AzMotorNews
Low-Rider Bill A Goer
Cities Could Let Police Seize
Cruisers' Cars
By Yvonne Wingett and Bob Golfen
The Arizona Republic Newspaper
Apr. 21, 2004 Local Section page B-1
PHOENIX AZ. A new generation of Latino low-riders is embracing
the car culture of their fathers and grandfathers, reveling in the old-school
custom cars.
And still facing the same hostility.
Low-riders of more than 35 clubs from Chandler to west Phoenix, including Old
School, Slow Lane, Mi Vida and the Imperials, meet most weekends to style cars
and hang out. But mostly to cruise the streets.
The center of the action: Maryvale.
Hundreds of dropped and flamboyantly painted custom cars slowly roll along the
streets of the west Phoenix neighborhood on Sunday nights. The scene is so big
that the national Lowrider magazine named Maryvale one of the top
cruising spots in the Southwest.
Neighbors and police are not impressed.
The cruisers, they say, are intimidating and clog streets, imprisoning
residents in their own homes. They complain of rap and hip-hop music pumping
out of amped-up stereo systems as cruisers show off for each other and
dolled-up girls on the sidewalks.
"I literally have to stay home along with my neighbors on Sunday evenings
because of the cruising," said Martha Garcia, 59, a neighborhood
activist. "We've learned not to go to the grocery store, not to go
anywhere."
But low-riders defend themselves, saying their car-club gatherings are
peaceful family events.
"Cruising is just for people to show off their cars," said Tony
Garcia, 20, a Majestics Car Clubber whose baby is a '68 Impala with a tricked
out hydraulic suspension system and custom wheels.
"You don't want to build a car and then just have it sitting in your
garage."
Arizona lawmakers do.
A bill directed at controlling cruising cleared the House and Senate last week
and is awaiting a final hearing by the House. Although lawmakers twice have
failed to pass similar measures, they believe this bill will become law
because they drafted the proposal with the help of car and bike clubs.
Under House Bill 2136, local jurisdictions can make cruising illegal, and
ticket and tow the offenders' cars. It is designed, lawmakers say, to give
police and residents a chance to fight back.
"The bill deals with a cruising problem that has been going on for about
six years," said Rep. John Nelson, R-Glendale, sponsor of the measure.
"It's a civil penalty and makes it fairly easy to deal with the
issue."
Firefighters and police say cruisers make it almost impossible to respond to
emergencies. Phoenix spends $1 million a year to beef up manpower after
car-show events, said City Councilman Claude Mattox, who represents Maryvale.
"We literally couldn't get out of the driveway and that's problematic if
a house is on fire or someone isn't breathing," said Bob Khan, assistant
fire chief. "Our concern is being able to get to people's house in four
minutes."
The situation came to a head last month. After hundreds of low-riders gathered
at the Arizona Fairgrounds for Lowrider magazine's annual car show,
Maryvale authorities called in police from around the city to control the
after-show traffic. From 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., police issued 403 traffic tickets,
10 DUI citations, towed 19 vehicles, seized two guns and arrested 54 people,
according to a city report.
"Our attitude is, if citations don't work, if police enforcement doesn't
work, then perhaps if you lose your car and you have to pay storage fees and
towing fees, then maybe you'll think twice about doing that," Mattox said
of the anti-cruising bill.
Critics say the legislation is overly broad and open to misinterpretation.
Mainstream hot rodders and antique-car hobbyists also fear they'll be
targeted.
"It's just a vague and heavy-handed kind of bill," said Bill
Gilmore, an automotive researcher and historian with Automotive Research
Services in Phoenix.
"This will make everyone wonder when they're out driving around whether
they're violating something. I feel for the problems in the neighborhood, but
you can't make a state law regulate (a) square-mile area."
Testifying against the bill before the Senate, Gilmore said,
"Unfortunately this bill might be considered by some Hispanics as a form
of state-sponsored terrorism through vague local ordinances."
Low-riders are customized cars, mostly Chevrolets, with lowered suspensions
enhanced by complex hydraulic systems and bright custom wheels.
Hispanic cruisers bring their culture and religion to the customized cars they
drive. Religious figures, including the Virgin of Guadalupe, are painted on
some cars, along with pinstriping, disco balls and sexy women.
The older autos often have themes. A disco motif complete with champagne
coolers and mirrored interior.
A Cadillac finished with signature Louis Vuitton seats and vinyl top.
New to the scene are tricked out sport utility vehicles.
Club members and officials say it's not just Latinos who are involved in
low-riding.
"You see every race and color doing it," said Jose Garcia, 23, of
Unity Car Club. "It's a hobby, it's not like gang-banging. It keeps
people out of trouble, and a lot of time, passion and money goes into it.
There's nothing negative coming out of this."
The cruises are like rolling parties, neighbors say, that get out of control.
"Not only is there gridlock, but there's convertibles where girls are
dancing on top of their seats doing peep shows with their little tops,"
Garcia said.
Officials say this bill will help prevent that behavior. Cruisers say
lawmakers should be targeting gang violence, not cruising.
"We usually go to parks, but the cops close us down and kick us
out," said Garcia, of south Phoenix. "So we go to another park and
they kick us out from that, too. That's why we end up cruising."
Pros, cons of low-rider bill
Under House Bill 2136, cities and towns can make cruising
illegal, and ticket and tow offenders' cars. The bill would allow
"regulating or prohibiting processions or assemblages on the
highways," according to a draft of the measure. The draft does not define
"cruising." But others do:
• Unauthorized assemblage: "Where a group of cars get
together for no specific purpose other than to cruise," said Councilman
Claude Mattox, who represents Maryvale.
• Cruising: "Driving in a specific area over an extended
period of time for no specific purpose," he said.
Point/Counterpoint
•
Supporters and neighborhoods say the law would reduce traffic
congestion and crime linked to cruising: "Every time in the past when
we dealt with cruising, such as at Metrocenter, it moved to North Central
(Avenue). When we shut it down there, it moved to South Central (Avenue). When
we shut cruising down period, it moved to Tempe," said Rep. John Nelson,
the bill's sponsor.
•
Critics call the bill vague and heavy-handed: "Do you
really want to pass a law that will turn the state's power to seize vehicles
over to any political subdivision willing to pass a local ordinance punishing
the as-yet legally undefined activity of cruising?" said Bill Gilmore, an
automotive historian and researcher with Automotive Research Services.
Reach the reporters at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com
or (602) 444-4712, or bob.golfen@arizonarepublic.com
or (602) 444-8169. Reach Bill Gilmore at azcarcrazy@aol.com or
(602)230-7111.
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