Slab cars embody H-Town's custom car culture

HOUSTON, Texas -- Houston's slab car culture took to the streets in the early 80s as a form of personal expression on wheels.

Slab is short for slow, loud, and bangin'. The perfect description for custom cars featuring chrome wheels, bright candy paint, loud stereos, and hydraulics.

Stanley "Skibo" Burton says, "I love them because I grew up watching everyone in my neighborhood put together cars."

Channing Williams adds, "It's something I grew up admiring as a young kid seeing Slabs - the rims, the paint."

Williams owns a 1976 candy red Cadillac El Dorado with 24-inch custom rims, "Those are swangas. G-24's, they are very unique to Houston. No other state rides like us."

Burton adds, "You're really holding if you have longer wheels. A guy can pull up next to me - I've got some 12s; someone pulls up on me with some 26's, he got me."

The trunks are also full of the loudest subwoofers you can find. Unlimited Car Stereo on Wilcrest has been modifying slab cars since the 1990s.

Owner Khoai Danh said no car is the same, "Everyone has a different vision."

The hydraulics complete the slab and give it some jump.

Slabs are attention-getters, with instant reactions at every turn.

As for maneuvering with the long rims, Williams says, "it's like driving an 18-wheeler; you have to know your surroundings." Burton added it's a Houston thing, "If you own it, you know how to glide and get through, it's H-town thing to swing."