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In a moment that is really more “Instagram ruins everything” than anything else, a big cadre of modded-looking cars and some motorcycles were impounded for driving in the LA river this week. The news helicopter footage looks like a scene from Midnight Club 2.
Even if you’ve never been to California, you probably recognize the spot from movies and video games—that cool concrete half-pipe has been a backdrop for off-the-record automotive hijinks since John Travolta was dancing on car hoods.
“The rules are, there ain’t no rules!” Grease
Just off the top of my head, besides Grease, this location (or at least a version of it) is in Gone in 60 Seconds, Midnight Club, and Grand Theft Auto V.
As far as I know, it has never been legal to drive down there—but it’s also historically been very easy to get to. Even as recently as 2021, when I was still living in Culver City, there was a pretty well-known access point where you could buzz into the river, get a few photos, and then get the hell out of there before getting anyone’s attention. Not that I would do such a thing.
Anyway, the pretense around this gathering that’s now making headlines was some kind of social media-organized “massive photoshoot,” not a street race or takeover, according to the people interviewed by local news cameras as their cars were impounded.
The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if the whole thing was secretly organized by the cops in the first place to make a big, flashy bust and nab thousands of dollars in car-impound revenue. But it’s equally possible that a huge fleet of 70-plus Skittle-colored cars was incidentally spotted by a roaming helicopter and simply impossible to ignore.
I feel kind of bad for the drivers who are now on the hook for huge fees and legal trouble, but also, come on, guys. The sentiment that’s coming through from the people interviewed on the ground is “we didn’t know it was illegal to be down there,” and “the no-trespassing sign was small.” Yeah, everybody in LA has seen pictures of somebody they know posted up down there with their car—popping down to take a pic in the past was like going five mph over the speed limit. It’s technically naughty, but basically tolerated by society.
Going down with a full-on traffic jam of loud cars, though? That is asking for trouble in a pretty literal sense.
Seems likely the old spot will probably be walled off in the near to immediate future. Though a better compromise would be to set up a toll booth, the city could probably make bank by charging people for the privilege of getting pics of their cars in that very gross river.
Here’s the footage from the scene:
Dozens of sports cars towed from LA River in Cypress Park
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Automotive journalist since 2013, Andrew primarily coordinates features, sponsored content, and multi-departmental initiatives at The Drive.
