12 Of The Most Ridiculous Modifications From Pimp My Ride, Ranked

"Pimp My Ride" was a staple of MTV for several years, where people with beat-up cars could bring them to the attention of host Xzibit and West Coast Customs for a ton of upgrades. After "Pimp My Ride," Xzibit delved further into the entrepreneurial spirit. Meanwhile, West Coast Customs is still going strong post-"Pimp My Ride." However, the ultimate legacy of the reality series isn't instilling an automotive repair spirit into the masses. It's making people look back at all of the ostentatious, occasionally ill-advised, and always ridiculous things they'd upgrade the vehicles with. 

There were common themes across episodes, like installing TV screens and enhancing the sound system, but the mechanics would usually go the extra mile by also installing something specific to the car's owner, either something related to their jobs or hobbies. This resulted in some truly bizarre customizations, and for this list, we're ranking the 12 most ridiculous, based on the subjective measure of a writer who grew up on MTV and knew not to put some of this stuff in a car before he could drive.

The list is ranked from the upgrades that are merely odd, down to the ones that seem outright dangerous or just entirely impractical. Many of these modifications feel like they were just for show, and probably had to be taken out or adjusted further to make the car drivable. Let's reflect on the most unhinged moments "Pimp My Ride" gave audiences. 

If anyone needed some car help, it was Gaby on Season 1, Episode 14 of "Pimp My Ride." She had just broken up with her boyfriend, and outside of a yoga mat, her Toyota Land Cruiser was pretty much all she had. With a fresh yellow paint job as well as customizing the roof to turn it into a convertible, it definitely came out far more stylish. But all Xzibit and West Coast Customs had to hear was that Gaby was into yoga, and they went all out on transforming the back into a mini yoga studio. 

Complete with bamboo flooring, a fountain, and a monitor to watch yoga videos, the idea seems to be letting Gaby get in a quick stretch no matter where she is. The only problem is that the monitor is in the very back of the vehicle so she can't see it while stretching on the bamboo floor itself. She'd have to be outside the car to watch TV, which may be fun for tailgating. Aside from that, the floor itself just seems too cramped to do some of the more elaborate yoga poses. 

It remains to be seen how much yoga Gaby actually did in the back of her tricked-out ride. However, seeing how Toyota Land Cruisers retain so much of their value even when used means Gaby probably made out all right if she sold it after the episode aired. 

Limousines are supposed to give riders a taste of the high life, but that wasn't the case on Season 5, Episode 6 of "Pimp My Ride" when Joe's whip needed a makeover. His limo was in rough shape until it got a full facelift, complete with a 50-inch television set so that people in the back could watch whatever while getting driven around town. Of course, this leads to the practical issue of being unable to communicate with the driver, namely Joe, in the front. However, the crew went old-school to come up with a solution. 

They installed a pneumatic delivery system that allowed Joe to send messages to people in the back. These tubes were more commonplace decades ago to send messages throughout a building via compressed air. It's probably safer than texting ... maybe? Was the plan for Joe to write down correspondence while in the middle of driving to send to his passengers? Perhaps he could have some pre-written messages ready to go like "Arriving at destination in 10 minutes" or "Keep it down back there." 

That doesn't even get into whether passengers would pay attention to the tube and any messages getting delivered. One would imagine they'd be living it up too much to worry about receiving mail.

Season 3, Episode 2 introduced "Pimp My Ride" viewers to Sara and her 1988 Chevrolet S-10. It's a rare example of multiple questionable decisions going into the renovation process. For starters, West Coast Customs installed a fog machine under the hood of the truck. Driving in the fog is already dangerous, so it doesn't make sense someone would want to make things even foggier for no reason. It definitely wasn't something to use on the freeway, but let's get into the other ridiculous thing added to Sara's ride.

The team transformed the bed of the truck into a pool table. The whole point of having a pickup truck is to have the extra space to haul gear, so hopefully Sara and her friends enjoyed playing pool often. As was noted in the episode, the head of the pool table is inaccessible standing on the ground, which would make games much tougher. They then point out how the rear window can be rolled down, so someone can just hop in the cabin and continue the game from there. Even with that workaround, someone is still crouching down and fitting a pool cue through a narrow window to make a shot. 

Seeing as the S-10 is one of many Chevrolet trucks to be discontinued, Sara's ride could easily still be a hot commodity. One can only imagine how much of a collectible those custom "Pimp My Ride" billiard balls would be at this point.  

The Ford Econoline is one of many classic Fords that deserve to make a comeback, and Xzibit and his team showed precisely what the van was capable of in Season 3, Episode 1. The vehicle's owner Josh was an accountant and rocker, so the idea was to bring some of that rock 'n' roll sensibility to the ride. And apparently, there's nothing more rock 'n' roll than hanging out in a hot tub after a show, so that's just what Josh got. 

However, while a hot tub sounds nice on the surface, West Coast Customs took out a large chunk of seating room to accommodate it. Seeing as Josh is in a band, he probably would have had to haul gear around with him, which could only feasibly go in the van if the hot tub were emptied. And it would probably need to be empty most of the time, unless Josh was fine driving around town with water splashing everywhere. 

More than likely, the hot tub didn't last. During a Reddit AMA, another "Pimp My Ride" participant, Justin Dearinger, said, "They actually take out a lot of the stuff that they showed on TV." Nothing online indicates what happened with Josh's hot tub, but there's a good chance he never even got to take it on the road. The same could be said with many of the items on this list, but that's not going to stop the onslaught of jokes.

"Pimp My Ride" ended in 2007, so it feels only right to mark the end of such a legacy with a funeral of sorts. Andrew came onto the show with his 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse. It's not a car Galpin Auto Sports sees every day, and they appeared excited to give it a more rock 'n' roll aesthetic. Of course, they stayed on theme with a dark black exterior and purple trim. And to really ensure the show went out with a bang, they included a coffin that doubles as a barbecue grill, complete with the skeletonized faces of Xzibit and some other guys on the crew.

Having a grill in the back of the car is probably good for parties, but one has to seriously question anyone who'd be willing to eat meat that came out of a hearse — think about what kind of meat hearses typically transport! The idea appears to have stemmed from Galpin accessories expert, Diggity Dave, who wanted to show some appreciation toward Andrew's love of cooking. Perhaps he should've told Diggity Dave he has a kitchen at home and doesn't need to have extra gas tanks lying around his car. 

Aside from all that, hearses aren't really appetizing vehicles. It's not like driving down the street and seeing a food truck whizz by. Although if Andrew did want to start a side hustle, he could always turn his hearse into a food truck and call it Burial Burgers.

Over the years, "Pimp My Ride" installed all kinds of wacky and special things inside and outside cars. And then, there's what happened in Season 6, Episode 15 when Therese, who worked as a nurse, came on with her 1984 Ford LTD Crown Victoria. Having an EKG reading on the side of the car is one thing (it ensures she never overlooks her vehicle in a parking garage, if nothing else), but Galpin Auto Sports went the extra mile by installing a full CAT scan machine in the back. 

A person could actually lay on the slide-out tray and be treated to whatever entertainment they wanted, as the tube was outfitted with subwoofer speakers and TV monitors. There's no word if Therese ever actually medically examined anyone with her new gear or if it was all just for show. Even if it was for aesthetics, a CAT scan machine would add excessive weight to her car, which can't be good for fuel economy. 

However, it's a perfect encapsulation of what "Pimp My Ride" is about, with @MariaZeigler_ posting a clip to X, formerly known as Twitter, while writing, "Found the cat scan episode of pimp my ride... yeah this show was sick Lmfaoo."

People tuned into "Pimp My Ride" to see what absurdity would arise. It's a notorious relic of the 2000s, and while the modifications may have been ill-advised or dangerous, they were always iconic.