At the risk of sounding totally out of touch, I watched my first complete episode of MTV’s Pimp My Ride last night. The show is hosted by rapper and Columbia recording artist, Xzibit and showcases the work of West Coast Customs, a Los Angeles body shop.
In a nutshell, the show’s producers find the worst rust buckets on the street, Xzibit shows up and let’s the vehicle owner know their ride is about to be pimped, or in a more commonly used vernacular, undergo a makeover.
West Coast Customs, nor any firm for that matter, could ever pay for this type of positive brand exposure. It’s basically a 30 minute infomercial, but one that’s hip and refreshed on a weekly basis.
Pimp My Ride has fast become a trendsetting show, and the second season has already begun. Actually, it’s a great idea for a show, especially since the main cost is the car’s redoing itself which runs around $35,000. Cheap, by tv production standards. I am curious, however, how the people that drove these pieces of junk prior to their makeover can afford the insurance on the refurbished version. Maybe they’re like about half of Los Angeles, and drive without insurance.