts they've added to the car.
- Aesthetic-minded youth pay special attention to rims, wheels, graphics and audio/video enhancements. Access to advanced in-car entertainment anytime-anywhere fueled the evolution of the tuner lifestyle. They have now expanded their interest and influence beyond the car to include music, films, video games, computers, cell phones and clothes.
Low Riders are named such because they literally lower their cars to the ground using hydraulics, airbags and spindles. The vehicles they commonly use can vary, from the classic 40's to muscle cars in the 60's, and now expanding into luxury and European vehicles. They are particularly interested in the outer aesthetics with chrome, custom paint and murals with cultural and religious themes. Audio and video have fast become an essential part of the low rider experience, often to complete their contemporary art form.
A hot new sport that's taken over the tuner scene is drifting, which refers to a technique in driving. Mostly done in closed course tracks, "drifters" race their vehicles in a sideways motion and are judged on technique. Often described as having the same floating look as ice skaters, drifters pitch their vehicles sideways as long as possible on the track utilizing acceleration, steering and braking. Drift boxes such as Pioneer's vehicle dynamics processors are being utilized to help improve driving techniques due to its ability to provide real time data such as acceleration, deceleration and lateral G-forces.
Competitors are involved with several sanctioning bodies for sound pressure level achievement. While the ultimate goal is to create the loudest vehicle - setting records for the highest decibel range - these are not the cars you see on the road and feel the bass from two lanes over. In fact, at a competition, the cars are so carefully sealed that the only way to know who has the loudest car is from the on-site sound pressure level meters. Competitors seek out the best amplifiers and subwoofers to achieve the highest dB rating.