If you're of a certain vintage, you will remember the hit MTV show Pimp My Ride, and the ridiculous, over the top things they used to do to overhaul people's cars. 

Many of us aspired to have beaten up piece of junk that would get on the show to be souped up (despite the fact that we didn't live in the country where the show was filmed, it was merely a logistics problem) in the hope that Mad Mike would slam 27 TV screens into the back seat and a small amphitheatre into the boot. 

As it turns out, our dreams were based on a lie, a sham and a fraud, as research by The Huffington Post uncovered earlier this week. They spoke to a number of former contestants who said that a lot of what made the final cut for the show was faked, including their reactions and the amazing things that were put in the car.

Several people reported that the added features were removed before they were allowed back out on the road with them, or that they were purely for show in the first place. Justin Dearinger said that his 'drive-in theatre' in the back of his car was removed (the show's producers cited safety reasons) while Seth Martino's gull wing doors didn't even work and were removed before he got his car back.

Others said that the stuff they added actually hindered the car's functionality, for example Martino (again) said that his car had a lot of extra weight added but there wasn't enough suspension to cope with it, which caused huge problems and lead to him getting his engine replaced about a month after the show.

Others reported that they were encouraged to give over the top reactions to the car so it would make for better TV, including Jake Glazier who said Big Dane was particularly clear that they get a good reaction. You remember Big Dane? Yeah, this is Big Dane.

We can imagine that most people do what Big Dane says. Glazier described his visit to the shop, and clearly recalls that Dane put "his arm around my shoulder, kind of walks me around the shop for like 10 minutes and he's like, 'Listen, we put a lot of work into this...We expect you to be a little more f***ing enthusiastic.'"

On the plus side, it seems that everyone they spoke to said Xzibit was sound, at least. That only slightly lessens the pain, and the fact that they turned West Coast Customs into a house of lies.

Via The Hollywood Reporter. Main pic via Know Your Meme