Neon Rides: Cars and Culture of the '80s and '90s - Hardcover

by Gestalten (Editor), Petersen Automotive Museum (Editor)

Neon Rides revisits the vibrant and often overlooked vehicles of the 1980s and 1990s, a period once dismissed by traditional collectors and now ripe for reappraisal.

Defined by wedge-shaped silhouettes, turbocharged ambition, and the unapologetic embrace of design excess, these machines were born at the crossroads of analog grit and digital possibility. From underappreciated oddities to cult classics, the cars of this era reflected a world in flux--politically, culturally, and technologically.

Neon Rides is a visual and cultural excavation of a moment when car culture broke from the past and rewired our relationship to identity, aspiration, and speed. Developed in collaboration with the Petersen Automotive Museum, the book combines archival imagery, cultural commentary, and curatorial insight to celebrate a misunderstood chapter in automotive history. It captures the spirit of an era where pop culture, performance, and personality collided, leaving behind tire marks that still matter today.