equipment to appeal to youthful customers. In the late 1960s, U.S. Federal safety standards banned the use of protruding bar spinners on automobiles. Other uses The mid-1950s Dodge four-bladed "spinner" wheel covers became an icons for the era and also became an item popular to owners to customize their cars. Spinners were add on accessory marketed during the 1950s to decorate regular wheel covers for a custom look. Center spinner hubcaps were also available as original equipment from automakers. Custom wheels for lowriders also used naked ladies on wheel covers and these were the first to feature a floating or spinner-type wheel device. A bracket was used to mount to the spindle so while the lady stood still the wheel spun around. Similarly, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has anti-spinners — the "RR" logo in the center of the hub is mounted on a spinner with an offset weight designed to ensure that the logo is always the right way up when the car is parked. The hubometers used on large trucks, buses, and trailers that appear to be stationary while the wheel is turning to accurately measure the actual distance covered. They are actually enclosed and float in a liquid with anti-freeze as to be functional in severe low temperatures without freezing. Modern concept The modern spinner device is a decorative kinetic attachment to the wheel of an automobile. The spinner covers the center of a car's wheel and is designed to independently rotate by using one or more roller bearings to isolate the spinner from the wheel, enabling it to turn while the wheel is at rest. Legislative bills were proposed in several US states to ban spinner type wheels and hubcaps that simulate movement even when a vehicle is stopped because they could be disconcerting to other motorists and present a safety hazard. Spinners were popular during the early-2000s within the hip-hop community of the United States. Since the mid-2000s, they are gradually fading out of vogue in popular culture. Music The spinner-type automobile hubcaps were the inspiration for a Detroit-area R&B/soul group, The Domingoes, to rename themselves The Spinners in the late 1950s. In 1960, Pat Davis recorded the song "Spinner Hub Caps". "Weird Al" Yankovic's song White & Nerdy contains the lines "My rims never spin to the contrary / You'll find that they're quite stationary" See also Custom wheel Hubcap References Automotive accessories Automotive styling features