By Lauren Bishop
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Car enthusiasts can park themselves on the couch almost any night of the week and find a TV show that will get their motors running. Here's how three car makeover shows rate:

Monster Garage

9 p.m. Monday, Discovery Channel

Host: Master builder Jesse James, owner of Long Beach, Calif.-based West Coast Choppers, with help from narrator Thom Beers and announcer Brett Wagner.

Concept: James and his crew's concepts go way beyond cars. Working with a limited budget and time frame, they've turned a 2003 Mini Cooper into a snowmobile; a 1995 Geo Tracker into a hot air balloon and a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser into a mobile doughnut shop.

Rating: 4. It's incredible to see what James and his crew can do, and the occasional computer animations clearly showing what's happening are a nice touch. But for those of us who are mechanically challenged, the technical parts tend to drag.

Overhaulin'

9 p.m. Tuesday, TLC

Hosts: Courtney Hansen and Chris Jacobs.

Concept: A cross between MTV's Punk'd and Pimp My Ride, Overhaulin' says it's the show that "steals your wheels, revives your ride and hands you back a cool hot rod in less time than a wait at the DMV." So far, the cars that auto designer Chip Foose and his crew have souped up include a teen-age surfer's 1977 El Camino, a sound engineer's 1971 Chevelle and actor Ian Ziering's 1968 Camaro.

Rating: 3 . Overhaulin' is plagued by the same problems as TLC's Trading Spaces: a false sense of urgency created by a self-imposed deadline and being about 30 minutes too long.

Pimp My Ride

9:30 p.m. Sunday, MTV

Host: Gruff, gravelly-voiced rapper Xzibit, a surprisingly funny, engaging guide to the world of pimped-out rides.

Concept: An impoverished teen or struggling college student shows the viewer everything that's wrong with his or her junker before X shows up and drives the ride to West Coast Customs for a complete makeover. About a week later (a half-hour in MTV time), the owner of 1978 Cadillac might drive away with frills like a remote control shoe rack in the trunk.

Rating: 5. MTV and West Coast Customs are equal opportunity pimpers. They're careful to alternate between male and female drivers of a variety of backgrounds.