A low rider vehicle, which can be a car, truck, motorcycle, or even a bicycle, is one that has been altered to ride very low to the road: it sits almost on the ground and has a sleek streamlined appearance. The phrase is also applied to the owners or drivers of such vehicles, who might participate in all the activities associated with low riding, such as cruising, caravanning to car shows, or just hanging out and showing off their customizing skills. The practice of customizing cars was started at least as early as the 1930s in Los Angeles and Sacramento, although the expression "low rider" did not come into usage until the 1960s, after a custom-car subculture had arisen in the Southwest, particularly in California. Low rider cars are commonly identified with Latinos and Chicanos, sometimes negatively in connection to gang activity, but there are also...