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  1. #1
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    Custom Rims, Yes; TV in Steering Wheel, No

    Article Link
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    DETROIT, Dec. 29 - Pimp the ride, pay the price.

    In the first of what is expected to be a broader crackdown against auto customization shops, federal regulators on Wednesday imposed a $16,000 fine on West Coast Customs, the auto body shop affiliated with "Pimp My Ride," an MTV reality show that makes over rundown cars.

    The shop, which has customized sport utility vehicles for customers like Shaquille O'Neal, was fined for removing front air bags in cars to install video screens in steering wheels.

    Another celebrity shop, Unique Autosports in Uniondale, N.Y., was fined $5,000 for a similar offense. A reality show featuring the shop, to be called "Unique Whips," will be shown on the Speed Channel, a cable automotive channel, in February.

    Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the fines were the first of what was expected to be a larger crackdown on car customizers who were disabling safety equipment.

    Regulators have noticed that front-seat video screens have become one offshoot of the car customization boom. While the safety agency does not have jurisdiction over installing video monitors in cars and trucks after they have been manufactured, they do have jurisdiction over tampering with safety equipment such as air bags.

    "We're actively pursuing several others," Mr. Tyson said, "It's not only a bad idea to disable the air bag, it's against the law. Air bags are there for a purpose, to protect you. If you have a DVD player there instead of an air bag, it's not going to protect you in a crash."

    Calls to West Coast Customs, of Inglewood, Calif., were not returned. Will Castro, the proprietor of Unique Autosports, said, "I have no comment."

    Mr. Castro has done customization work for stars ranging from the entertainer Jennifer Lopez to the rap artist Eminem, according to a recent news release from the Speed Channel.

    Employees of West Coast Customs are regularly featured on "Pimp My Ride" performing automotive miracle work, and seven of them are profiled on MTV's Web site.

    Most states have laws against watching televisions in the front seat, though many of the laws have not been updated to include DVD players and other new technologies. New York law prohibits cars from being "equipped with a television receiving set within view of the operator." But an updated California law that took effect in January bans most video functions in the front seat, including DVD players, with the exception of such technologies as navigation systems.

    Automakers often install video screens for passengers in the front seat, but only features like navigation systems or stereos can typically be operated while the car is in motion, though the proliferation of electronic controls in luxury cars is also the focus of scrutiny by safety researchers.

    "We know that all kinds of distractions can be a problem, but it would be hard to think of something more distracting than watching a video while you're driving," said Anne McCartt, a vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a group financed by car insurers. "It's a really worrisome trend."

    She said swapping an air bag for a video screen was even more disturbing.

    "It's taking out a safety device that has proven lifesaving benefits," Ms. McCartt said, "and replacing it with something that could clearly be distracting and potentially dangerous."

    In recent years, car customization has becoming a booming business, and TV shows chronicling cool cars and car makeovers have proliferated, including "Overhaulin' " on TLC and "Ride with Funkmaster Flex" on Spike TV. Over the last decade, annual spending on after-market car parts and accessories has doubled to $28.9 billion a year, according to the Specialty Equipment Market Association.

    "Pimp My Ride" on MTV - with its host, Alvin Joiner, a Detroit native better known as the rapper Xzibit - is a feel-good show in which 18- to 22-year-olds are invited to submit their dilapidated cars or trucks for a major retrofit by West Coast Customs.

    In one episode, for instance, a sad-looking 1989 Ford Mustang was remade to include a photo booth built into the passenger side with a camera in the visor and a printer in the center armrest.

    Safety investigators, however, were drawn to West Coast Customs not by something that occurred on the MTV program but by an advertisement on the shop's Web site.

    "There's nothing wrong with customization," said Mr. Tyson, of the traffic agency, "as long as you don't disable safety equipment."
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    Removing air bags? That's just wrong. But I still wouldn't mind having a 40' TV in my car.
    Last edited by Blankwire; 12-30-2004 at 02:04 PM.
    - Matt

  2. #2
    Thats a new way to cause a wreck. Yet, I wouldnt mind it

  3. #3
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    You can always put the 40' TV in the car elsewhere instead of the steering wheel. It's okay to have it in the steering wheel if it's only a show car

  4. #4
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    Originally posted by WireNine
    You can always put the 40' TV in the car elsewhere instead of the steering wheel. It's okay to have it in the steering wheel if it's only a show car
    Err.. I don't think a 40' TV will fit in the steeringwheel..
    - Matt

  5. #5
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    Just come to england, the big thing around here is having your air bag stolen, they fetch a fair bit on the black market because of high replacement costs.
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  6. #6
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    Not heard of that happening Phillipf over here. I bet now that you mention it I will see it happening now. LOL.

    Some of the customisations are pretty cool! I can see why they do not want them removing safety devices though.
    -- Matthew

  7. #7
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    Originally posted by Philipf
    Just come to england, the big thing around here is having your air bag stolen, they fetch a fair bit on the black market because of high replacement costs.
    Just replace the air bag with a whoopee cushion.

  8. #8
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    Originally posted by Philipf
    Just come to england, the big thing around here is having your air bag stolen, they fetch a fair bit on the black market because of high replacement costs.
    If a thief can get in a position to take the airbag, why just not take the whole car

  9. #9
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    Originally posted by Hiccups
    Just replace the air bag with a whoopee cushion.
    At least someone will have a crash with a good laugh. Is it called the "Real Bronx Cheer"?
    -- Matthew

  10. #10
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    Originally posted by Drexion
    If a thief can get in a position to take the airbag, why just not take the whole car
    Nah. That would be too obvious.
    - Matt

  11. #11
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    Because airbags are untraceable, they fit in your coat and easier to get rid of.

    Im surrounded by scousers so I see/hear alot.
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  12. #12
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    Hasn't it always been illegal to have any type of screen in view of the driver?
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  13. #13
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    There are a ton of airbags on a lot of the new cars built today.. For instance, my mothers Range Rover has some high number of airbags (I believe two front ones, and eight side airbags [door/curtain for each seat])... But if you crash that tank, will ALL airbags deploy? Isnt that expensive to reinstall EVERY airbag?

    Never been in a serious accident involving airbags.. What happens to the covers over the airbags, do they pop off or fold down or something?

  14. #14
    They don't all come out, it completely depends on where you are hit. And yes, there are alot of air bags in a car like that, but one would hope that you have full coverage on it so you don't have to pay to replace all of them.

  15. #15
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    Range rovers dont need so many airbags, when it comes to accidents they tend to win. Unless its an artic.
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  16. #16
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    Originally posted by WireNine
    You can always put the 40' TV in the car elsewhere instead of the steering wheel. It's okay to have it in the steering wheel if it's only a show car
    Ignore the size, I meant 40"

  17. #17
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    I don't understand this new fad where everyone wants TV's in their cars

    you can't watch it while you're driving anyway... so whats the point?

    as for the people who ask for TVs in the steering column... they should have their drivers license revoked under the penalty of stupidity

  18. #18
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    Everytime I see that stupid show on MTV where they put useless TVs in the car I laugh and point at the TV.

  19. #19
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    Originally posted by webmultitude
    Everytime I see that stupid show on MTV where they put useless TVs in the car I laugh and point at the TV.
    Well, there was one episode where the guy had a van, and they put a TV in the back with a sofa.. Which kind of made sense... I guess..
    - Matt

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