Auto news on Youtube Aug 22 2017

- [John F. Kennedy] In the long history of the world,

only a few generations have been granted the role

of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.

I do not shrink from this responsibility --

I welcome it.

(music)

- [Miguel Alatorre] Anybody can buy a lowrider,

but to build one, to reflect your taste,

it's a whole different beast.

The car that I have now is a

1959 Chevrolet Impala convertible.

It belonged to a member from Lifestyle

and in order for him to join Lifestyle,

he had to move to LA from Japan.

I really like the color, but I wanted

to give it my own taste, my own twist,

so I decided to keep the body a deep candy purple

which would, kind of hold on to the history

of the car because I didn't want to lose that,

that's why I kept the decals from the parking in Japan

and everything, I didn't want to lose that history.

I patterned out the dash.

I kept it the same as the 350, it has a fuel injection port

and I think a 72 spoach just gives it a more classic feel

to it so that's why I decided to go that way.

(music)

I still live on the same block as my friends,

my childhood friends and his older brother Deno,

he used to have couple lowriders so

as a kid you know you used to be like ay,

you guys want to go car show? And we were like,

oh yeah! Let's go!

Alright but once we get there you guys got to pay your fee,

you guys got to cleaning the car and everything so,

you know he took us to clean his car

and everything but we took it as like,

ay this is a chance for us to go look at girls and cars and

and a whole, you know free concert things so.

You know it just captured me and after

that when you start getting around in car clubs and stuff

and they used to come around and cruise around

and we used to catch that and we were like,

man that's just so cool.

So now we just cruise whenever we get a chance

and we just drive it around San Diego.

Chicano Park is like the heart of San Diego.

In the park itself there's a lot of history in the murals.

Cesar Chavez and all them cats were here.

I've been blessed to meet a lot of the muralists.

It just gives you a whole different respect

for the struggle that they felt.

(music)

I dropped out of school when I was 16, my parents separated

and everything so it kind of fell on me,

I was the oldest so I started working,

trying to help my Mom out and everything and my brothers.

So I never had the chance to finish school.

So when my son was born, I just made a promise

to him right then and there you know,

ima try to do my best for you and ima try to change my life.

I went back to school, finished school.

I signed up and I told my wife, you know what?

If I never do it ima have that biggest regret.

I was a combat engineer, I did route clearance so my job was

to look for IEDs which are improvised explosives.

I did fight tours, I did four in Iraq

and one in Afghanistan.

But at that time during my first tour,

we didn't have this high tech equipment

that you know we, have now.

Back then it was just your eyes.

So we used to literally drive like five miles an hour,

trying to find these devices.

I had my plaque with me, and my car club plaque with me.

To me, it was a sense of you know, still being part

of something back home.

To have my family, have my wife

and my kids of course you know but that was just,

another avenue, something to keep me sane.

My last tour, my platoon got tasked out

to go help out another company up north and on

the way up there we were passing a check point which is,

an Afghan police check point and

for some reason there was barbed wire

and everything across the road,

it made no sense.

Over there they have a lot of little culverts

because when it rains all the water is in everything,

it tends to flood the roads and

as we were going over a culvert.

(explosion)

An IED hit my truck.

I ended up getting off the gun truck,

kept my guys in there, did a quick check.

The other medic on the other gun truck, he opens his door

and I'm like, I'm turning around and I say, dude close

the door, get inside.

When that happened I turned around

and I'm heading to the recovery truck

the secondary went off of that one.

(explosion)

I remember like, just hitting the ground that was it.

I'd lift my head and I looked towards

where the recovery truck was and I see all this smoke

and I see everything and I don't see nobody moving inside.

At that time all the other gun trucks started opening up

and the whole time I'm just looking at them like,

man like give me some sanuk and then the passengist,

we made eye contact and he just gave me a thumbs up.

But the whole time I was like man,

I just lost two of my guys you know? And it was like...

just the thought of it you know it just it still bothers me.

When I got back from tour, I was flagged to see medical.

That's when they, you know they figured that,

couple of discs on my neck and my back you know,

were damaged and everything so, after that, I tried to,

they tried to rehab me for like a year,

it wasn't working out

and they ended up doing a medical discharge on me.

When I first got back, you know, I was wired like.

I did not know how to flip that switch.

I was like always ready to get in a fight,

like I was just on it.

And this one time you know I woke up

and I was choking my wife and I'm cussing at her in Arabic,

you know and I'm like man, and I just remember

the look in her face and I was like you know.

I just told her like you know, I need help.

And that's the day I went in and seeked help.

The thing that helped me.

Like for me, out of everything,

it was lowriding.

When I would order a part, I was like a kid like,

I had something to look forward to like man, I can't wait.

You know and once I got it and I started working on

the engine and started working on this

so now you start progressing, you know.

We ended up taking this car apart.

I put so much attention into it

and so much work into it that you know

the problems that were bugging me and everything,

they weren't there because I didn't have the time

to think about it, it's what helped me get through it.

You know, the lifestyle, that,

I'm living now which you know,

it involves a lot of the lowriding is incorporating a lot

of family time into it, so now like, my son hears

the car turn on he knows we're going to go spend some time.

He relates,

car, and the club, and everything that goes with it,

the car shows and events as family time.

For now I'm retired, I need something to put all this energy

and all these thoughts and ideas into

and what better way than to help my brothers.

22 veterans that commit suicide everyday,

I could have been one of them, coz I was in a real deep rut,

you know.

Putting information out there especially

the awareness with all these guys committing suicide

or all these guys going homeless

or all these guys going through financial times,

that's my job to continue to like push it, you know,

to help em.

There's a VFW right here in Logan, I'm the post commander

so now I'm pretty much run that place.

You know lowriding has a stereotype for being gang bangers

and being drug dealers and being this and that which,

honestly is far from the truth.

I know a lot of lowriders are professional and it's

that same thing with the VFW the stereotype,

there's old people in there just drinking cheap beer.

What I've been trying to do is tear that wall.

One of the things about us is that,

we want to be involved in our community.

I mean we want to feel a sense of we're still serving.

The building that we're in, you know, it needs a new roof

so since that's been my number one goal since I took over.

I started doing a lot of fund raising events,

geared at that.

I started bringing a lot of bands, you know

the whole district in Logan Heights is changing

and started being a more arts and more you know musical

and more food now so you know,

I was like man this is the perfect time to try

to like convince these dudes and that's all we want,

we want to be engaged, you know what I mean?

We still want to serve and what better way

to serve than by continuing to help people that are in need

or veterans that are in need.

There's a lot of organizations that do that but to a veteran,

you know it means a lot more if it comes from

another veteran because that was your brother.

You know I can't help everybody but I mean ima try.

You know it's impossible but it doesn't mean

that you stop trying.

Serving my country is one of the proudest things

I've done, you know I regret that I miss from my family

but I think they understand now,

the sacrifices that I did for them

and you that's what makes it worth it.

You know that they get it now, they understand.

I'm Miguel Alatorre and I'm a lowrider role model.

(music)