In the early 2000s, the auto-porn reality show Pimp My Ride turned out to be an unexpected hit for MTV, and helped turn little-known rapper Xzibit into a beloved television personality.
The show worked as a kind of Extreme Makeover for cars, rescuing down-on-their luck drivers from the hardship and embarrassment of owning beat-up lemons by outfitting their vehicles with ridiculously impractical new features.
Putting a tropical fish tank in an '87 Chevy Beretta never made much sense, but we all went along with it because it made for good TV. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by the fact that it was roughly 99% BS.
In an article that appeared on Huffington Post today, car owners who appeared on the show revealed that in many cases, their reactions were fake, their cars were rendered un-driveable, and the wacky bells and whistles that made the show famous were removed immediately after filming was completed.
One "contestant" (as producers apparently called the pimpees) complained that the champagne cooler and theater system in his car were removed by producers for safety reasons (oh, the humanity), while others stated that modifications that made their cars illegal or dangerous were irresponsibly left in place.
Hilariously, one driver states that a cotton candy machine that was installed in his trunk caused strands of the gauzy treat to "fly all over the place," blinding him as he drove.
The show worked as a kind of Extreme Makeover for cars, rescuing down-on-their luck drivers from the hardship and embarrassment of owning beat-up lemons by outfitting their vehicles with ridiculously impractical new features.
Putting a tropical fish tank in an '87 Chevy Beretta never made much sense, but we all went along with it because it made for good TV. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by the fact that it was roughly 99% BS.
One "contestant" (as producers apparently called the pimpees) complained that the champagne cooler and theater system in his car were removed by producers for safety reasons (oh, the humanity), while others stated that modifications that made their cars illegal or dangerous were irresponsibly left in place.
Hilariously, one driver states that a cotton candy machine that was installed in his trunk caused strands of the gauzy treat to "fly all over the place," blinding him as he drove.
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