Flower people following automobile (9)
I believe the answer is:
carnation
'flower' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'people following automobile' is the wordplay.
'people' becomes 'nation' (**).
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'automobile' becomes 'car' ('car' can be a synonym of 'automobile').
'nation' put after 'car' is 'CARNATION'.
(Other definitions for carnation that I've seen before include "Not in a car (anag) - plant" , "Oscar Wilde wore a green one" , "Anoint car with the strange flower" , "Pink/white/red flower" , "Flower suitable for buttonhole ..." .)