Timothy Westwood, often known professionally simply as Westwood, is a British DJ and presenter. He was described by The Guardian in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene whose opinions have been able to make or break upcoming artists for more than 30 years". He hosted the Radio 1 rap show and presented the MTV UK show Pimp My Ride UK. In 2013, he left Radio 1 and 1Xtra after nearly twenty years and returned to Capital Radio. Investigations by the BBC and The Guardian into Westwood's sexual conduct found seven women who accused Westwood of sexual violence, as described in the BBC Three documentary Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.
Boy racer is a term given to a young person who drives in a fast and aggressive manner; it has become a broader term for participants in modern custom car culture who tune and modify cars with street racing-style aftermarket cosmetic and performance parts such as body kits, audio systems and exhausts. The culture encompasses a broad range of car types including sport compacts and economy cars typical of the import scene, this is in contrast with the hot rod culture of previous generations. Some car enthusiasts and modifiers feel the term labels them as deviant and anti-social and are keen to distance themselves from the term. Boy racer is a term mostly but not exclusively associated with the UK, in Australia and New Zealand hoon is sometimes preferred. In the US, "Rice boy" or "Ricer" is a derogatory term for the driver or builder of an imported hot rod, or someone who modifies their car in a cheap way to imitate the look of a higher performance vehicle.
Pimp My Ride is an American television series produced by MTV and hosted by rapper Xzibit, which ran for six seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2007. In each episode, a car in poor condition is both restored and customized. The work on the show was done by West Coast Customs until season 5 and was done by Galpin Auto Sports thereafter.
West Coast Customs is an automobile repair shop focusing on the customization of vehicles. It was started by co-founders Ryan Friedlinghaus and Quinton Dodson circa 1994. According to Friedlinghaus, he began the business with a $5,000 loan from his grandfather, but other sources claim that he raised the seed money for the business while working at his father's liquor store. Owing to the patronage of celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal and Sean Combs, along with appearances in the reality television programs Pimp My Ride and Street Customs, the company has gained a high degree of notoriety and has become a multimillion-dollar business.
The Mitsubishi Carisma is a large family car that was produced for the European market by Mitsubishi Motors from 1995 to 2004.
A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been altered to either improve its performance, change its aesthetics, or a combination of both. Some automotive enthusiasts in the United States want to push "styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor - to truly craft an automobile of one's own." A custom car in British according to Collins English Dictionary is built to the buyer's own specifications.
A pimpmobile is a large luxury vehicle, usually a 1960s, 1970s or 1980s-model Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick or Chrysler vehicle, that has been customized in a garish, extravagant and kitsch or campy style. The style is largely an American phenomenon.
A body kit or bodykit is a set of modified body parts or additional components that are installed on a car. They are typically composed of front and rear bumpers, side skirts, spoilers, bonnets, and sometimes front and rear side guards and roof scoops. There are many companies that offer alternatives to the original factory appearance of the vehicle. Body kit components are designed to complement each other and work together as a complete design, but often owners will 'mix and match' pieces from different body kits.
Ride with Funkmaster Flex is a television show that was produced by MTV Networks. The show aired from 2003–2004, lasting two seasons. It was originally shown on Spike TV and RedMoxie and was also broadcast on MuchMusic and ESPN with a licensing agreement to MTV Networks.
VDub was an American advertising campaign used by Volkswagen during 2006 for the Volkswagen GTI. Intended to parody MTV's Pimp My Ride, advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky created a series of three television commercials directed by Jonas Åkerlund, starring Swedish actor Peter Stormare as an effete German engineer named Wolfgang, and German model Zonja Wöstendiek as his assistant Miss Helga. In each ad, Wolfgang introduces a "contestant" and Miss Helga showcases and insults their gaudy and distastefully modified compact car of a competitive make - specifically a Mitsubishi Eclipse, Ford Focus and a Honda Civic. Wolfgang then excitedly announces that they are going to "unpimp" the contestant's car, in which he presses a button on a handheld remote and the car is violently destroyed as the contestant watches. Each contestant is then given a brand new Volkswagen GTI, a car that has been "pre-tuned by German engineers". Wolfgang uses gestures and expressions reminiscent of hip-hop culture throughout the ads for humorous effect, such as when he proclaims "we just dropped it like it's hot!" after crushing a Ford Focus. Most notably, he opens every ad with "V Dub in the house!" and ends every ad by recreating the Volkswagen logo in a hand sign accompanied with, "V Dub! Representing Deutschland!"
1 Leicester Square is a British chatshow hosted by Russell Brand which ran from 2 April to 31 December 2006 on MTV UK. The show's title was the actual address of MTV's glass-walled central London studio that overlooked Leicester Square. It featured celebrity guests, musical entertainment and various asides featuring the presenter. The show was widely viewed as a vehicle for the comeback of Brand after his sacking from MTV in 2001.
Galpin Auto Sports is an American custom car and automobile repair shop located in the Van Nuys region of Los Angeles, California, which specializes in customizing and remodeling vehicles specifically for their drivers. They also provide specialty parts and accessories. The shop was founded in 1946 by Frank Galpin and later purchased by Bert Boeckmann.
Pimp My Ride is a simulation/racing game published by Activision. This game is based on the popular MTV show of the same name. It was released in 2006 for the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2. It was panned for its poor physics, lack of replay value, and repetitive gameplay.
The fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro is a pony car that was manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Chevrolet from 2010 to 2015 model years. It is the fifth distinct generation of the muscle/pony car to be produced since its original introduction in 1967. Production of the fifth generation model began on March 16, 2009 after several years on hiatus since the previous generation's production ended in 2002 and went on sale to the public in April 2009 for the 2010 model year.
MTV Polska is the Polish-language version of the general entertainment channel MTV. It was launched on July 7, 2000, replacing local music channel Atomic TV. The channel is operated by Paramount Networks EMEAA from its headquarters in Warsaw.
MTV Shows was a British pay television channel. It was launched on 8 November 2007.
MTV Lithuania & Latvia was a twenty-four-hour music and entertainment channel operated by MTV Networks Europe. The channel was originally formed in September 2006 at Lithuania, at January 2009 it got re-formed to double channel including both Lithuania and Latvia and targeted audiences in Lithuania and Latvia.
Car Warriors is an American automotive reality TV show produced by BASE Productions that aired for two seasons on Speed in the United States and Discovery Communications affiliates in international markets. For season 1, each episode pits an all-star car restoration team against a rival team from a different city to restore and modify their car in less than 72 hours. The challenging team has a chance to take home not only their car, but the All Stars' car should they win the contest; otherwise, they go home empty-handed if they lose. Season 2 replaces the All Stars with another local restoration team, as both teams have 48 hours to transform their cars for a chance to keep them in the end.
Pimp My Ride UK is a British reality TV show which is presented by rapper Lady Leshurr. The programme initially ran on MTV UK from 2005 to 2007 and was revived as a show for MTV's YouTube channel in 2022. The show is an adaption of the American MTV series Pimp My Ride, featuring one car in each episode being renovated and customized ("pimped") to match the owner's interests. The first three series were hosted by English DJ Tim Westwood, with the renovation and customizing done by Carisma Automotive. For the 2022 reboot, the work is being carried out by Ashford-based tuning centre and body shop, Wrench Studios.