What happened to LOWERED cars and trucks?

[Kern Dog]

When I was just a few years into driving age, the popular trend was to lower your car or truck. I'm talking the early 80s when new cars were still slower than a well tuned 60s or 70s Muscle car. Lowering seemed to be a way to express yourself with a new car. I recall the Mini-Truck craze...Toyotas, Datsun/Nissans and Mitsubishi trucks bought fairly cheap and within a week of leaving the dealership, they were slammed and running 15x9 wheels and 195-50-15" tires. Sure, they rode terribly but many young guys did this. I recall seeing just about every type of new car or truck was fair game. Yugo? Slam it! Mustang? Camaro? LOWER it! I had a 76 Camaro that was so low, I could barely clear a Big Mac. What happened to all the lowered cars?
I had an '84 Chevy that I lowered in 1994. I had that truck for 9 years, ran it to 445,000 miles! I had a 2002 Ram 1500 that was the first one lowered in my area. I still drive a lowered truck to this day.

 

[dadsbee]

Yah we lowered them alright.. 1982..

 

[NoCar2023]

In 1994 I was working in a Chevy dealer lowering trucks. we sold a **** load of them! a couple years later we were lifting them.
I recently noticed some NEW lowered trucks on the road.
Comes and go I guess.

 

[Demonic]

Like most niches of the automobile hobby, it's aged. My ex-neighbor has a beautiful '89 S-10 w a 350 that's 3" off the ground. It's garage kept. The lowered cars and trucks that were done well and cared for live on, the ones that were loved less are gone. Most of the lowered trucks became "used up" - treated like a 440 C body and disassembled.

 

[Mopar-Mitch]

I remember the small 14inch wheels also, mostly on the low riders, then all of a sudden it went the other way, 20 inch rims on the dubs. Changing times!

 

[moparcrazy]

I still love the lowered trucks, I've been wanting to lower my 04 ram since the day I bought it

 

[butterscotch71]

People realized it was a bad idea and stopped doing it

 

[65wgn440]

I have guys coming in my shop now with brand new, LEASED pick-ups and SUV's and having me put lift kits on them !! We did lower my kids '02 Mustang about a year ago, though.

 

[coloradodave]

Still my cup of tea...

 

[cryplydog]

I'd like to have a fancy pickup but I'm stuck with a muddy dented superduty farm truck that's hard to drive and real bumpy,matter of fact I have 2.

 

[69L48Z27]

I had a couple S-10 low riders in the mid 90’s. We had a club and everything, when to shows as a group. You reallly don’t see it much any more. Definitely not dead though, I’ll see one every once in awhile. Lifting is the trend right now for sure.

 

[amoparlady]

I hate when I get them in to work on them.One shop I worked at,I had to do a clutch job in one of them.Lowered down I could not get the hoist arms underneath it.Was an air ride system,the customer didn't leave the remote with it.The service manager called the customer 3 times trying to ask where the remote for the air ride was.

 

[Budnicks]

Hell I remember when everyone jacked them up
like a Gasser look, rarely lowered them
then there was the low-rider or mini truck crowd,
13" spokes & tiny tires & hydraulics etc.
then it went to lowered car/customs were the norm

different genres or the youth usually trends,
that want different stuff

I still like them low, not low-rider low,
with a slight LA rake, rear higher, bigger/wider tires in the back

depends on the car/truck, my trucks are 4x4's
ain't gonna' lower them
Owned & drove a few lowered trucks in my day
even a few tow rigs that were lowered a bit

most all my project cars & especially my racecars are low

sorry the photo quality sucks, digital photos or Polaroids
was my DD back in early 90's

one of my cars 49 Ford Pro-Gas

94 T/A

89 Camaro Pro-mod or T/S
& a 71 Z28 S/C

92 T/A Top Sportsman

the 23 T Altered

 

[BeeKool]

My guess is people got tired of taking out their oil pans on rough railroad crossings.



Never understood lowering a truck, its raised or left stock for me.

 

[Dipstick]

Slammed cars are still live and well, check out these late model cars (abortions).

https://www.michaelbrianstudios.com/Automotive/Car-Shows/Spring-Fest-LX-2019/

 

[multimopes]

I have never liked or owned anything lowered or dropped. To me it's a waste of money ,time, and a vehicle. I have ridden in a couple and felt like I was in the basement looking up at everything. If you are not paying close attention in traffic you could end up under the rear of anything in front of you. The fact that there are many crappy roads and high curbs and entrances in my area to bottom out on is another reason. On pickup trucks, the kits that lower just the rear to level it out are even stupider. If you put one hundred pounds in the bed the headlights now point into outer space. Front wheel drive cars are bad enough and most of them scrape the front chin on curbs when parking. As mentioned, trying to get a jack under them is a pain in the tush, especially with a flat tire. My son had a lift kit installed on his old 93 Wrangler which comes with 4 new springs and the factory rake is gone. Now, it's level but when we put anything or anybody in the rear, Not only are the headlights aiming too high, The drive shaft binds up against the yoke and transfer case as there is no slip yoke.
Adding to this is the fact of having to raise the vehicle to work under it which can be deadly as someone recently posted, many people have died when jacks and or stands fail.
With trucks, especially, the way to go for me is up. No need to jack it up at all to work under it. I am with the folks here that like that slight rake with the nose a little lower. A side benefit from that is down force at speed. Now, one of the best reasons to go up rather than down comes from way back in the good old days; getting some great leg shots from the ladies when they used to wear mini skirts!

 

[Kern Dog]

People realized it was a bad idea and stopped doing it

YOUR opinion.
I like a vehicle that handles well. You can lower a vehicle and still have suspension travel, it just takes a bit of thought. I like the look of a tire tucked into the body with little or no visible space between the top of the tire and the fender, sort of like a NASCAR racer. That is why I set up my own car that way:

 

[747mopar]

Lowered S10's with V8's were the craze around here when I was of driving age, nowadays it's a mix. There's a blend of jacked up 4×4's, fart pipe imports and new Mustangs for the most part. I've always been geared more towards functionality, I don't jack up perfectly good trucks for appearance nor slam them for looks either.

 

[Kern Dog]

I agree that road conditions certainly play a role. I LOVE this look:

As far as my truck...I can carry anything that I need and tow what I want. If I need a bit extra, I drive this:

 

[747mopar]

Love the Nascar look.