Pimp My Ride
Pimp My Ride was a staged 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.
The show had several international adaptations, including Pimp My Ride UK, Pimp My Ride International, and other adaptations in Brazil, Indonesia and the Baltic countries. It also spawned similar spinoffs, including the series Trick My Truck on MTV's sister network CMT.
The show was criticized by several participants for exaggerating or faking several aspects of the restorations and many aspects of the show.
In 2024, Pimp My Ride co-creator Rick Hurvitz brought a re-tooled version of the show to Netflix. Now titled Resurrected Rides, Hurvitz is an executive producer. Chris Redd serves as host, with a team of mechanics and customizers from several different California-area auto shops working on the cars.
Format
An episode generally begins with the participant, a young vehicle owner from Los Angeles or elsewhere in Southern California, showing off their vehicle to convince MTV it needs to be "pimped". After this segment, the host, Xzibit, takes a look at the participant's car himself and makes wisecracks about the particular things that are wrong with it. He then surprises the participant at their house and the participant shows off their vehicle while Xzibit continues to make wisecracks about the particular things that are wrong with it. After examining the car, Xzibit promises the participant a complete makeover of the vehicle and takes it to a custom body shop, in Corona, California, in Seasons 1–4; replaced by Galpin Auto Sports.At the body shop, the shop team generally replaces most of the car's components and rebuilds the interior and exterior from scratch. The cars are "pimped" based on the hobbies and/or occupations of the owners. For example, a Need for Speed: Underground fan had his car painted to look like one specially customized in the Need for Speed video game series, while a bowler had a ball spinner installed in his trunk, a badminton player had a badminton net installed in the back of his Dodge Caravan, and a surfer got a clothes dryer in the back of his Volkswagen Type 2. Work usually includes new paint, accessories, chrome, tires, rims, and internal electronics. Most changes are only cosmetic, and mechanical work is generally only done to enable the car to run, but the show has occasionally replaced car engines.
At the end of the show, the car is revealed to its owner, as well as all the details of the renovation and the custom features; in addition, the participant is usually given a gift somehow related to the car or their hobby.
Cast
Seasons 1–4
The West Coast Customs employees shown on the series included:- Quinton "Q" Dodson - Good-natured manager
- Ryan Friedlinghaus - Owner
- Alex - Heavily-pierced tire specialist
- Ishmael "Ish" Jimenez - Tough-looking interior and fabric maven
- Michael "Mad Mike" Martin - Electronics expert
- "Big Dane" - Appropriately named accessories specialist
- Aren, Buck, 2Shae, and Luis - Paint. The latter carried on into the following seasons.
Seasons 5–6
In the fifth season, the show moved to another garage, Galpin Auto Sports, as Ryan, the WCC Owner, moved his shop to Corona, California and signed a deal with another television production company. However, the show retained Mad Mike, now dubbed a "car customization specialist". The new cast consisted of:- "Owner" Beau Boeckmann
- Michael "Mad Mike" Martin - Electronics expert and "The Wizard of Wiring"
- "Jason" Ewing - Wiring and fiberglass fabrication
- Gyasi - Wheels and tires specialist
- Luis - Paint & body
- Diggity Dave - Accessories specialist
- Rick - Interiors
- Cabe Sipes - Fabricator
- Z - Shop crew
Replacement vehicles
On three occasions – all season finales – the show did not "pimp" the original automobile.- In the final episode of season 1, the car to be pimped was actually two-halves of Ford Escorts welded together to make one car, a "cut and shut" job, and was declared unsafe.
- In the final episode of season 2, the participant was studying to be an auto mechanic, and WCC decided to let him "pimp" his car as a study project.
- In the final episode of season 5, Xzibit felt that the owner's car, a Nissan Pulsar, was not worth fixing, as heat from the car's engine and battery fluid was leaking into the cab, creating a fire hazard.
Worldwide popularity
Pimp My Ride was one of MTV's most popular shows with nearly all of its worldwide viewers, and also in the U.S., where it ranked second only to The Real World.Canada's music network, MuchMusic, aired the show until MTV Networks signed a deal with CTV, which resulted in MuchMusic losing their rights to MTV programs. MuchMusic's French-language sister station, MusiquePlus, aired the show subtitled in French under the title Pimp mon char. The show would eventually re-air on Much in the Summer of 2008, showing the later seasons.
Pimp My Ride was broadcast in Arab countries on both MTV Arabia and MBC Action.
In 2012, MTV Southeast Asia aired the first episode of Pimp My Ride Malaysia, which is sponsored by Celcom Axiata under its Xpax’s Whatchuwant? campaign, giving Xpax customers a chance to have their vehicles worked on by MTV, hosted by Altimet and Herrera.