You know that hideous gray primered ride on blocks in your front yard that everyone's telling you to get rid of? Well, you might want to keep it after all. That's right, put the rims and tires back on because the guys over at Galpin Ford in North Hills, California, just might love its trashed-out appeal. And, no, the dealership isn't going to buy your daily disaster-mobile either.
Last October, on a sleepy overcast Sunday, Beau Boeckmann, president and chief designer of the Galpin Auto Sports garage and showroom, was with a video crew who were holding the first ever open casting call for the next season of MTV's Pimp My Ride series. Beau is also a "consulting producer" For the popular show so customizing cars is the perfect vehicle for the show and the dealership.
"Business has been fantastic," related Beau during a friendly walk-through. "This is our first open casting and so far it's been a goldmine of crap! We're trying to get MTV to do a 'box'." Beau was referring to a boxy Scion xB, which one owner drove in and which smacked of "do-me" desperation. The call was a search for the absolute worst cars in Southern California and you know what? There are a lot of highway heaps out there with owners who dream of PMR hooking them up and getting a little claim to fame, too.
"Wanna ride?" "No, that's okay, I'll choose another less risky way of cheap transportation to my doctor's appointment, but thanks anyway." These owners have heard it all. It's not that they're careless in any way. We found out that they really love their rides and are fond of their cool vintage heritage and honestly do want to fix the trash bag windows and gnarly stained seats, even if the fix-it solutions and ideas are out of their control. Thus, Galpin had two parking lots full of barely legal buckets with some original charm and international flavor.