Customizations and hacks jazz up a hybrid
Sure, your Prius saves gas and helps you reduce your personal carbon dioxide emissions … but does it have mad bling? We didn’t think so. Luckily, The New York Times commissioned George Barris, car customizer extraordinaire, to modify a Prius without altering the car’s mechanics or electronics for a price the Gray Lady termed “within reach of real drivers” — about $10,000. Barris lengthened and raised the car’s nose; added flared fenders, 18-inch wheels, and an aerodynamic rear spoiler; and topped ‘er off with a duo-toned Tangerine Gold-Astra Green metal flake hot-rod paint finish. Boo-yah! (Wait, do the kids still say “boo-yah”?) If you do nothing else to cut a more stylish hybrid figure, says Barris, change the paint job: “You could have no engine under there, and it will still catch people’s attention.”
