George Barris was an American designer and builder of Hollywood custom cars. Barris designed and built the Hirohata Merc. Barris's company, Barris Kustom Industries, designed and built the Munster Koach and DRAG-U-LA for The Munsters; and the 1966 Batmobile for the Batman TV series and film.
Monster Garage is an American television series aired on the Discovery Channel and hosted by Jesse James. Each episode was an hour in length and was conceived and produced by Thom Beers.
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.
Damage Control is a reality television series produced by MTV. Hosted by lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier of Canadian music group Simple Plan, and directed by Sebastian Doggart. The show was a real-life version of the movie Risky Business. It first aired on MTV on March 6, 2005. The last episode was broadcast on April 24, 2005.
A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been altered to improve its performance, change its aesthetics, or combine 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 usage, according to Collins English Dictionary, is built to the buyer's own specifications.
Carisma Automotive is a UK-based automotive shop which specializes in customized interiors, paint, tyres, and other accessories, founded in 1996. Its founder and head is Jamie Shaw, who claimed he was a former employee of Rolls-Royce. From 2005 to 2007, the company was featured on Pimp My Ride UK, the UK version of MTV's Pimp My Ride television series, where Carisma Automotive served as the British equivalent to the original series' West Coast Customs.
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.
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.
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.
MTV is a Portuguese pay television channel that was launched on 1 July 2003, replacing MTV Europe in Portugal. A high-definition simulcast feed of the channel launched on 17 June 2015.
Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by his stage name Xzibit, is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. He began his musical career in 1992, and signed with Loud Records, an imprint of RCA Records to release his debut studio album, At the Speed of Life (1996). The album saw positive critical reception, modestly entered the Billboard 200, and spawned the single "Paparazzi," which peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second album, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz (1998) was met with similar reception and spawned the single "What U See Is What U Get."
Street Customs Berlin is a reality series about West Coast Customs' franchise in Berlin that aired for one season on TLC and Discovery Channel, starring Ryan Friedlinghaus.
Two Guys Garage is an American reality television series on automobile repair and customization, hosted by Kevin Byrd and Willie B. The series is based in Tampa, Florida. Two Guys Garage covers virtually every aspect of vehicle repairing, customizing and restoring. The hosts perform product demonstrations and installations on a wide variety of import and domestic cars and light trucks, and they show viewers the right way to execute modifications with hands-on projects throughout the season.
Counting Cars is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series, which is the third spinoff of Pawn Stars, is filmed in Las Vegas, where it chronicles the daily activities at Count's Kustoms, an automobile restoration and customization company owned and operated by Danny Koker a.k.a. The Count, who previously appeared as a recurring expert on Pawn Stars. In a format similar to another Pawn Stars spinoff, American Restoration, the series follows Koker and his staff as they restore and modify classic automobiles and motorcycles. Counting Cars debuted on August 13, 2012.
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.
Inside West Coast Customs is a car remodeling reality television show based in Burbank, California. The series revolves around car customizer Ryan Friedlinghaus and his staff at West Coast Customs as they transform ordinary, factory-model vehicles into extraordinary, fully customized vehicles. The show has featured cameo appearances by celebrities that include Shaquille O'Neal, Mark Wahlberg, will.i.am, Justin Bieber and Conan O'Brien.
Pimp My Ride UK is a British reality television series 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.
