By Lauren Bishop
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Rick Spade sits high above other drivers in his Ford Excursion. Photos by BRANDI STAFFORD/The Cincinnati Enquirer

Standing next to Rick Spade's 2001 Ford Excursion is awe-inspiring.

The top of the orange and white truck is about 8 feet from the ground, thanks in part to 39-inch tires. The trunk opens to reveal a 3,000-watt stereo speaker system, a small gas grill built into the left hand-side door and a small refrigerator on the right.

It looks like something you'd see on TV. In fact, TV and movies have started taking notice of custom-car culture, such as with the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious and its 2003 sequel. Racing after popular body and home makeover shows, cable boasts an array of car makeover series such as MTV's Pimp My Ride and TLC's Overhaulin' that put more emphasis on looks than speed.

Owners of custom shops say the shows have fueled interest in car customizing from potential customers of a variety of ages and income levels, though most are still young men.

"It's becoming more mainstream now," says Rob Fox, manager of Boitnott's Custom Body, Paint & Accessories in Fairfield.

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The interior of Spade's truck boasts leather and suede, some alligator-print, and stitching to create the shape of flames.

Then there are the 21 video screens inside and out, that can display what's playing on the satellite radio, the Sony PlayStation 2 or one of the two DVD players. There's even screens on the center caps of the rear wheels and in the rear wheel wells. Why bother?

"Just because we can," says Spade, 27.

Spade owns Spade Kreations, a Colerain Township business that sells and installs auto stereo systems, custom wheels and tires, window tinting and new interiors.

Thanks to his own expertise and $20,000-$30,000 worth of sponsorships, Spade guesses he has one of the most tricked-out rides in the Tristate. For the uninitiated, that means his vehicle has been custom painted and piled with accessories that ensure it's like no other ride on the road.

Different degrees

Customizing cars to make them look better or go faster isn't new. The trend first took off in California after World War II, says Rosemarie Kitchin, a spokeswoman for a Diamond Bar, Calif.-based trade group called the Specialty Equipment Market Association.

In 2003, sales of appearance accessories, racing and performance parts and suspension and handling equipment totaled $28.9 billion, says Kitchin.

Boitnott's customers run the gamut from a woman who just wanted flames painted on the side of her Chrysler PT Cruiser to William Simpson, a 27-year-old service manager at Fiehrer Pontiac in Hamilton and a regular customizer.

Simpson's 1993 Grand Prix boasts improvements to everything but the engine - a custom paint job (its third), spoilers, custom lights and wheels and neon lighting that have created what he jokes is the only 1993 Grand Prix around worth $25,000.

Simpson says his love of custom cars dates to high school, andthe reason he did it then was the same reason he's doing it now: he wants something that sets his car apart.

"I want to drive down the road in something nobody else has," he says.

Boitnott also painted and helped customize Spade's Excursion in a month last fall so it could make it to the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas, where it won Best Modified SUV.

Since his Excursion was redone, Spade says he's amazed at the variety of people who have come up to him and asked if he can customize a car to look like one they've seen on Pimp My Ride. The show's May 9 episode drew 3.2 million viewers, ranking it among the top 20 in primetime cable viewership.

Major expense

Spade and Fox say many people don't realize how much full-custom jobs cost - or that it takes much longer to get results than the week it takes on the TV shows. Jim Boitnott, owner of the Fairfield shop, says the new engine, custom paint job and interior put into a 1971 Chevelle on a recent Overhaulin' in the space of a week probably were worth about $200,000.

Tony Kuhn, owner of Double Dragon Customs in Miami Township, has similar complaints about the TV shows, but he benefits from them, he says, when people get inspired to pimp their own rides.

"I end up getting the job," he says, "and fixing what they screwed up."

E-mail lbishop@enquirer.com