Homage to Pimp My Ride

2020 was a forgetful year for many with the COVID pandemic taking over the globe. However, it stands out among EV modding fanatics as the foundation year of our brand: Pimp My EV.

Every company has to think their way through one of the hardest choices – choose a brand that portrays their product in an eye-catching fashion. We went for a bold choice with our brand name, paying our respects to the TV show that made bold look cool.

Gen Y and MTV fans will recall a show by the name of “Pimp My Ride”, all the way back in 2003. One of the earliest vehicle customization shows that paved the way for other shows that have become a part of our households and routines today.

It was a one-of-a-kind show, that didn't play by the rules, wasn’t afraid to step out of the line, and was a hit among people. Be it Orange County Choppers or Monster Garage, none of them would have happened without Pimp My Ride.

Celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on the hit TV show. (Source)

Pimp My Ride wasn’t hosted by some up and coming music sensation that mirrored the nation's youth. Forget it, that would have been the easy way out.

It was either 48 year-old DJ, "your boy," Tim Westwood or the one and the only Xzibit who were given the job. That’s right!

Speaking of bold TV shows, Pimp My Ride once featured Danny Dyer making a hand print to leave in a participant's car. Name a single show in the history of television that would think of something this inventive. Our guess? You can’t. Such was the ingenuity of this masterpiece.

The world might have taken steps towards inclusivity, but this standard of television is considered unacceptable by a global station like MTV. Imagine the banter and trends the show would have gotten in the age of Twitter.

The truth is, we simply weren't ready to deal with a show of this caliber. Period.

If you want to relive the show's glory, there's a whole treasure chest anticipating you on YouTube. If you had no idea this show ever existed, you have much to learn. Look this up ASAP!

A Land Cruiser cum yoga studio. Pretty functional, right? (Source)

The show was known for making cars that looked like trash look amazing, as well as giving them some absolutely ridiculous upgrades-- one car owner even got a badminton net in the back of his car.

The show was renowned for loading even the most ordinary cars with over-the-top ridiculous upgrades. One car owner went as far as to install a badminton net in the rear of his car. A true sports lover indeed!

You could literally bet your bucks that there'd be some over-the-top rims and an eye-catching custom paint job in every episode.

The number of upgrades that Xzibit and his crew pimped that were downright crazy. The vehicle trunks or beds often became the home for the most ridiculous of additions.

We mean things like a fireplace, hot tub, even a waterbed were placed into these rides. Guess they wanted to make the ride feel a little more… homier? We don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, that they weren’t the type to stop at ordinary things. They wanted to raise the bar and they surely did their job. A pickup truck was given an entire bed-mounted pool table.

The pickup truck with a pool table was real. See for yourself. (Source)

The show’s wild success proved to be the perfect inspiration for our brand name. It was modern, hip, and related with most of the car lovers out there. It was definitely ahead of its time. Pimp My Ride was sadly taken off air in 2007, but the car modding mania it influenced, still lives on to this very day.

Once considered a slang, we’ve embraced the word Pimp with open arms and continue to normalize it with our promotions and advertising. We are living in the age of inclusivity

All calls to our hotline are greeted by an unhesitant, rather confident “This is Pimp My EV, how can we help?” We have normalized the “P” word here at the office and we continue to make it accessible and promote it wherever we can.