How to Customize Your Car
Customization isn't a set science; there's at least as much art involved as landing an invasion at Normandy. By definition, to "customize" a vehicle is to make it your own, a statement of who you are and your automotive equivalent. No single article will teach you everything you need to know to customize a car -- entire books are devoted to the matter -- but success via any method starts with knowing yourself. Know your resources, your personality, your desires and the difference between how you see yourself and how you want others to see you.
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Instructions
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Make an honest assessment of your budget, time and skill, as they tend to work in inverse proportion to each other. If you have nothing but time and you're DaVinci with a welder, you can do all the work yourself and save money. If you own Trump towers, then you can have the car of your dreams built practically overnight without ever mussing up your pompadour. This is probably the single most important step, since everything you do will hinge on these three factors.
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Determine your performance needs, if any. Form should always follow function, so your performance needs will dictate everything about style that budget doesn't. Neck-snapping acceleration means dumping money into the engine, fine-handling means keeping the car low and forgetting about a hopping hydraulic suspension. Wheels larger than 18 inches in diameter are fine if profiling on the boulevard is you primary concern, but will make you look like an idiot at the racetrack.
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Look at your body proportions, and assess what you'd like them to be if they're not what you want the world to see. These proportions are how you'll determine the basic theme of your car, its shape and general proportion, and even what type of vehicle you'll customize if you don't have one already. Slim and petite, go for something with a light car with a short wheelbase. Short and stocky; think wide body and a slammed stance or huge, off-road tires that will draw the eye downward.
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Take a long look at your face in the mirror; what do you look like? What are your proportions? What would you like them to be? The car's body lines should reflect those of your face -- or what you'd like it to be -- sharp and angular if you look like Johnny Depp, sweeping and sexy if you look like Eva Mendez, blocky and strong if you bear a resemblance to Sly Stallone.
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Look at your wardrobe and use it as inspiration for paint and body details. Color may seem like an obvious choice, but don't simply go by what you think your favorite color is. What color are most of your clothes? What do you wear every day? Neon purple might put you in a happy place, but it'll get old quickly if you're used to wearing blue jeans and black shirts. Not all colors of paint look good on all cars. Bright colors are overwhelming on large, blocky cars, and somber colors will make a small car disappear.
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Go to your favorite restaurant, bar, room in your home or wherever else it is that you go to chill out and relax. This will give you some direction as to the interior. Take pictures, make notes and examine whatever it is about that space that puts you in a good mood. Is it a sports bar with dozens of TVs, loud music and girls in short shorts? Emphasize the in-car entertainment. Is it a smoky lounge with oak tables and good wine? Go for a dark interior, wood-grain accents and lots of tactile fabrics and leather.
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Start working to combine your inspirations into a cohesive whole, and always strive to make your car excel at something. Keep your performance theme in mind at all times, and show restraint when it comes to customizing the appearance. Chintzy do-dads and confused themes are fine for the wings and sticker crowd, but your goal is to make the car look like it rolled out of a factory that was custom-built for you alone.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have trouble visualizing the car as a whole, then enlist the services of a top-echelon automotive artist. For enough money, you can commission a concept drawing from freelance artists like Chip Foose, Thom Taylor, Steve Sanford, Kenny Youngblood, Jeff Norwell or any of the other top names out there. If you've a few grand to spare consider contacting such factory designers as Ian Callum (designed the Jaguar XF), Luc Donckerwolke (Lamborghini Murcielago) Simon Cox (General Motors) or Chris Bangle (BMW and Aston Martin). While the idea of hiring -- and working with -- a pro artist to design your car might seem a bit outlandish, the certain direction they provide may end up saving you money in otherwise costly mistakes.
