What does today’s inner-city entrepreneur drive? Way back in the day it was a Lincoln Continental or a Cadillac.You don’t see too many of those today thanks to mileage standards. Today an upper end SUV is the standard for a big roomy car, but they just don’t have the same nouveau-rich vibe as the older cars. A stretch limo maybe? The only other thing that comes to mind is a car with custom rims and a fancy paint job.
This is better suited to IMHO than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Pimp-on-a-Budget: 1985 Caprice with 24 Dayton’s.
otherwise: Escalade.
From what I’ve seen around here the Escalade is probably first place and the Lincoln Navigator second. Various levels of modification/customization of course.
Cadillac Escalade or Chrysler 300C. The 300C also usually has some sort of aftermarket grill, typically a faux Bentley design. Aftermarket wheels remain de riguer.
ah yes, the “donk.” Though I think an '85 is technically a “box.”
Yeah, the 300C was what I thought of first.
Our complex has an odd duck. Guy drives some sort of Mercedes, possibly a GL, with three-spoke rims.
The areas’ excess cars determine which cars the kids pick up / inherit and “pimp”. For example, while driving through Bergen County, NJ I’ve seen LOTS of pimped out 10-20 year old Mercedes and BMWs.
Around my neck of the woods, it’s definitely the Escalade. Usually black, and usually sporting those undercarriage LED lights.
The most common collective noun for a group of prostitutes I’ve seen is a “stable of hoes.” So maybe the more affluent pimps drive a truck with horse trailer attached? Man, the countryside is seedier than I thought.
I have to admit those undercarriage LED lights drive me crazy.
Why? I can’t figure out what the H they are good for. What do they do? Do they have any purpose other than decorative?
And if they are only decorative, wouldn’t it be so much easier and less expensive to put some fake rims on the wheels that look nice but don’t do anything?
I have spent many hours trying to understand just why people buy these lights. Not many seem to do that, which I take as a positve sign for the human race. I think it means only a very small percantage of people want to throw away their money on something completely ridiculous.
But, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there is something about those lights that are not obvious - but are very desirable for some reason.
Can anyone please explain just why people like these things? More importantly … why do people buy these things? And … in general, how much do they cost? I would think the installation could be even more money than the parts. But I have no idea and I’d love it if someone could explain that to me. Please?
and the 91-96 Caprice is the “bubble”.
Once, when I rented a car, I was happy to hear I’d get an Impala. Happy for 5 minutes. Either rappers lied to be or things have changed since six-fo’, but what an underwhelming vehicle in the modern era.
back in the '50s and early '60s, Chevrolet didn’t really have a “full lineup” of cars. The '58 Chevy Bel Air was a middle trim level, with the Biscayne below it and the Impala above it. All basically the same car with different trimmings. At the top of the range was the Nomad, the station wagon version of this car. For cheapskates and salesmen, they had the Delray/Yeoman which was the same size as the Biscayne/Bel Air/Impala, but a carried-forward Chevy 150/210.
as far as rappers lying to you, I suppose if you were condemned to drive a 1964 Impala with the 283 and 2-speed Powerglide auto, you’d be wondering what all the hype was about.
I think the original concept was “puddle lights” that prevented you from ruining your shoes or tracking stuff into your interior by lighting the area under the car when you opened the doors or just as you approached. Then people got carried away…
We’re discussing pimpmobiles.
IOW, vehicles whose owners (regardless of their occupation) like bright flashy stuff specifically because it’s bright and flashy and over-the-top versus what square ordinary people think is “nice” and “tasteful.”
These are people who look at their car and say to themselves: “How can I make it more ostentatious, more outrageous, and more able to shout ‘Look at MEEEE!!!’?”
They think the same thing as they look at their house, their wardrobe, and their BF/GF/spouse. You just see more of their cars than you do of those other things.
The fact you’re beefing about it is proof it’s working from their POV.
Since folks have already mentioned the 300C (which is easily the most common car I’ve seen customized by urban black folks who want to advertise their wealth) (or people who want to look like they fit that category), I’ll go with the second-place winner in that category: second-hand police cars.
Ford LTD Crown Victorias with huge rims and low-profile tires, and a sound system that probably cost more than the car. Usually painted black, though occasionally something garish like lime green.
I joked to a co-worker that these things are so popular that I think if somebody were “pimping out” a Mercury Marquis, part of the customization would be a spotlight on the window pillar.
Now, I love a good used police car, for all the reasons mentioned by Elwood Blues and more, but I really don’t understand their appeal with this particular crowd.
(Which shouldn’t surprise me, I guess. There’s a lot going on there I don’t understand. Like why anyone in their right mind would mount big heavy wheels that make for a lousy ride in the short-term and beat your suspension to death in the long-term.)
Naahndo, Naahndo … It is more important to *look *Fantastic than to *be *Fantastic.
Nothing more than that.
What good are those outrageous Christmas light displays that middle-class white people bling out their house with for 6 weeks of the year? Same thing except these are MOBILE and you get to keep them all year!
I have to admit. When I see spinning rims, I think tacky. When I see a car that has been dropped so far that it can barely pass over a speed bump without sustaining major damage, I think STUPID! But, the first time I ever encountered a car at night with neon undercarriage lights that slowly changed color, the only thing I could think was it was a pure work of art that I desperately need myself someday.