Gearheads Say This Is The No. 1 Car City In America – And No, It's Not Detroit

The United States has a well-deserved reputation for being extremely car-centric, and you'll find cities and regions across the country that are known for their deeply rooted automotive cultures. But is there one American city that rises above the others for car enthusiasts? 

Detroit — famously known as The Motor City and home to the Big Three American auto companies (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) — could be in the running, as could Charlotte, North Carolina or Indianapolis for their auto racing connections. While a case could be made for these locales, car culture is even more present in and around Los Angeles, California.

Southern California has a robust (although often congested) freeway system, great weather, plenty of scenic coastal and mountain routes, and a calendar packed with automotive events. It's not all sunshine and Hollywood glamour for L.A.'s car culture, though. Many of Los Angeles's roadways are deteriorating, a couple of the region's race tracks have closed in recent years, and California's regulatory environment can be strict for automotive hobbyists.

While greater Los Angeles has plenty to offer gearheads, many enthusiasts also acknowledge the area's significant drawbacks for car lovers. L.A.'s infamous traffic is always an issue, as is the high cost of gasoline and vehicle registration in California when compared to other states. California's notoriously strict smog laws can make maintaining and upgrading old cars difficult and expensive, even for hobbyist vehicles that don't see regular use.

2025 saw partial demolition of two large and popular race tracks in the L.A. area as well; Irwindale Speedway and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana have closed for racing and are being torn down. There are still some tracks in use outside the city, like Willow Springs in Rosamond and the dragstrip in Pomona that hosts the NHRA Winternationals each year. 

When you factor in the indisputably excellent weather, the spectacular scenic drives, and the deeply ingrained car culture of the region, Southern California has got to be considered the king when it comes to the car enthusiast experience in America. The area's television and film production industry has also helped boost car culture in and around Los Angeles.

The Greater Los Angeles Area can include the city, Orange County, the San Fernando Valley, and the Inland Empire. This area offers the aforementioned agreeable weather and plentiful scenic drives, but the television and film industry centered in Hollywood and Studio City have also helped car culture in the area. The iconic cars in the "Fast & Furious" franchise are shown zipping around L.A. in a good portion of the films, and the coolest cars from "American Graffiti" include a yellow 1932 Deuce Coupe and some '50s classics.

The favorable climate in and around L.A. means there's no winter road salt to accelerate body rust and parking a car outside won't invite much weather-related damage; on any given weekend of the year you can find plenty of classic car shows and auctions happening around Los Angeles.

The area also has a long-standing modder culture that has manifested itself in various forms: street drag racing, lowriders, and the import tuning scene. Southern California was also the birthplace of the now-global Cars & Coffee movement that brings many of these subcultures together, and songs by artists from the area like The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, and The Doors have reinforced L.A.'s car connection.