Lowriders Bringing High Dollar As Big Wheels In Japanese Market

Lowriders, those street-hugging cars with hopping hydraulic lifts, are famous for being made in the 'hood, pieced together by backyard enthusiasts and body shops from South Central to East Los Angeles.

But now they've reached international status, becoming inner-city Los Angeles' top export to Japan.

The most coveted customized classics - the early '60s Chevy Impala convertibles that cost $5,000 to $15,000 on the streets here - are being sold in Japan for $25,000 to $35,000 and up.

The Japanese thirst owes much to rap music, videos and modern-day gangster movies featuring lowriders. It was inevitable that Japan, fascinated by quirks of American culture, would turn to the lowrider style that originated among young Latino men in the '50s.

Pomona, Calif.-based Lowrider magazine, the bible of the craze, has joined with a Tokyo publisher to put out a Japanese-language edition.

Lowrider's publisher, Alberto Lopez, traveled to Japan in 1992 to help organize one of the first Japanese lowrider shows, which drew about 300 entries. Today, he estimates, Japan has anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 U.S.-made lowriders, compared with the 75,000 to 100,000 cruising the streets of America.

"The Japanese people have a great appreciation for lowriders because they are built with pride, and Japan is a society built on pride," Lopez said.

Japan has lowrider clubs, stores specializing in accessories and shows where cars are judged on appearance and their unique ability to jump and dance at the flip of a hydraulic switch.

There is a debate in lowrider circles about whether Japanese interest will siphon away prized cars from America's shores or reinvigorate the cottage industry. What is undeniable is that the cars are moving west.

The specter of violence taints some transactions because many of the cars are manufactured in rough neighborhoods. Several Japanese dealers say that a colleague was recently robbed of $20,000 during a negotiation that turned sour.

When FBI agents raided the home of a Watts gang leader a couple of months ago, they missed their man but found two Cadillac lowriders, destined for Japan.

However, both buyers and sellers emphasize that many of those who build lowriders got involved with the cars to escape crime and drugs.

Robert Clausell, 29, grew up in Compton and has been making lowriders most of his adult life. He has sold 11 to Japanese brokers. He is a testament to how lowriding has spread from Latino roots to the black community, where rap artists have popularized the vehicles in videos.

For Japanese dealers, making contacts with people like Clausell is crucial in a land where people are killed over as little as car wheel rims, let alone expensive cars.

"You always have to watch your back," said Takashi Kikuchi, a 29-year-old Japanese broker.

Kikuchi's prime target is Yokohama, the Japanese city most taken by lowriding and influenced by the presence of a U.S. Navy base. Friday and Saturday nights, clusters of lowriding aficionados gather near a bridge, playing loud music.

To supply these customers, Kikuchi visits body shops in South Central and East Los Angeles and goes to parties, picnics and car shows. He photographs cars to show prospective customers in Japan.

Yuruzu Oishi, one of Kikuchi's chief competitors, operates House of Lowriders in Buena Park. The son of a Japanese auto-shop owner, he became a member of Lifestyles, a lowrider club, and began shipping cars as well as T-shirts, hats and baggy clothes.

Recently, Oishi was busy putting the finishing touches on five lowriders for Japan. Two Chevy Impalas, one lime green, one bright purple, defined the lowrider look with "candy" paint jobs, murals on the hood, sparking wire rims. The engines were loaded with chrome.

Tow-truck driver Fernando Ramirez hauls many of the cars to the dock. He is sad to see them go.

"The day is coming, I know it is, when there won't be any lowriders left," he said. "And we will be buying our lowriders from the Japanese."