• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, October 20, 2015

The tide has turned against naked and scantily clad ladies in print.

A week after Playboy announced that it will no longer feature nude models in its print edition, Lowrider, a lifestyle magazine focused on Hispanic automotive enthusiasts, will no longer feature female models as part of its automotive photography.

Like many other enthusiast magazines targeting young male readers, Lowrider, owned by TEN: The Enthusiast Network, has long included a slice of cheesecake with its coverage of dope rides. However, the magazine is showing the female models the door in favor of a new identity that celebrates Hispanic American culture and a greater focus on related interests and social equality.

Of course, there will also be more in-depth coverage of “lowriding” itself, with a focus on the core values of performance, artistry, pride and culture, as well as tradition. The latter reflecting the long-term nature of lowriding projects, which take years to complete, with vehicles passed down in families.

There’s also a new feature called “Roll Model,” which highlights pillars of the community who enjoy lowrider culture, in order to combat negative stereotypes. The new Lowrider Network, a social network, is bringing together lowrider and Hispanic lifestyle enthusiasts.

For reasons that have never been entirely clear to me, but which probably arise in our reptilian brain stem, cool cars and scantily clad women just seem to go together, providing employment for thousands of car show models whose job it is to lounge seductively amid the chrome. It has long been the ultimate, undeniable proof that we men are simple creatures.

But the rise and the Internet and the proliferation -- nay, ubiquity -- of online titillation kind of obviates the need for such material in print. As Playboy CEO Scott Flanders told the NYT: “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.” (It’s worth noting Playboy still shows female models, just wearing bikinis).

Earlier this year, Maxim unveiled a new look with less revealing cover photos of female models and more, shall we say, refined (but still sexy) photographic treatments within.