Pimp your ride, Amp it and crank it

Rims and ICE. If you think that's the starting point for a good round of cocktails you're in the wrong place, but those in the know will agree that a decent stereo and a set of outrageously oversized alloys do wonders for even the most humble of rides. We're talking, of course, about car pimping of the MTV generation kind; pimping that has ruined the taillights and ride comfort of a million perfectly good little runabouts, but that has spread joy throughout a thousand McDonalds car parks.

There's a serious industry here though, and although it's difficult to put an accurate number on it in the UK, in America it's estimated that the money spent on 'OEM' (original equipment manufacturer) car gear runs into tens of billions of dollars.

The chirpy British DIY modder can start off small though, with a nice set of Konig, BBS, Enkei or Oz wheels - to name just a few of the available brands - ranging in price from a few hundred quid to a few thousand. Stereo-wise we're into a minefield of badly damaged parcel shelves and spilled solder, but a decent head unit can cost under £100 from Halfords. And what would a head unit be without a boot full of subwoofer? To be honest, pricing up this stuff is an absolute minefield because it depends what you want to pay, ultimately, but for our purposes your £1,000 will get you a system comfortably capable of blowing the windows right out. Nice.

Mark Nichol