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Pimp My Ride is a TV show originally shown on MTV, with the first episode airing on March 4 2004. The concept is simple - take a car that is old, unfashionable, falling apart, or some combination thereof, and restore it (aka "pimping it"). The show picks young car owners (requirements limit participants to their early 20's) living in the Los Angeles area.
The show features US rapper Xzibit, who takes the cars to a custom body shop named West Coast Customs, where the WCC team rip pretty much everything out of, and from, the car and remake interior and exterior from scratch.
Each car is a custom "pimp," tailored to the personalities and interests of the owners. For example, a Need For Speed fan had his car painted to look like one in the game, while a bowler had a ball washer installed in his trunk, and a surfer got a full-size dryer in the back of his Volkswagen van. Work usually includes new paint, accessories, chrome, tires/rims, and internal electronics (even, and especially, DVD players, video games, and other top notch gadgets). Customization and extra gifts usually total around $20,000 US (though the show usually doesn't put much emphasis on costs). However, WCC is well-known for putting their own whimsical touches in their work, such as the aforementioned dryer, or a gas fireplace in the trunk of another vehicle.
Much of the appeal of the show comes from the personalities involved. The WCC employees are an electic mix of outgoing personalities, such as the appropriately named "Big Dane," electronics expert "Mad Mike," tough-looking interior and fabric maven Ish, and the heavily pierced Alex. Xzibit, the show's host, has found a new audience of fans, who appreciate his sense of humor and obvious love of his job. Both he and WCC have experienced boosts in business due to the show: Xzibit has gained wider attention for his music career (as well as hosting and movie gigs), and WCC had to expand their facilities, due to the international exposure Pimp My Ride gave their work.
WCC has had its problems, however - in December 2004 the shop was fined $16,000 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (along with fellow shop Unique Autosports) for removing airbags from cars and replacing them with DVD monitors.
Pimp My Ride is MTV's most popular show in nearly all of its worldwide subsidiaries (numbering nearly 100), the only exception being the US, where it is second place to The Real World (a virtual unknown outside of America). It is now in its second season in the United States.
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