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Issue Date: October 24, 2004
FLEX TIME
Renowned hip-hop DJ and auto aficionado FunkMaster Flex is the host of Spike TV's customized-vehicle show "Ride With FunkMaster Flex." Before you try to make lemonade out of your lemon, heed Flex's do's and don'ts for tricking out your vehicle.
DON'T
go color-crazy
DO
go with small rims
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Car choice
DON'T covet thy neighbor's car. Once a certain product or customization becomes mainstream, it's time to move on.
DO buy a Mustang (any year) if you're looking for a used car to customize. Those usually come across nice. Acuras, Hondas, Mazdas and the Ford Focus are also good used cars that you can put a little into without breaking your pocket.
Rims
DON'T purchase spinning rims for your car. Let me tell you, "spinners" (or "Sprewells") are definitely played out, and they have been for the last six months.
DO go for rims that are smaller, classier, cleaner. Ask your retailer whether the rims you're looking at are one-piece or three-piece. If a one-piece bends or breaks, the whole thing has to be fixed. By comparison, a three-piece can be taken apart and fixed.
Paint and upholstery
DON'T put a whole bunch of colors on your car in a custom paint job. That's too busy. Only two colors allowed!
Last year, Americans spent more than $3 billion on products to customize their vehicles.
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DO go with leather and vinyl. Animal print is cute; that's a little more feminine. A lot of women are hooking up their cars these days, doing tint and wheels.
Hydraulics
DON'T put hydraulics on your main car. It's cool for your second or third car, because it's something that's a little difficult to maintain. And don't bounce your car at a funeral or a wedding. If there is a cop car nearby, that is also uncool. That leads to trouble.
DO bounce your car at the red light. That is definitely cool, not a problem.
Personal touch
DON'T overdo it; anything that makes your car personal is cool so long as it is not gaudy. When is it overboard and gaudy? When somebody tells you. And trust me, somebody will tell you.
DO stitch your name into the seats, maybe a nickname or a company name. Put things that you like, like cartoon characters or images. That is cool. I even know this one guy whose wife died on 9/11, and he put her face on the hood of all his cars.
As told to Rebecca Louie
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