Pimp My Ride was a reality television program that required Xzibit to visit the homes of drivers with beaters. Xzibit handed the jalopy to West Coast Customs, who modified the car to be a sight for sore eyes. The show paved the way for other customization programs such as Overhaulin', Fast 'N Loud, Monster Garage, as well as numerous other programs that wanted to capitalize on the success that Pimp My Ride had.
Numerous shows tried to emulate Pimp My Ride's success, but only a few got it right. Some of the shows produced fantastic restored cars, and others failed to attract viewers after the first season. Although several car restoration programs managed to stay on the air for several seasons, the shows weren't immune to flaws. Even Pimp My Ride produced a few customized vehicles that left viewers squeamish.
Although the most prominent shows such as Monster Garage and Overhaulin' produced vehicles that made us wish we owned, all the car programs messed up a few cars. We wanted to see the worst modifications produced, so we delved into the history of all the car reality programs that modded vehicles. Our search resulted in a compilation of the worst modifications that car shows produced.
20 Pimp My Ride - AMC Pacer
The show that brought car customization to the mainstream and paved the way for numerous car programs was Pimp My Ride. Xzibit hosted the show for six seasons and brought cars that were in poor conditions to West Coast Customs to restore. The West Coast Customs crew produced a few questionable restorations, but one of the cars that stood out was the AMC Pacer.
In West Coast Customs' defense, the car isn't attractive but painting stars on the car and fitting an opening on the roof to make the contraption look like a sunroof made it look worse.
19 Inside West Coast Customs - Lamborghini Gallardo
After Pimp My Ride went off the air, Ryan Friedlinghaus and his staff at West Coast Customs believed that they could produce many other modifications that would entertain viewers. Their show featured several celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal, Mark Wahlberg, and Justin Bieber.
One of the cars that the West Coast Customs crew modified was Chris Brown's, Lamborghini Gallardo. Brown looked happy when he posed with Friedlinghaus in front of the car. Considering Brown's other supercars have eccentric mods, I'm not surprised he went with the Lego modification look.
18 Texas Car Wars - Old School & Purple Custom
The show aired in September 2012 on the Discovery Channel and followed four auto body shops that participated in bidding wars to find the most valuable junk cars and refurbish it into masterpieces. The show lasted for only one season, consisting of eight episodes. It seems that some car restorers like to paint classic vehicles in purple.
Modern cars don't look good in purple, nevermind classics. The point of a classic car is for it to look elegant. The color purple doesn't do that, especially when the vehicle is bulky. Flashy colors look good on vehicles that are meant to be on the track.
17 Unique Whips - Nissan Armada
Speed Channel aired the show from 2005 until 2008. The show documented the works of Unique Autosports, a car customization workshop based in Long Island New York. The customization consisted of car stereo, interior, wheels, and a paint job. The show focused on customizing celebrity cars. Some of the celebrities who featured were 50 Cent, Pamela Anderson and P. Diddy.
The show also customized two of Mark Ecko's Nissan rides. One of the cars was Armada. Unique Autosports modified the Armada and the Pathfinder. That wasn't their best effort.
16 Vegas Rat Rods - The Joker Mobile
Discovery premiered the show in 2014 and kept it on the air for three seasons. The show was located on the outskirts of Las Vegas and featured Steve Darnell and his crew of oddballs to create vehicles that resembled rides from the Mad Max franchise. The clientele consisted of customers who had quirky demands for their vehicles.
The team at Welder Up used their imagination to build a unique vehicle for each client by transforming a discarded treasure into a one-of-a-kind rolling work of art. Some of the projects didn't turn out into a magnificent work of art such as the Joker.
15 Wrecks To Riches - 1964 Chevrolet Nova
Discovery Channel featured several car restoration programs. One of those shows was Wrecks to Riches. The show premiered in 2006 and lasted for only two seasons. Barry White and his staff bought cheap cars and attempted to transform the vehicles into muscle cars.
The deadline was three to four weeks for each vehicle before auctioning it at various locations in the United States. One of the cars that the team attempted to convert into a muscle car was a 1964 Chevrolet Nova. The effort was commendable, but the final product was a subpar vehicle called Gangreen.
14 Counting Cars - Custom Chevrolet
Count's Kustoms fans will know that Koker and the guys love to make their vehicles flamboyant. They enjoy using bright colors and eccentric designs to make the cars look different. Some of the designs from Count's Kustoms were a bit too eccentric and veered far from what one might deem as a good modification.
The pictured car is the show's flagship vehicle and a good representation of the type of work that the guys at Count's Kustoms produce. The modification performed on this car is similar to the type of work that Mike does on his vehicles.
13 Inside West Coast Customs - GMC Denali
Friedlinghaus and his team have performed many great modifications during their time on Pimp My Ride and Inside West Coast Customs. Since nobody is perfect, even West Coast Customs have performed a few questionable modifications. One of those mods was on Chris Brown's Lamborghini and the other was on the GMC Denali that they did for HP.
West Coast Customs teamed up with HP to transform the car into a mobile multimedia platform. I understand that West Coast Customs had to display the HP logo on the car, but they could've done it in a manner that didn't make the car look tacky.
12 Pimp My Ride - 1987 Chevy K 5 Blazer
One of the lucky people to feature on Pimp My Ride was a gentleman called Josh. He was the owner of a 1987 Chevy K 5 Blazer. Before West Coast Custom's modification, Josh's Blazer was white. After the modification, the car had numerous colors that didn't match. The bonnet was yellow, and the rear was blue. Josh seemed to be thrilled with the vehicle, but I wonder how much of that excitement was an act.
Considering Pimp My Ride producers made guests overreact during the unveiling of their car, I wouldn't be surprised if Josh did the same.
11 Big Easy Motors - Smiling Ford Bronco
The rating for the show dropped to below a million viewers per episode towards the end of the first season, prompting History to cancel the program. Charles Handler, the co-owner of The Bomb Factory, a New Orleans company that services classic cars and hot rods to keep the vehicles in pristine condition, restored cars with his team.
The show documented the shop's efforts to find rare classics to restore the vehicles. One of the cars that the team restored was a Ford Bronco. Besides painting the car orange, the guys at the Bomb Factory thought the car would look good with smiley faces in front of the grille.
10 Car Warriors - 1969 Volkswagen Beetle
In season one of Car Warriors, an All-Star car team challenged another team to restore a car in less than 72 hours. The winner would win the opposing team's car. In season two, teams had 48 hours to transform their car to win so that they could keep their car. Season one of the program featured a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle.
The standard model isn't the best looking car on the road, but when the Car Warriors got their hands on it, they managed to make it look worse. Some cars shouldn't be convertibles, and most cars shouldn't be purple. The restored Beetle was both.
9 Counting Cars - Mike's Smart Car
Danny Koker and the team worked hard to produce cars that their clients would be happy to drive. The show featured famous rock stars such as Vince Neil and Rob Zombie. One of Koker's crew members was Mike, who's been fascinated with horns since he was a boy. Mike said that he started drawing horns on everything and wearing them on his head. He was also intrigued by fitting horns onto his vehicle.
When he modded his Smart Car, Mike ensured that the car was his favorite color and had horns. He has bragging rights about owning a unique car.
8 Diesel Brothers - The Somersault Truck
The show documented Heavy D and Diesel Dave as they build custom trucks. Although the show was about customizing pickups, the Diesel Brothers don't forget to mix in laughter and fun. They have played several pranks on each other, performed stunts and engaged in shenanigans that entertained themselves and viewers.
Most of the modifications that the Diesel Brothers performed resulted in a stretched, elevated pickup. The Diesel Brothers wanted to have some fun, so they modified a pickup into a somersault truck. They shared laughs and half of a pickup truck.
7 Fast 'N Loud - 1952 Ford Mainline
Richard Rawling and his Dallas, Texas-based team from Gas Monkey Garage searched for run-down cars to restore it for profit. The program was so successful that it lasted for fourteen seasons and aired 133 episodes. New York Times survey revealed that Fast 'N Loud was the most favorite show amongst men.
The guys at Gas Monkey Garage had done a spectacular job on many vehicles but could've done a better job on the 1952 Ford Mainline. The car looks incomplete, and several parts are sticking out from the car, making the vehicle unappealing.
6 Fat 'N Furious - 1951 Mercury
They might not look as good as the cast of Fast and Furious, but they know a thing or two about cars. Fat 'N Furious starred four men, who worked at a mechanic shop from Youngstown, Ohio. Tommy Christmas and the rest of the team restored rustbuckets and rare tribute cars while trying to have as much fun as possible. One of the cars they restored was a 1951 Mercury.
The boys decided that the car would look good in purple paint and white stripes. Although they had performed a lot of good customization jobs, the Mercury wasn't their greatest effort. Purple doesn't suit most cars, especially not '50s models.
5 For The Love Of Cars - Golf Mk1 GTI
The show aired in the United Kingdom and was meant to show the character of British and European cars through engineering and its place in the market. The show starred Phillip Glenister, actor and presenter, and restoration expert Ant Anstead. The show featured a barn find that Anstead would search for and restore.
One of the cars that Anstead and his team restored was a Golf Mk1 GTI, according to VW Heritage. When Anstead and his crew were done, the final product was a Golf with a yellow paint job and blue stripes, as well as stars on doors. To ensure the driver got good road visibility, Anstead fit numerous headlights.
4 Overhaulin' - 1971 Dodge Challenger
A program that featured one of the best car restorers in the world was Overhaulin'. Chip Foose put his heart into every project to ensure it was a success. Most of the car's that Foose restored were praise-worthy. The show's premise involved targeting a victim, known as a mark, who owned a jalopy.
Foose and the mark's friend obtained the vehicle by making the mark believe that the police had towed the car away or that the car was missing due to confusion at the repair shop. One of the few jobs that Foose could've done better was on the 1971 Dodge Challenger. His choice of colors and the combination wasn't the best.
3 Garage Squad - 1967 Plymouth Barracuda
The show's premise involved a garage team who wanted to help mechanics that had unfinished projects. Most of those mechanics lacked the time, resources or knowledge to complete their dream project. Garage Squad aimed to help the average folk complete their restoration by introducing automobile experts to assist in the completion of the project and included the car's owner in the process.
One of the cars that Garage Squad assisted with was a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda. The team got the car to work but chose the wrong paint job for the classic car.
2 Monster Garage - 1990 Ford Mustang GT
Jesse James is one of the most popular car and motorbike customizers in the world. The show consisted of five people with mechanical or modifying expertise to modify a vehicle into a monster machine. The team had seven days to complete the job. Some of the modifications that the teams performed resulted in the car being a monster, not a monster machine.
According to IMDB, James and the team were challenged to turn a 1990 Ford Mustang GT into a monster mower. James has done an impeccable job with many vehicles, but the Mustang GT wasn't his greatest work.
1 Monster Garage - The Jet Car
When Jesse James and the producers decided to name the program Monster Garage, they wanted to convey that the cars they would restore would be monsters that most people would be envious of and would want to own. Although referred to as monsters, the cars were supposed to be alluring.
James and his crew have performed numerous stellar modifications that they should be proud of since their work kept viewers tuning in every week and returning for several seasons. The pictured car wasn't James' best effort. He stretched the car to make it look like a monster, but it wasn't the good kind.
Sources - IMDB & VW Heritage