kind of fashion
statement
would it
make to
match dowdy
whitewalls
with some
sleek American
Racing Equipment
wheels? The word “nerd comes to mind.
The best tire candidate for cus­
tomization has a low profile, meaning it
has a small sidewall. I he less rubber on
the rim, the more attention is drawn to
By Blair S. Walker
one's new wheels, which can come in gold
or matte black, but generally have a silvery
Car lovers know that few things accen­
hue. Replacing tour stock wheels with
tuate a car’s beauty like a set of BBSs.
glistening pieces ot mobile art can be cost­
Fittipaldi, Cragar and M O M O look pret­
ly. Each wheel can set you back anywhere
ty fine, too.
from $40 to $1,000. Since thieves appre­
T he aforementioned companies all
ciate
custom wheels too, wheel locks are
manufacture custom wheels, and their
gleaming, imaginatively designed products mandatory.
More than 10 million aftermarket
have adorned many a Nissan, BMW,
wheels
were sold last year, generating
Mustang, Honda and Lexus. Whether the
$800
million
in revenue, according to
wheels feature spokes or wires, a set ot
Crain Communications. I hat means that
slick, aftermarket wheels shout, "Look at
me - my ride is more than just transporta­ people are dumping the sedate wheels that
came with the new car for something
tion!”
more dynamic that they can buy else­
O f course you can’t throw any old tire
where. Most sales, 66 percent, took place
around a set of custom wheels. What
.. .................................................................................. .....
Custom
wheels is big
business
at tire stores. The remainder were made in
automotive accessory stores like AutoZone
and Pep Bovs, autobody stores, repair
shops, catalogues or through e-commerce.
The overwhelming majority of custom
wheels sold -60 percent - were comprised
of aluminum/alloy. Imports account for
only 10 percent to 15 percent ot sales,
Crain says. Imported wheels tend to have
more cachet among African-American car
enthusiasts than products made by I .S.
manufacturers.
Purchasing custom wheels may sound
suspiciously like a man thing, but it s not.
Last year, 45 percent of aftermarket wheel
buyers were women, according to
Automotive Marketing. And over halt ot
all purchasers were under 35. An interest­
ing observation about custom wheel tans -
they either have ample disposable income
or not much income at all. Automotive
Marketing found that two-thirds ot buy­
ers made either less than $20,000, or
more than $40,000, annually. Don’t
think car manufacturers are oblivious to
the custom-wheels market. More than halt
the cars and light trucks made in North
America in 1998 featured some sort ot
styled wheel, says trade publication Tire
Business.
• • •
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AFRICAN AMERICANS ON WHEELS