Eat This.
Ok,
now we're getting somewhere. This entry is very high up on the all-time list, probably in the top three. I'd seen this one before a few times because it was parked in an industrial area of East L.A. near a bar we used to go to on Friday's after work. I finally remembered that I had my camera with me one time, so I threw it in reverse and made a little history. I don't remember seeing it too often after that, so it's probably a good thing I got it while I could. If I ever make a Dope Rides shirt, this is the car that's going on it. This is pure poetry in non-motion. The lightening bolt theme and "Eat My Dust" on the spoiler are great, but the hood scoop is what really does it for me for some reason. I'm sure this guy has a bad cop mustache with an equally bad mullet and listens to Foreigner and Reo Speedwagon (he probably also refers to them as "The 'Wagon"). I'm also speculating that he probably wears nothing but flannel shirts with the sleeves cut off with acid washed jeans that are unfortunately one uncomfortable size too small. And when I say uncomfortable, I mean for everyone else. Anyways, this is an example of a Dope Ride in it's purest and rawest form. The archetype for everyone thinking about sending in a submission.
Dukes.
This car makes me long for the simplier days in the South where a man could outrun the law in his Orange '69 Charger while his cousin and Grandfather cover up for him and occassionally lend a hand to bust him and his brother out of jail.
With that out of the way, I'd just like to say that although I loved the Dukes of Hazard when I was growing up, I never,
ever had the impulse to buy a Mercury Comet and live out my childhood fantasies by painting it like the General Lee and driving around poorly paved backroads with my brother Luke. That's just taking things one step to far. I found this one almost directly across the street from the Racer Z, but it illuded me for awhile. I finally made a habit of just taking my camera everytime I went to this area for lunch just in case it was there. I finally got it, even though the old lady who was sweeping the sidewalk outside of her house was giving me a dirty look the whole time I was taking pictures and was making me nervous the whole time, as I think it belonged to her son who, surprise! still lived at home with his Mom. I was ready to throw down if I had to. She would have needed a lot more that that broom to take me out. Anyways, so many things are wrong here it's hard to even pick a place to start. One: obviously the color is wrong, I don't know how you can go with the full-on Dukes theme and not make it orange. And two; they have a Goodwrench sticker on it (GM's parts company) and it was made by the Ford Motor Company. Again, I find this very interesting. But I love it all the same. So this week, we here at Dope Rides tip our hat and salute all of the men who enjoyed the Dukes of Hazard and had the guts to try and turn their car into the General Lee so I can make fun of them. Bravo gentlemen, bravo.
Racer Z.
This was one of the first ones I ever took, and it's one of my favorites. I somehow spotted it on the way back from lunch in Alhambra. We had to figure out how to get to it because it was on a hill and there was a weird system of islands in the middle of the streets. The paint was immaculate and it looked like someone really cared for this baby. It's pretty high up on the all-time list.
OG Dope Ride.
The car that started it all:
We found this one in a parking lot in Anaheim in the spring of 2002. This ride represents everything about the American Tuner Experience that we here at Dope Rides have come to know and eventually love. From the handpainted rear spoiler and front ground f/x, to the mismatched rim and hubcap combination, and finally to the highly mediocre paint scheme, this car screams originality. (By the way, you should have already noticed that it only has the ground f/x on the front bumper, and not on the sides and the rear, which is the route normal people would have taken. My guess is the dude ran out of money/paint. Only two words can be used to best describe this phenomenon; totally awesome) This whip set the bar for all future dope ride candidates. Often imitated, but never duplicated, it's an Original American Classic (by way of Asia; like most Orginal American Classics are nowadays).
