woman driver Archives - Women & Cars

From People’s Car to Chick Car

Posted on June 30, 2025July 3, 2025by Chris Lezotte

As a longtime Volkswagen fan, I recently discovered a book on its history that garnered a little bit of positive attention when it was published in 2012. In Thinking Small, an “auto” biography of the Volkswagen Beetle, Andrea Hiott traces the trajectory of the famous auto from its conception as the “people’s car” in Nazi Germany to its emergence as an anti-establishment icon in 1960s America. While the book is ostensibly about the strange car, Hiott also focuses on the people who made it happen – Ferdinand Porsche, whose imaginings served as the inspiration for the Beetle’s eventual production, Heinrich Nordhoff, the German Industrialist who created the positive environment for its manufacture, and Bill Bernbach, whose advertising campaign created the American market for the little German car.

As Hiott notes, the Beetle, initially launched in 1938, was not an instant success. Although as an automobile it had little in common with the Model T, Nordoff, after taking the Volkswagen reins in 1947, adopted Henry Ford’s business philosophy to the struggling German car. In the introduction of the Model T, Ford’s objective was to manufacture an affordable car for “everyman”; the tycoon’s famous “$5 a day” promise to automotive workers assured that the people who built the cars could also afford them. Under Nordhoff’s guidance at the Wolfsburg VW factory, workplace conditions improved and benefits to workers increased; consequently, the reliable and affordable Beetle grew increasingly popular with the masses, eventually becoming the “people’s car” that Porsche had originally imagined.

When the German car came to the United States, the funny-looking little car became the foil to the big, brash behemoths coming out of Detroit. The Bug was embraced by the counter culture; it became the car of choice for strapped-for-cash college students and members of the Woodstock generation. As one of those broke college kids, I purchased my own Beetle in 1970; it was one of dozens that could be found on Detroit’s Wayne State University commuter campus. Although I was hardly the anti-establishment type, as a Detroit native growing up in a community of autoworkers, the VW parked in my driveway no doubt marked me as a “traitor” in my neighbors’ eyes. However, as someone who aspired to work in advertising, VW’s marketing strategy, created by the advertising stars at Doyle Dane Bernbach, convinced me that I was driving the coolest car on the planet.

The last Beetle that evolved from Porsche’s original design, manufactured in Mexico, drove off the production line in 2003. However, affection for the funny little car never really died. In 1994, at the New American International Auto Show, the retro-inspired New Beetle concept car was unveiled. The production model arrived in 1997, “just in time to catch a wave of nostalgia and surf in all the way to sales success’’ (McAleer). The New Beetle was initially met with great enthusiasm and attained modest sales numbers. However, the retro version was not without controversy. Although, Hiott asserts, it was embraced by the hipster generation, descriptors such as “cute,” “playful,” and “fun” led to the New Beetle’s perception as a “chick car,” which was believed to turn off potential male buyers.

The chick car, as I defined in a 2012 article, is a small, sporty car designed for men but appropriated by women for their own use. They are affordable, quick, nimble, easy to handle, and most importantly, “fun to drive.” The chick car is the antithesis of the “woman’s car”, a sturdy and practical vehicle – i.e. station wagon, minivan, small SUV – used to transport kids and cargo. As I discovered, to the women who drive them the chick car represents personal freedom, independence, agency, and a sense of empowerment.

During the height of the chick car’s popularity, Terry Jackson of Bankrate.com wrote, “Carmakers recognize the powerful influence women have today in the auto marketplace while they simultaneously have to avoid sending a message to men that they shouldn’t be caught dead driving these cars.” While automakers welcome the female consumer, the “chick car” label creates a good amount of anxiety and concern among them. Car manufacturers are uneasy when automobiles become associated with femininity and the female car buyer.

Automakers responded to chick car dilemma in a number of interesting ways. Volkswagen “beefed up” the offending car to be more masculine. As auto writer Doron Levin wrote, “VW has attempted to ‘male up’ the New Beetle over the years by adding a turbocharger to the engine and a spoiler to the rear.” In 2012, VW introduced a “bigger, less ‘cute’, and sportier Beetle” in an attempt to ditch the “girl” car image and attract more male buyers (Healey).

Apparently the efforts to masculinize the little car were unsuccessful. As Anthony Capretto argues, “People weren’t able to move past this image, and these and other factors caused sales to drop substantially by the end of its life.” Whether or not the car’s downfall can be explained by its association with the woman driver seems an easy out as there are still plenty of “chick” cars – e.g. Mini Cooper, Miata – on the road in 2025. Regardless, in 2016, VW discontinued the nameplate after its nearly 80 years of existence.

Published in 2012, Thinking Small ends on an optimistic note. As Hiott wrote, “the car is still an object we want to love. Its story is still being written” (424). While the New Beetle is no longer being manufactured, it is has gained new appreciation among the collector set. As McAlleer exclaims, “More than a decade after the New Beetle left showrooms, it’s starting to become a choice for younger enthusiasts. […] because it’s such a whimsically adorable design, seeing a modified New Beetle can’t help but put a smile on your face.” Although Hiott couldn’t predict the car’s ending, she exhibited an astute understanding of the car’s effect on generations of drivers.

As a previous owner of two Beetles – 1970 and 1979 Super Beetle cabriolet – I have a strong affection for the odd little car. And after learning of the Bug’s early struggles to gain footing in post war Germany, its unlikely emergence as a cultural icon in the United States, and its stint as a popular albeit controversial chick car, I have a new appreciation for the Beetle’s history and its incredible sustainability over nearly 8 decades. Although this post comes over 10 years too late, I would recommend Thinking Small to anyone who has ever had a bit of a love affair with the Volkswagen Beetle.

Capretto, Anthony. “It’s Time We Gave the Volkswagen New Beetle the Respect it Deserves.” CarBuzz.com 19 Dec 2024.

Healey, James R. “2012 VW Beetle Gets Bigger, Ditches ‘Girls’ Car’Image.” USA Today. 10 Apr. 2011.

Hiott, Andrea. Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle. New York: Random House, 2012.

Jackson, Terry. “Top Five Chick Cars.” Bankrate.com. 1 Nov. 2007.

Levin, Doron. “Are You Man Enough to Drive a Chick Car?” Bloomberg News. 18 Apr. 2006.

Lezotte, Chris. “The Evolution of the ‘Chick Car’ Or: Which Came First, the Chick or the Car?” Journal of Popular Culture 45/3 2012.

McAleer, Brandon. “Volkswagen’s New Beetle is Finally Growing its Own Following.” Hagerty.com 24 Jan 2025.

Car Stories

The Cars of Summer

Posted on May 30, 2025May 30, 2025by Chris Lezotte

Driving along Route 66 on a hot summer’s night

As a nod to the beginning of summer, the auto writers at Jalopnik asked readers to report on their favorite summer car pastimes. The responses varied from historical sightseeing, night drives with the top down, aimless adventuring, trips to nude beaches, and driving to high elevations with the hope that an old car’s air conditioner doesn’t conk out. My own summer auto travels are not as exciting; however, living in place that is cold much of the year, driving during the blessed summer months is always fun no matter where I am going.

Years ago, as a recent divorcee with an unreliable car, my earliest road trips were to a metro park within an hour’s drive. It was there I met my sister [also newly single] as we spent hot Michigan afternoons slathered in Coppertone working on our city tans. Once I remarried, the car served as transportation to summer destinations, primarily vacations ‘Up North’ along Lake Michigan. After we retired, our obsession with baseball led to various stadium road trips, first checking all of the major league ballparks off our list before starting on those of the minor leagues. Perhaps our best road trip was in a rented Mustang convertible, driving through the southwest United States on Route 66. We also used our vehicles to transport bikes to rural paths and downtown Detroit for ‘Slow Roll‘ nights. And our 1999 Miata was and remains the perfect ice cream trip car.

1971 Dodge Challenger owned by one of my favorite interviewees

When I began my academic interest in woman and cars, my trips became more purposeful. Interviewing women for my dissertation and subsequent book took me to car shows all across the state and beyond. I spent many an afternoon at parks and parking lots, searching for women who would talk to me about their cars. As I am naturally timid, this was an often stressful situation. However, the enthusiasm which women greeted me dispelled much of my anxiety as I found most relished the opportunity to go on and on about their love for whatever vehicle they were driving. When I embarked on a project focused on women in autocross, my summer routes took me to airport runways and school lots. Through the deafening noise and exhaust fumes I spoke to enthusiastic and engaging women about their involvement in motorsports. Although I never had the nerve to join them on the track, I enjoyed watching the women as they veered around cones, worked on the track, or gathered in groups on the grid to engage in prerace dances.

As I now live in a location where I am in walking distance of just about everything, my driving is somewhat limited. However I still enjoy taking my classics – 1949 Ford and 1967 Shelby – to local car shows. Each provides a unique driving experience, always accompanied by honking horns and thumbs up as I make my way on two lane highways [no freeways for these cars]. It is one of the best parts of summer.

It’s been a cool spring in Southeastern Michigan, but summer weather appears to be on the horizon. As the warm temperatures arrive, I look forward to an automotive summer of road trips, car shows, and ice cream.

Women & Car Advertising Women & Car Writing

Pink Cars and Pocketbooks

Posted on April 30, 2025May 15, 2025by Chris Lezotte

In the short time I spent at a Detroit automotive advertising agency, I became acutely aware of how men’s ideas of women’s automotive interest overruled any consideration of what women actually desired in a car. The women who worked in automotive advertising, as well as the women who were the target of automotive advertisers, were routinely considered lacking in automotive knowledge, unfamiliar with the driving experience, and subject to the influence of male automotive “experts.” It was assumed that the female consumer would buy the vehicles the male-dominated auto industry deemed suitable for the woman driver, and it was believed that the woman in the creative process would rely on male-directed research rather than her own car experience. George Green, a retired advertising executive who worked on the General Motors account, admits that automakers routinely “denigrated the female market,” and made little effort to learn about the woman car buyer (qtd. in Gerl & Davis 210).

Admittedly, the notion that the auto industry was complicit in the intentional disregard of women’s automotive interest was based on my own agency experience rather than any established research. While automobile advertising has been analyzed as a text – i.e. what it symbolizes, what it means, what it says about the woman driver – how that advertising came to be had never, to my knowledge, been addressed in scholarship. Until now.

In Pink Cars and Pocketbooks, historian Jessica Brockmole uncovers the multiple market studies focused on the female consumer that were overlooked and under-appreciated by the automotive industry for nearly half a century. Through her investigation into decades of advertising archives, trade journals, women’s magazines, and newspapers, Brockmole chronicles how women, dissatisfied and discouraged with how they had been repeatedly misrepresented by automotive marketers and decision makers, took it upon themselves to become more informed, experienced, and knowledgeable about cars. She relates how through the formation of women-centered car clubs, driving handbooks, and do-it-yourself repair manuals, these women ‘bought their way’ into the masculine car culture and became empowered consumers and drivers. As the author declares, because of the unwavering efforts of a determined group of female consumers, “[women] no longer have to rely on the auto industry to decide what and how much they can know about cars. They no longer have to accept how the auto industry limits their relationship with cars or defines who and what a ‘woman driver’ is” (205).

Pink Cars and Pocketbooks offers an unusual, resourceful, and never-before-told history of women’s relationship with cars. In this painstakingly researched and engagingly written work of historical scholarship, Brockmole uncovers how savvy female consumers, through the sharing of automotive knowledge, challenged gender prescriptions and took control of their own automotive futures.

If you’ve ever wondered how automakers so utterly misread women with the introduction of the Dodge La Femme, I heartily encourage you to read this book!

Brockmole, Jessica A. Pink Cars and Pocketbooks: How American Women Bought Their Way into the Driver’s Seat. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025.

Gerl, Ellen J. and Craig L. Davis. “Selling Detroit on Women: ‘Woman’s Day’ and Auto Advertising, 1964-82.” Journalism History 38.4 (2013): 209-220.

Events Women & Motorsports

WIMNA Comes to Detroit

Posted on April 6, 2025April 6, 2025by Chris Lezotte

WIMNA co-founder Cindy Sisson cuts the ribbon to launch WIMNA Detroit

This past week I attended the launch of the Detroit WIMNA chapter at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan. Women in Motorsports North America was founded in 2021 to advance opportunities for women in all areas of motorsports. Founded by Cindy Sisson, Lyn St James, and Beth Paretta, WIMNA is a community of professional women and men with a shared goal of connecting individuals and organizations that actively support women in motorsports through initiatives that include internships, mentorships, and recognition opportunities. WIMNA recognizes that the key to its growth is through the development of chapters in areas with an active racing culture, or in the case of Detroit, a community with strong automotive connections. As noted by Detroit chapter president Rena Shanaman, the future of WIMNA is dependent on corporate involvement. The Detroit launch had over 70 in attendance, many of whom represented automotive companies and corporations within Southeastern Michigan. The crowd was young and enthusiastic, and represented many segments of motorsports business and interest.

Detroit chapter president Rena Shanaman speaks to the crowd

It was a fun-filled evening, which began with pep talks by Shanaman as well as WIMNA co-founder Cindy Sisson. WIMNA understands the importance of events that connect people; the two-hour celebration included prize drawings, a nice selection of refreshments, as well as participation in WIMNA ‘Bingo’, an ice breaker activity that encouraged engagement with others in attendance. Although I was not the intended audience for this event – I have no corporate sponsorship to offer – I was interested in better understanding more about this organization, particularly how it differs from those that have come before. As I am currently developing a project that focuses on the the history of women’s motorsport organizations, this event allowed me to gain some insight into the purposes and practices of groups such as WIMNA.

WIMNA Bingo. How many squares can you fill?

From my perspective, WIMNA appeared to be well-organized; it is run by professionals in the field with exceptional motorsport knowledge and marketing skills. Its annual Women with Drive Summit is well-attended [over 600 at last year’s Indianapolis event]; in the four years of its existence, WIMNA has assembled a growing motorsports community that includes corporate and team owners, drivers, education and driving schools, engineering and mechanics, media, officials and volunteers, PR, marketing, and communications, racetracks , series and sanctioning bodies, suppliers, and allies.

Throughout its history, motorsports has not been welcoming to women. Consequently, it has been necessary for women to create strategies to gain entry into motorsport’s masculine domain. Women’s motorsports organizations, past and present, have endeavored to ease women’s way onto the race track not only through personal and financial support, but by providing connections and community to those interested in the sport. If the Detroit Launch event was any indication, WIMNA seems well on its way to success in this noble endeavor.

Car Stories Events

Women & Car Night at the DIA

Posted on March 30, 2025March 30, 2025by Chris Lezotte

This past week I attended a lecture at the Detroit Institute of Arts which featured Nancy Nichols, author of Women Behind the Wheel: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car. The book is an overview of women’s automotive history through the personal car experiences of its author. Women Behind the Wheel is significant for a number of reasons. Although men have been writing about their automotive experiences for decades, women’s relationship with the car is rarely examined. Nichols’ book not only succeeds in addressing that lack, but is relatable to any women who has ever owned a car, particularly those of the baby boomer generation. Second of all, it draws attention to the longstanding gendered practices of automotive production, marketing, and ownership which reflect and perpetuate cultural attitudes regarding women and cars. In addition, automotive history is most often focused on specific automobiles and the men who built them; consequently women’s participation in automotive culture is considered less. Nichols’ well-researched manuscript contributes new knowledge through a rarely viewed female lens, and considers how the automobile has contributed to women’s lives in both empowering and dangerous ways.

Finally, as a scholar who has made the investigation of the relationship between women and cars the subject of her ‘third act,’ it has always been my hope that my work would encourage others to explore this little-explored connection in new and engaging ways. While I was pleased and honored to see some of my scholarship cited in Nichols’ book, I was also rather overwhelmed when, after introducing myself, Nancy called me out as the ‘original’ and asked to give me a hug. It was quite a thrill and as I drove home, felt perhaps that the work that I do, while in a very specific niche, does have some value.

As a journalist, editor, and former broadcaster, Nichols’ writing is both accessible and engaging. I would encourage any woman with [or without] a personal connection to cars to read Women Behind the Wheel.

Events

Women of the Autosphere

Posted on February 15, 2025March 15, 2025by Chris Lezotte

Earlier this month I received an invitation to sit in on a women in motorsports webinar. The online event was hosted by the Motoring Podcast Network and sponsored by the IMRRC [International Motor Racing Research Center]. Although the History of Motorsports Series focuses on all aspects of motor racing, the focus on female racers is part of the Center’s celebration of Women’s History Month. Consequently, there have been weekly Virtual Center Conversations on women involved in various motorsport platforms, including Drag Racing, Trans Am, Short Track, and SIM. The sessions are co-hosted by Crew Chief Eric from Gran Touring Motorsports, and Lauren Goodman from the REVS Institute. I met Lauren at the Argetsinger Racing Symposium a number of years ago when we both served on the Women in Motorsports panel. Eric is the technical genius behind the Argetsinger and a fellow SAH [Society of Automotive Historians] member. Lauren and Eric are co-creators for the Motoring Podcast Network and have extensive backgrounds in motorsports and motorsports History.

The session I observed was focused on Trans Am racing, and featured four women who are active in the sport. As Lauren states in her introduction: ‘Get ready for an electrifying discussion as we bring together four of the most accomplished women in TransAm and Road racing! Cindi Lux, Michele Abbate, Amy Ruman, and special guest Erin Vogel take the stage for an exclusive panel diving into the highs, the challenges, and the evolution of women in motorsports. From the adrenaline filled battles to the precision of road racing, they’ll share their first-hand experiences and their insights on what it takes to compete at the highest levels. Whether you’re a die-hard racing fan or just love hearing inspiring stories from trailblazers, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss!’

For those unfamiliar with Trans Am, it is described as a North American sports car racing series sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America [SCCA]; it competes on a variety of track types including road courses and street circuits. It is a competition for modified production-based cars, primarily focused on driver skill and mechanical parity. As one of the panel members exclaimed, ‘Trans Am is fast, loud, and hot.’

The four on the panel, including Amy Ruman, the first woman to win the Trans Am championship title, represented a wide range of racing experience. They each entered motorsports through different avenues; some were raised in racing households, while others defied family members to follow their passion. As one remarked, ‘often you have to challenge those who think you shouldn’t do it.’ Female role models played an important part in each woman’s advancement; consequently, they all recognized the necessity of serving in the same capacity to young women new to the sport. Encouraging girls to come forward, inviting them into the pit, answering their questions, and persuading them to participate on social media were only a few of the many suggestions that were offered. The women collectively emphasized that Trans Am isn’t just about driving; they discussed the many behind-the-scenes opportunities motorsports offers. The obstacles women face were also addressed; most prominent is the difficulty of securing funding and sponsorship. This hour-long conversation among experienced, engaging Trans Am racers was a unique opportunity to discover how women have negotiated membership in the male motorsport arena and serves as a source of inspiration for those – female and male – interested in motorsports as a career or as an exciting, adrenaline driven pastime.

The Motorsport Broadcasting Network not only serves women in motorsport through these panels, but its Break/Fix Women of the Autosphere podcasts, hosted by Lauren, provides over 80 interviews and presentations ‘dedicated to celebrating the diverse women in Automotive and Motorsports Industries.’ Videos of Women of the Autosphere are also included on Eric’s Gran Touring Motorsports website. For those interested in all things women in motorsport, I would strongly suggest making an online visit to either of these locations. Through their incredible efforts, Eric and Lauren have brought motorsport women to the mainstream. I invite you to take a look!

Announcements Women & Car Writing

Limousine

Posted on December 5, 2024December 5, 2024by Chris Lezotte

Participating in academic conferences is not only a great opportunity to present one’s work, but leads to encounters with other scholars with similar interests. While presenting at the Popular Culture Association National Conference a number of years ago, I was included on a panel with Katherine Parkin, a professor of social history at Monmouth University. Parkin had just published Women at the Wheel: A Century of Buying, Driving, and Fixing Cars, which went on to win the Emily Toth Award for best book in women’s studies and popular culture. Since we were both writing about women and cars, we had a lot to talk about. While my scholarship is primarily limited to that topic, as a historian Parkin writes on a variety of subjects; her research interests include the history of women and gender, sexuality, advertising, and consumerism. Parkin is often sought after to engage in various projects; however, as both a teacher and researcher she does not always have the time to accept all of the invitations. To my good fortune, Parkin has passed on some of those projects to me. These have included a book review, a chapter in a book on the history and politics of motorsports, and the most recent, an introduction to Limousine – a recently published book of award-winning photographs by Kathy Shorr.

The photographs in Limousine were taken in 1988, shortly after Shorr graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York. For this project, Shorr became a limo driver for nine months, working for the Crystal Limousine Company in Brooklyn. Unlike the majority of Brooklynites who did not possess driver’s licenses, eschewing the automobile in favor of public transportation, Shorr grew up a car girl; she purchased her first car – a Buick Skylark – while still a teen. Thus the decision to select a limo for this project came naturally to Shorr as it satisfied her love of driving while the vehicle served as a studio on wheels. As I write in the intro, “The limo’s posh interior served as a private space for personal conversations, boisterous drinking parties, and more than a few romantic interludes. While the limousine served a practical purpose, it also transmitted messages about those who rode in it. Shorr’s passengers called upon the limousine to construct new, albeit temporary, versions of themselves, captured forever on black-and-white film.” The photos in this collection are extraordinary, effectively capturing a place in time and the people who inhabited it.

I truly enjoyed working on this special project. Shorr was a delight to work with and peppered our conversations with engaging and often humorous car stories. I am so proud to be a part of this amazing endeavor, and am honored that I was selected to write the introduction. Of course it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for a chance meeting with Katie Parkin at PCA. So thank you to Katie and Kathy. I am forever grateful for the connections I have made in this third act of my life.

Limousine is published by Lazy Dog Press.

Conferences Women & Motorsports

Return to Watkins Glen

Posted on November 7, 2024November 12, 2024by Chris Lezotte

This past weekend was the 8^th Annual Michael Argetsinger Symposium on International Motor Racing History, held at Watkins Glen International Speedway media center. Unlike the past two years, I was on the organization team and was also a presenter. As usual there were a mixed bag of presentations – some were fascinating and others less so. There are papers on just about every motorsport interest so it makes sense that some would appeal to me more than others.

The most inspiring presentation of the weekend was that of the keynote speaker, legendary racer Lyn St. James. I had just recently finished her book so while some of the stories she told were familiar, I was intrigued by many of the experiences she had originally left out. Lyn and I are from the same generation, so I was particularly moved by the influence of the women’s movement on her progression from racer to women’s racing advocator. Her recollections of conversations with Billie Jean King in the quest to promote women’s sport were especially compelling. I had brought my copy of Lyn’s book with me to the symposium; she signed it with the most inspirational message. It was quite an exciting day.

My presentation was scheduled on the second day. It was a lengthier repeat of the talk I gave earlier this month to the Silverstone on the history of women-only racing. It went pretty well; I had many good questions from the audience and the women in particular seemed to appreciate it. Some of the men, not so much.

The weekend is filled with other activities that provide an opportunity to network and socialize. As this is my fourth time at the conference [second presenting] I am starting to feel more comfortable. My introduction as the Society of Automotive Historians Vice President also gives me an air of legitimacy in the room.

Although I returned exhausted [a 6AM flight will do that], the weekend was ultimately a fulfilling one. I was able to present to a knowledgeable and interested crowd, mingle with a bunch of like-minded motorsport enthusiasts, and received words of encouragement from a racing legend. How cool is that!

Car Chicks Car Culture

Lowriders and the Woman Driver

Posted on September 29, 2024October 29, 2024by Chris Lezotte

On a trip to the California Automobile Museum last spring, I chanced upon an exhibit focused on women in lowrider culture. “Rucas y Carruchas: Ladies in Lowriders” celebrated the contributions of women in the lowrider community. The collection of colorful, spectacular cars was accompanied by photographs, videos, artwork, as well as personal stories that spoke of family, community, friendship, heritage, and the meaning of lowriders to the women who own them. As someone interested in the connection between women and cars, the exhibit piqued my interest. Upon investigating the matter a little further, I came upon a number of online articles and reports focused on the rise in female lowrider clubs and communities in the Latino communities in the Southwest United States. What makes this news exceptional is that lowrider culture has long been the province of men, a practice handed down from fathers to sons, from one generation to another. While women have always been part of lowrider culture, it has been primarily in the role of passenger, girlfriend, or a scantily clothed photographic model. However, as I discovered, women have become increasingly involved in the culture as creators and drivers, forming their own clubs, and challenging the male dominated nature of the lowrider scene.

To the uninitiated, the lowrider is a customized domestic automobile – preferably a 1960s vintage Chevy Impala – painted in one of many spectacular and iridescent “candy” colors – bright pink, green, orange, deep purple, or red – highlighted with metal flake coatings, and finished with up to 18 layers of clear lacquer. The car bodies often serve as canvases for elaborative paintings of religious icons, cultural symbolism, the zoot suited pachuco, and shapely women. Lowrider interiors are often elegantly upholstered and intricately detailed in lush fabrics. However, while the lowrider is often recognized and admired for its aesthetics, the lowrider’s defining style is the lowered body that hovers mere inches from the pavement. This appearance is often achieved through the removal of rear shock absorbers and a pile of sandbags in the trunk; however, more sophisticated vehicles rely upon hydraulic technology to raise and lower the massive body frame. While the American hotrod of the white working-class male is most often associated with power and speed, bajito y suavecito – “low and slow” – epitomizes the lowriding culture. The lowrider is meant to be seen; consequently, as Brenda Bright writes in “Heart Like a Car,” owners of lowrider vehicles “drive these beautiful, luxurious roadway spectacles very slowly, literally taking over the road and forcing other drivers to ‘deal with’ their slow, deliberate driving style” (583).

Attendees of a lowrider exhibition, wearing Zoot suits of the Mexican American subculture known as *Pachucos* (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)

The lowrider subculture has a long and embedded genealogy in Mexican-American culture. It originated in the “car-saturated prosperity” of post World War II America and has remained integral to Chicano cultural identity into the twenty-first century. While hot rods and drag racers were the white male working-class vehicles of choice, Mexican-Americans proceeded in the opposite direction and created the lowrider. Young Chicanos appropriated the domestic automobile – which symbolized American values of independence, freedom, and social mobility – and reinvented it for their own use.

Lowrider customization is a form of work in which the Chicano takes a great amount of pride. As Ben Chappell writes, “Lowriders join industrial objects with craft, endowing them with new significance. With reference to Mexican-American history, the investment of a car with symbolic value and manual labor (as well as folk mechanical engineering) with prestige is a posture of resistance to a ‘community identity’ that labels Mexican-Americans as cheap labor” (637). The Chicano community demonstrates its pride not only by cruising “low and slow,” but also through participation in regional car shows and “hopping” competitions. These events provide an opportunity for the Chicano lowrider to demonstrate creativity, artistic skill, as well as technological ability.

While some women remain participants in conventional lowrider culture, there are others who have broken away to establish new female and family focused lowrider communities. They have appropriated many of the culture’s longstanding traditions and practices while creating new spaces for like-minded female enthusiasts. These clubs and communities have become sites for creativity, invention, friendship, and family. Of the solidarity found in the lowrider community, one member declared, “you have all the pressures of going to work, coming home, but you know with the club sisters, we find time and manage to go out; they’re a very big support system for myself. We treat each other like family.”

Whereas traditional lowrider culture was centered on the connection between fathers and sons, women have expanded the generational focus to promote not only their own participation, but most importantly, to encourage that of young girls. As a founding member of the Dueñas Club in California explained, “It’s really important that us mothers, us women, show support for our girls. It’s nice to be able to do things with your daughter that she’s also going to love. You know showing my daughter the ways, embracing the culture, the love, and just really being influenced.” Many of the girls begin their immersion into lowrider culture with bikes. As a young member remarked, “I’m involved because my mom, she’s part of the car club, and then over time, I started going with her to the car shows, bike shows, and I was thinking to myself I want one of those. You see your creation come to life, and everything that you’re planning, it just makes you feel really good.” When these young girls become adults, they often follow in their mother’s footsteps. Angel Romero, founder of the all-women’s car club Duenas, spoke of her mother’s influence. As she recalls, “Back then, we didn’t see a lot of women driving lowriders. People would joke that the lowrider was my boyfriend’s or Daddy’s ride. […] We got into this lifestyle and culture very differently from most people. It wasn’t our dad or a male role model who taught us about cars. It was our mom.”

The women who participate in lowrider culture view their vehicles not only as spectacular machines, but also as canvases on which they can express their creativity, culture, and identity. In the “Rucas y Carruchas” exhibit, for example, the collection was accompanied by photographs, videos, artwork, and personal stories written in notebooks and scribbled on scraps of paper. Personal artifacts were often strategically placed around the cars, which offered a glimpse into the lives and dreams of the women who owned them. This practice begins in girlhood; in online club photographs, bikes are often surrounded by a young girl’s important possessions.

Women in lowrider culture are getting recognition in local and national news sources. Lowrider magazine, dubbed the movement’s “bible” by readers worldwide and is considered the source for the latest in everything lowrider, published a special edition in October 2024 dedicated to ‘women shaping the culture’ in honor of women’s history month. As noted in an article in Motor Trend, “Historically, depictions of women in Lowrider magazine were often limited to models on the hoods of cars. This limited-edition revival highlights the women behind the wheel who have fought for their place as drivers, builders, mechanics, painters, and welders in a male-dominated world.”

For generations, lowrider culture has evolved as an important site of collective and individual identity formation among Chicano fathers and sons in the southwestern United States. In the twenty-first century, women within these locations have embraced the historical, cultural, and creative components to construct new female-centered communities focused on friendship, family, and a shared passion for the iconic lowrider automobile.

Bright, Brenda. “Heart Like a Car: Hispano/Chicano Culture in Northern New Mexico.” American Ethnologist. 25.4 (1998): 583-609.

Chappell, Ben. “Lowrider Style: Cultural Politics and the Poetics of Scale” in Cultural Studies: An Anthology. Michael Ryan, ed. Malden MA: Blackwell, 2008.

Figueroa, Fernanda and Melissa Perez Winder. “Lowriding is More Than Just Cars: It’s About Family and Culture for Mexican-Americans. 15 Oct 2024. APnews.com 15 Oct 2024.

Good Morning America. “Meet the Moms and Daughters of this All-Female Lowrider Community.” 8 Feb 2024. Video.

Romero, Angel. “How an All-Women’s Lowrider Club Formed in the Heart of Silicon Valley.” 27 Sep 2024. kqed.org

Auto Industry Auto Museums

A Visit to the Pontiac Transportation Museum

Posted on June 29, 2024July 10, 2024by Chris Lezotte

The Pontiac Transportation Museum is the newest entry into the Southeastern Michigan automotive museum collective. Housed in a former elementary school in Pontiac, Michigan, it will officially open to the public in mid July 2024. As a member of the MotorCities National Heritage Area, I was able to attend a private tour and presentation this past Wednesday evening. The museum will be constructed in stages; while phase one is currently complete, there are three more phases scheduled to be developed over the next few years. Our group not only toured the completed section, but were also offered a ‘sneak peek’ at what’s to come.

The Pontiac Transportation Museum is an institution of both place and auto manufacturer. While the museum tells the story of the auto maker’s rise and fall, it also endeavors to connect to the community and is involved in energizing its development and revitalization. As noted in a story in the Detroit Free Press, the intent of the museum is to reflect the ‘place, people, and its stories.’

As a new museum with limited artifacts on display, I did not expect to find many representations of women in the automotive exhibits. My first encounter with such images was in, of all places, the women’s restroom, which displayed three oversized color photos of women driving Pontiac vehicles from the late 1950s and early 1960s. I was later told by one of the tour guides that much consideration was given to the restroom as ‘that is what is most important to female visitors.’ I had to squelch a guffaw.

Other representations in the museum included advertisements, photographs, and promotional materials. There were interactive displays which featured photos of women in various decades of the automaker’s history as drivers, consumers, and workers. As was mentioned during the tour, the majority of vehicles on display are donated and are primarily ‘one owner’ cars. There were a few automobiles with female donors that included stories of how the car was acquired as well as personal automotive histories. While touring one of the yet-to-be developed sections, our attention was brought to three Pontiac Firebirds specifically developed for the female market. As our guide explained, the Skybird [blue] was offered from 1977-78, the Red Bird for 1978-79, and the Yellow Bird in 1980.

While there weren’t a lot of examples of women’s relationship to cars on the floor, the slide presentation provided a philosophy of the museum that was very much geared toward diversity and inclusion. As is noted on the museum’s website, ‘a very significant part of the PTM’s mission involves educational outreach to the community – particularly STEAM-related education in Pontiac primary, secondary, and vocational schools.’ The museum is positioning itself as not just a collection of cars, but as a source for Pontiac’s social history; i.e. how the car manufacturer affected the city in which it existed as well as the people who drove its cars and made its products. The presentation also made note of the PTM’s ‘female empowerment mission’ and included photographs of visiting girls and women’s groups as well as influential women within the industry.

Living in the auto-rich area of Southeastern Michigan has provided me with unique opportunities to not only visit a number of automotive museums, but to attend special events such as this private tour of the soon-to-be-opened Pontiac Transportation Museum. I look forward to watching the PTM’s progress over the next several years.