Feb 15, 2008

Living La Vida Lowlife

Throughout Mexican-American communities from East Los Angeles to El Paso, Texas, cruisers have been dropping Chevys to a sidewalk-scraping stance since the late 1930s. By the 1970s, Los Angeles and other cities in the Southwest had combined the cars with lifestyle and fashion, and the lowrider scene was born. Now SPEED is about to debut a new weekly program "Livin' the Low Life" set to premiere in HD on February 21 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

"I'm excited that SPEED is taking a chance on a Latin-based lifestyle program," said producer Bud Brutsman, creator of several successful automotive-themed reality shows, including "Payback," "Overhaulin'" and "Rides." "We've wanted to do a lowrider show for years ... there is an entire culture built around the craftsmanship and respect for automotive art. The entire community embraces the car culture."

"Livin' the Low Life," hosted by model/actress Vida Guerra, will go deeper into the world of lowriders than any television show has. The channel says the show will be "taking the lowrider and building it into a weekly addiction for anyone who's wild about super cars and stylish vehicles."

"With 'Low Life', I'm just being myself ... hanging out and having fun," said Guerra, the Cuban-born 2004 FHM magazine model of the year. "If there was something new for me it was that I had to learn about the cars by asking a lot of questions. So, I'm actually speaking for the audience. From my questions I hope that people will learn to appreciate not only the cars but also the people who build them."

In addition to airing on satellite and cable TV, exclusive "Livin' the Low Life" long- and short-form content will be made available all season through the SPEEDtv Website, video-on-demand cable, iTunes video podcasts, mobile phones, cable broadband sites and viral distribution.