---
title: "The Cars of N.W.A"
description: "Boyz n tha hood roll toward the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—in a Suzuki?"
date: "2015-12-17"
modified: "2015-12-17"
authors:
  - name: "Jonathan Schultz"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jonathan-schultz"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/1345/the-cars-of-n-w-a"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
  - "People"
tags:
  - "Hip-Hop"
  - "NWA"
---

# The Cars of N.W.A

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/nwacars_hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

A Suzuki Sidekick. Think about that tippy fixture of late-Eighties high school rom-coms. How coeds with hairstyles [inspired by the era’s Koosh Ball](<https://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2014-06/12/14/enhanced/webdr06/enhanced-2873-1402597070-9.jpg>) would clamber over the doors and spill out onto a southern California beach, ready for volleyball or tormenting the goth, [Ally Sheedy-esque](<https://giphy.com/gifs/80s-movies-LqlHcVjKexuG4/tile>) loner.

Just a few miles and many worlds removed from that Bubblicious scene, Eazy E, M.C. Ren, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella were making a different kind of statement with the same materials, as the photo above demonstrates.

Much has been said and written about N.W.A’s influence on pop culture, and the summer’s *[Straight Outta Compton](<https://www.ew.com/topic/straight-outta-compton>)* biopic all but generated a cottage industry of retrospectives, listicles and one particularly craven [t-shirt trend](<https://www.straightoutta-apparel.com/collections/>). But now that [N.W.A are inductees in the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame](<https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/17/460082433/cheap-trick-deep-purple-among-2016-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-inductees>), we at *The Drive* are looking at the group’s influence specifically on car culture.

The 6-4 Impalas and Benz-O’s celebrated in the group’s lyrics were already fixtures in Compton and Long Beach by the time *Straight Outta Compton*, N.W.A.’s debut record, was released in 1988. But the rappers did more than any group of the era to bring (or return) those cars to national consciousness. Here are but a smattering that were elevated—and in some cases, [dropped very, very low](<https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d2/c6/bc/d2c6bc5b91cd1b77224dc2c4fd5988ea.jpg>)—by the rap group:

## 1964 Chevrolet Impala

![nwacars\_1964chevroletimpala\_art\_1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_1964chevroletimpala_art_1.jpg>)
**Wikimedia Commons**

![nwacars\_1964chevroletimpala\_art\_2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_1964chevroletimpala_art_2.jpg>)
**Wikimedia Commons**

![nwacars\_1964chevroletimpala\_art\_3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_1964chevroletimpala_art_3.jpg>)
**Wikimedia Commons**

## Mid-Eighties Mercedes-Benz S-Class

![nwacars\_1980smercedesbenz300selsedan\_art\_1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_1980smercedesbenz300selsedan_art_1.jpg>)
**Wikimedia Commons**

![nwacars\_1980smercedesbenz300selsedan\_art\_2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_1980smercedesbenz300selsedan_art_2.jpg>)
**Wikimedia Commons**

![nwacars\_1980smercedesbenz300selsedan\_art\_3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_1980smercedesbenz300selsedan_art_3.jpg>)
**Wikimedia Commons**

## LAPD Caprice Cruiser

![nwacars\_lapdcar\_art\_1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_lapdcar_art_1.jpg>)
**Flickr.com**

![nwacars\_lapdcar\_art\_3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/nwacars_lapdcar_art_3.jpg>)
**SSPL/Getty Images**

## Author
Deputy Editor. Previously held editorial positions at BBC.com and the New York Times. Brakes for whoopie pies.

### Author social links