Race, Taste, Class and Cars

235 Pages·2020·3.756 MB·English

by  Yunis Alam

RACE, TASTE, CLASS AND CARS
Yunis Alam
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First published in Great Britain in 2020 by
Policy Press
University of Bristol
1-9 Old Park Hill
Bristol
BS2 8BB
UK
t: [phone]
[email protected]
www.policypress.co.uk
© Policy Press 2020
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-4473-5347-8 paperback
ISBN 978-1-4473-5349-2 ePub
ISBN 978-1-4473-5348-5 ePdf
The right of Yunis Alam to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Policy Press.
The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the
author and not of the University of Bristol or Policy Press. The University of Bristol
and Policy Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting
from any material published in this publication.
Policy Press works to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability,
age and sexuality.
Cover design by Lyn Davies
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International,
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For Charlie and Ali, exemplars of commitment.
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What are the 21st century challenges shaping our
lives today and in the future? At this time of social,
political, economic and cultural disruption, this
exciting series, published in association with the
British Sociological Association, brings pressing
public issues to the general reader, scholars and
students. It offers standpoints to shape public
conversations and a powerful platform for both
scholarly and public debate, proposing better ways
of understanding, and living in, our world.
Series Editors: Les Back, Goldsmiths, Pam Cox,
University of Essex and Nasar Meer, University of
Edinburgh
Other titles in this series:
Published
Miseducation by Diane Reay
Snobbery by David Morgan
Money by Mary Mellor
Making Sense of Brexit by Victor Seidler
What’s Wrong with Work? by Lynne Pettinger
v
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Contents
List of figures viii
About the author ix
Acknowledgements x
Preface xii
one Introduction 1
two Researching Bradford: putting the ‘auto’ into ethnography 19
three Communicating cars: television, popular music and 31
everyday life
four Consuming cars: class, ethnicity and taste 61
five Car work: production, consumption and modification 87
six Social psychology, cars and multi-ethnic spaces 115
seven Fun-loving criminal: speed, danger and race 139
eight Conclusion 167
Postscript 175
Notes 181
References 199
Index 215
vii
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List of figures
4.1. ‘Vintage’ Toyota Celica, a slightly younger model than those 71
featuring in the conversation with FB
4.2. Toyota Corolla, AE86 73
4.3. Small selection of quite expensive, but fairly common cars 82
5.1. Basic model Audi A3, with visual modifications indicating a 91
sports variant
5.2. One of IP’s bespoke Range Rovers 92
5.3. Scenes from a car meet (7 May 2017) 96
5.4. 1980s Vauxhall Cavalier, SRi variant saloon 104
6.1. Selection of louder than usual ‘big bore’ exhaust tailpipes 123
6.2. Bass speaker array fitted to a 1995 Toyota Starlet Turbo 125
viii
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About the author
Yunis Alam was born and raised in Bradford, a city in the
north of England, where he still lives and works. His teaching
and research interests include ethnic relations, popular culture
and postcolonial literatures. He has previously written novels and
short stories and edited anthologies which bridge ethnographic
and literary traditions.
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Acknowledgements
This book is the result of a long, seemingly unending research
interest in car culture, especially that present in multicultural
cities. It’s a near-impossible task to thank all those who have
stimulated and provoked this interest, but I am appreciative of
the time and conversation given by Aaliya Bashir, Carole Binns,
Ayesha Butt, Ian Daley, Phil Edwards, Mohammed Farook,
Jim Goddard, Bana Gora, Tarik Hussain, Yasmin Hussain, Atif
Imtiaz, Ansar Jawed, Javed Khan, M.G. Khan, Sajid Khan, Khizer
Rehman, Anwar Shah, Yunas Samad, Paul Sullivan, Mohammed
Sultan and Nadeem Zeb.
Thanks are also in order to all at Policy Press, particularly
Shannon Kneis and Kathryn King, and to the reviewers who gave
valuable feedback on an earlier draft of this book. I am indebted
to Nasar Meer and Les Back, both of whom have been more
than supportive of this book and, indeed, were instrumental in
its commission. Beyond this, their sensitivity, knowledge and
input relating to the subject matter have always been welcome
and appreciated.
Without the time, energy and commitment from the many who
contributed to the research as participants, of course, this book
would not exist. They have endured my questions, observation
and even presence with good humour and openness, producing
countless fascinating conversations about the car, its people and
the narratives that seem to define, not always accurately, our
city. To them, even those whose words may not appear on the
pages to follow, I remain humbled and grateful, and I continue
to be impressed by their enthusiasm and commitment, not only
to their cars, but to Bradford, also. The same applies especially
to Ali, who not only happens to be interested in cars, but also
invited me to car meets and introduced me to many others who
share his passion. And on this note, I am grateful, yet again, to
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