Custom-MAXED Cars

"Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful,
and valued because they confer power;
they are hated because they are hideous,
and loathed because they impose slavery."
--- Bertrand Russell, 1928


Man's fascination with machine is always comparable to a double-edged sword. Even before the Industrial Revolution, this degree of fascination and admiration has either saved many lives, or ended them ---in an increasing level of efficiency. From the gas chambers of the Holocaust, to the MOAB-deploying Stealth Fighters in Iraq, humanity learned to fear their own scientific creation. On the other hand, from the airplanes pioneered by the Wright brothers to the Magnetic Levitation Transport in Germany, we are inclined to worship machines. But looking on both ends of the equation, there is one specific factor that determines the enduring force of machine's evolution with humanity, and they call it "necessity."

I confess that I am completely fascinated by machines. Whether they became agents of destruction or tools of human survival, I always find their beauty within their necessity. If I have an old bike(My father used to have one), I find a way to re-use them in whole or in parts as long as it's possible. I will try to reconfigure, recycle, or reprocess them into a whole new usable tool that will not just help me deal with my everyday life but also Mother Nature. This is good, because we are not just teaching ourselves to be creative and adaptive but also we fulfill our duty to our dying environment.

I can write this piece of crap because I just happened to see some episodes of MTV's Pimp my Ride (anchored by the one and only Busta Rhymes). There's something good from tv trash these days. Since playing Need for Speed: Underground on the PC platform, I find myself addicted to fanciful cars, specially customized cars. Personalized cars are so IN these days and people with different tastes and backgrounds are so aware for the need that their personalities must be reflected on their personal assets. They say it's all about freedom, power, and choice.

To be specific, the West Coast Customs in Los Angeles, California is one hell of a place in customizing cars. Their engineers, technicians, and specialists are masters of their own field. They are not just customizing for the sake of necessity and demand, but also for individuality and creativity. Ranging from interiors, vinyls, spoilers, to accessories and add-ons, the list is simply endless. They are doing it as a team, as a unit, and they certainly know what they are doing. The result is also limitless---according to each customer's taste and Net worth. So whether you want your car to be maximized in speed, space, safety, endurance, beauty, or all of the above, you have it. And what really makes it unbelievable is that they can transform your old ugly car (as long as its not a total wreck, or in Pinoy terms, kinakapitan na ng talaba) into a suave, mint-conditioned car-of-your-dreams. I wonder if they have a counterpart over there in Japan, or Europe.

Their expertise is tested from the episode when an owner of a Ferrari from Canada wanted to change his wheels. With help from another team that also specializes in customed cars, the job's done and the Ferrari is transported back to Canada within 2 weeks. Various episodes showed almost everything, from putting in shoe racks, coffee maker, to customized DVD/karaoke/Playstation entertainment system, and the personalized warning device. I expect GPS recievers being installed to some cars on their future episodes.

You gotta give it to these guys. They are simply experts of their craft, and I salute them. Everybody just loved their job, all in the name of the fast, beautiful, and mean machines.


--Xzibit A, aka Busta Rhymes