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1992 Honda Civic: The 2005 Washington Auto Show Will ïFlip Your Whip'
MTV and the popular show “Pimp My Ride” has
publicized a national trend that seems to be brewing in the veins
of every urban mindset known to humanity: customizing your ride.
However, this trend has existed from the very beginning of auto buying.
There’s nothing new about flavoring your vehicle with a set
of larger wheels tucked in low pro rubber, stepped up audio systems,
custom paint jobs, and whatever other curiosity your taste buds crave
for.
Down in the Chocolate City of Washington, DC the custom trend is
very much alive. So why not take it a step further and bring the
camera crews to the 2005 Washington Auto Show? Barbara Pomerance
of Pomerance & Assoc, the show’s organizer, knew she wanted
something spicy, unique, and well received by the family oriented
show. Rightfully so, Barbara and AutomotiveRhythms.com manifested
the idea of a custom car display, a first at the Washington venue.
To make it interesting we evolved the urban car restyle concept into
a promotion in which one fortunate winner would be selected to rep
for DC.
The “Flip My Whip” contest was a joint effort involving
the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (WANADA),
McDonald’s®, local radio station WPGC 95.5, Automotive
Rhythms and auto restyler Big Boys Toys of Oxon Hill, MD. Contestants
were able to submit a flick of their hooptie to WPGC, which ran on-air
ads promoting “Flip My Whip” for one week. The grand
prizewinner was selected by Automotive Rhythms and Big Boys Toys
to receive a free auto restyling worth more than ten grand. “This
contest perfectly reflects our auto show theme of “Driven by
Design” and we know that auto show visitors will be excited
to see the special features restylers added to this vehicle,” said
George Doetsch, Washington Auto Show chairman and president, Apple
Ford, Inc.
 
  
After a week of intensity, the group chose a few
Hondas whose owners all had reasonable pleas of why we should flip
their whip. But do you believe the first winner did not reply to
our acceptance award? Unbelievable. It’s funny because he ended
up at the booth and was pleading his case. Anyhow, Shaquita McCurdy,
owner of a ’92 Civic, was ecstatic when she got the unexpected
call from WPGC. “I was very excited and nervous at the same
time. I was nervous because I had no say so in what they were going
to do with my car.”
The crew was nervous as well because there were only five days to
trick out Shaquita’s pride and joy. Whatever the case, Big
Boy Toys should receive all the accolades. Owner Hameed and his trusty
sidekick A.J. treated the promotion as if BET was on location, and
they worked their ‘magic’ like Earvin Johnson and the
Lakers. According to A.J., the holiday season slowed down Big Boys’ parts
request. “The car wasn’t in the best of shape. The paint
was rusting and peeling off, the body had dents, the seats were ripped
up, and the radio wasn’t working.” To meet the tight
deadline, they repainted the Civic white; added a body kit from Vis
Racing; Lamborghini style doors from Ultimate Product Company; racing
seats from Tuner Fx; installed new tail and headlights from APC,
and threw on 17” rims wrapped in performance rubber. In addition,
they affixed dual outlet exhaust pipes to fit the body kit.
Door “flames” were provided by Modern Image. Electronically, they went with
a flip-out 6400 DVD/AM/FM/CD/MP3 head unit from Pioneer; got crazy with four
TV's located in the trunk, and increased sound wattage with speakers/amps/subwoofer
by Orion.
“I want to thank Automotive Rhythms, Big Boy
Toys, McDonalds and WPGC 95.5 for Flipping My Whip!” Shaquita
proclaimed.
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