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American revolutions – Deep driving into US car culture
Riley Harper goes deep into Texas car culture - from nitro fumes to candy-paint slabs - and discovers that America’s greatest motoring stories always start with people.
Encompassing everything from drag strips to ovals, hot rods and muscle cars to lowriders, donks and slabs, US car culture has always been the ‘big one’ but as stuntman and photographer Riley Harper found out on a recent dive into Texas motormania, at its heart, it’s still all about community and family.
From the moment Henry Ford’s Model-T began rolling off the assembly line at its Highland Park plant in 1913, America’s passion for the automobile has been unquenchable. For the first time, mass personal transit was accessible and affordable, and while 50 years before the railroads had undoubtedly opened up the American West, the automobile went further, making every corner of the USA available to everyone, all the time. It was all of the things America wanted to be – modern, liberating, expansive and, most of all, an expression of individuality and personality.
Over the century that followed, that definition has only grown in scope. From the birth of hot rod culture in the late 1940s to the space race-inspired rocket sleds of the late 1950s, and from the rise of ‘low and slow’ lowriders within Southern California’s Mexican-American communities in the ‘50s and ’60s, all the way through to the vast ecosystem of subcultures that now thrive in every state of the union, US car culture is undoubtedly one of the most diverse, vibrant and ferociously committed on the planet.
It's into that fiercely passionate ‘motorhead’ culture that Riley Harper was born. The son of famed Hollywood stuntman Tom Harper, whose credits include Terminator 2, Point Break and Waterworld, as well as stunt coordinator on a host of Marvel movies, Riley grew up surrounded by a vast array of bikes, cars, hot rods and planes. A childhood spent racing motorcycles led to a stunt career of his own, performing ‘gags blockbusters’ such as The Dark Knight Rises, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
Along the way, Riley has maintained a passion for automobiles and racing – his collection includes a particularly pretty, vintage Porsche 991 Targa in Irish green and a 1969 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle – and as well as taking hits for Hollywood stars, he takes shots for fun, as an avid photographer of bike and car culture.
So when the opportunity came for Riley to visit this year’s US Grand Prix with Oracle Red Bull Racing, it sparked an idea: why not go on the road through the Lone Star State, exploring Texas car culture, from racing machinery to wrapped cars, and also connect with his father, who now lives in the home of the USGP – Austin?
Host Riley Harper looks on
© Jack Gorman
It all comes down to my love for cars and everything that surrounds them: the shows, the racing, the people, the passion,” he says of his passion for photographing car culture and his experience in Texas.
“It all comes down to my love for cars and everything that surrounds them: the shows, the racing, the people, the passion,” he says of his passion for photographing car culture and his experience in Texas. “There’s a unique blend of artistry and engineering in car culture that’s addictive to photograph. Every car has its own personality, and I love finding ways to show that through my work.”
Riley’s road trip first takes him to Texas Motorplex in the town of Ennis, some 40 miles south of Dallas. Built in 1986 by former funny car driver Billy Meyer, the Motorplex was the first National Hot Rod Association "super track” and these days plays host to some of the nation’s biggest drag racing events, including the Stampede of Speed NHRA Texas nationals meet, where he immerses himself in the culture of Top Fuel and Funny Car quarter-mile racing, meeting Nitro Funny Car racer Danny Wilkerson, who tells him that "I’ve never done drugs, but I cannot imagine anything as addictive as this. It is ridiculous how it gets in your blood.”
From there, it’s on to Houston and a tour of the city’s famed ‘slab’ scene. An acronym for ‘Slow, Loud and Bangin’, slab culture originated in Houston’s black communities in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Taking old, low-cost American luxury Cadillacs and Lincolns, slabs were lowered, given eye-popping, sparkling candy-coloured paint jobs, and most importantly fitted with extravagant wheels featuring protruding wire spoke hubs that grew ever larger. Known as ‘swangas’ or ‘elbows’ these are the signature look of a slab, and often a fifth, spare wheel with swanga is mounted on the back of the car.
These days the reach of slab culture goes well beyond classic American luxury sedans and includes BMW, Maserati and Jaguar sedans, and even Elon Musk’s fairly silly Cybertruck. All get candy paint, tricked-out interiors loaded with plush materials and digital displays, bass-heavy sound systems, and the all-important elbows. And as he finds out from Slab supremo, Jay the Wrap Specialist, an additional crucial modification is a trunk that can be ‘popped’ to reveal a personal motto or message (as well as some spectacular bass bins).
Custom slab cars on display
© Jack Gorman
Leaving the Slabs in his rear-view mirror, Riley journeys from Houston to the state capital, Austin, where his father, Tom, now lives, and visits the Tough Enuff ‘Park ‘n’ Hang’.
Founded by local enthusiast Michael Selman in 2018, Tough Enuff is emblematic of the kind of car meet the US does better than anywhere else. Held every second Monday at Kinda Tropical (a former gas station and now a bar and restaurant), it attracts a broad spectrum of enthusiasts who meet to show off an array of US and European classics, hot rods and subtly modified motors.
“It felt incredible to capture the meet from my own perspective,” Riley says of photographing the event. “I think I see events like this a little differently than most because my love for cars runs deep. It’s not just about the machines; it’s about the feeling and story behind them. Being able to translate that through my camera was really meaningful. It was one of those experiences where everything clicked: great cars, great people, and the freedom to capture it all through my own lens.
There was a timeless, classic vibe from the cars to the community...
“There was a timeless, classic vibe from the cars to the community,” he adds. “It felt like a throwback in the best way possible.”
The final stop on the tour naturally took Riley and his father, Tom, to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, where they soaked up the grand prix atmosphere and met Max Verstappen, a moment that particularly resonated with Riley.
“Ever since I got into F1, I’ve followed Oracle Red Bull Racing,” he explains. “My first connection to the team was through Max Verstappen. I was a fan of his even before I started watching races regularly. His drive, precision, and confidence really drew me in, and now I’m fully invested in the team’s journey.”
And it was through the father and son’s chat with Max, which focused on how all three had been introduced to car culture and racing by parents, that Riley came to a simple conclusion about car culture in the US.
“It was such a special experience being part of the REBL Car Culture event in Austin. Getting to meet so many new people who share the same passion for cars was awesome. The energy was unreal, and you could feel everyone’s excitement and creativity,” he says.
“To me, car culture is all about the community. It’s the people who come together over a shared love of cars, trading stories, helping each other out, and celebrating creativity and craftsmanship. It’s more than just vehicles; it’s connection – and it’s family.”
Host Riley Harper poses with a Ford Raptor
© Jack Gorman
If Riley’s road trip through Texas car culture demonstrated anything, it’s how insanely rich and diverse US car culture is and how capable it is of generating, embracing and sustaining an enormous array of subcultures.
And that wild ecosystem continues to proliferate. We’ve already mentioned lowriders, slabs, muscle cars and lowriders, but how about Mallcrawlers, Overlanders and Bubba trucks?
Those terms might be alien to many, especially to aficionados of more recent areas of enthusiasm such as restomods, ‘stance’ cars featuring ridiculously cambered wheels, or even Bōsōzoku-style JDM models, but the fastest growing sub-cultures in the US all involve trucks and SUVs.
It’s no surprise. After all, Ford’s ubiquitous F-150 was ranked the country’s number one selling vehicle for almost 50 years. And with every major manufacturer from General Motors to Great Wall and Toyota to Tesla elbowing for space in the truck market, America has become a nation in love with raised suspensions, massive wheels and a rugged, woodsy ideal of freedom that only a pick-up can bestow – even if that truck will only ever be seen in the parking lots of huge out-of-town shopping centres.
But there’s no shame in those town trucks and the Mallcrawler scene has specifically developed amongst suburban truck owners keen to show off the ultra-clean, pristine and luxuriously modded nature of their vehicles, which often feature custom paint jobs, lifted suspension, bling wheels and graphics.
Those mall rats are a far cry from members of the Overlander community. These truck and SUV enthusiasts are the polar cultural opposite, modding their vehicles for the most extreme conditions.
The term ‘overlander’ appears to have originated in Australia, where it was first attached to farmers driving livestock over vast distances either on horses or by foot. Horsepower gave way to motorised vehicles and eventually to rugged Land Rovers and Land Cruisers. The aesthetic has been warmly embraced by outdoor enthusiasts in South Africa, Europe and most potently in the US, where it dovetails with a vision of manifest destiny and pioneering self-sufficiency that at its gentlest attracts hard camping enthusiasts and at its oddest extends to a sort of crazed Mad Max-style ‘prepper’ survivalism expressed by things like the Mammoth Overland ELE, a trailer you can haul behind your Overlander that comes with the acronym meaning ‘Extinction Level Event’. You get the idea.
For the more moderate (or sane) among the community, vehicles such as the Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Colorado or the larger Ram 5500 are the go-to platforms for builds designed to sustain drivers and passengers on epic journeys to the most remote parts of the country, and key features include lifted suspension, rugged off-road tyres, flatbeds modified to feature sleeping quarters and a swathe of recovery equipment such as winches and solar panels. The list is endless, as are the number of meets taking place across the US. One of the largest is the hugely popular Overland of America Expo, which takes place at MidAmerica Outdoors in Jay, Oklahoma.
But while both of those subcultures have their adherents, they are likely dwarfed by a trend that has taken US truck culture by storm – Bubba trucks.
The Bubba truck is a celebration of the workmanlike functionality of US pickup trucks and the aesthetic is simple – generally they are full-size or heavy-duty pickups with a work truck influence, modified with traditional off-road truck upgrades, but in a less flashy way, with stock wheels and a minimum lift (though lifts have become more pronounced in recent times as builders seek superiority). A key factor, however, is that the stock wheels must be fitted with all-terrain or off-road tyres that are much larger and more aggressive than the original rubber. It’s also important that you mod the truck with ‘work’ gear such as a truck bed toolbox or more rugged aftermarket bumpers – just to confirm the blue-collar look.
Bubba truck culture is enormously popular and has even given rise to its own TikTok trends. Most specifically this involves videoing yourself stopping at a gas station or convenience store, purchasing a super-sized slushie and then hurling it at your Bubba truck. Why? No one seems to know or care where the idea came from or why you might do such a thing, but in TikToklandia it’s a thing, apparently.
Truck culture is certainly a vast and growing new subculture within an already rich landscape. Each year, the aftermarket auto industry, which in 2024 was worth a staggering $52 billion in the US, stages an enormous and hugely influential show/convention in Las Vegas called SEMA, after the Speciality Equipment Market Association that represents aftermarket equipment companies. To give you an idea of how big the show is, it lasts a whole week, is spread over several sites in Sin City and features a whopping 160,000 industry attendees, making it one of the largest trade shows in the world.
This year the show was dominated by trucks and SUV builds, and reporting on the event, Ford’s own From the Road blog chose truck culture developments as four of its five main takeaway trends for the future of vehicle medication.
Whether that holds true, one thing is certain – the love affair sparked between the USA and the automobile more than a century ago shows no signs of burning out. In fact, with EV mods also making the grade as a growing trend, the glowing passion for them seems only to be growing.