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8 outrageous car mods and hacks

  • <b>Cars decorated with anime girls</b><br>A couple years back, tuners in Japan came up with <i>Itasha</i>, which roughly translates to "painful car." As seen with this hapless Chevrolet Camaro, owners put giant vinyl graphics of anime vixens on the hood of their rides--ranging from B-segment Honda Fits to BMWs.
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    Itasha Camaro

    Cars decorated with anime girls
    A couple years back, tuners in Japan came up with Itasha, which roughly translates to "painful car." As seen with this hapless Chevrolet Camaro, owners put giant vinyl graphics of anime vixens on the hood of their rides--ranging from B-segment Honda Fits to BMWs.
    Danny Choo | Flickr
  • A Porsche Boxter and Audi TT are given a similarly tragic anime makeover.
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    Porsche Itasha

    A Porsche Boxter and Audi TT are given a similarly tragic anime makeover.
    Danny Choo | Flickr
  • <b>"Hellaflush" wheels</b><br>Sacrificing every-day practicality for dubious styling, these rides are characterized by excessive negative camber (which makes the wheels look like they're falling off), non-existent suspension travel, and tires that can catastrophically fail from the sidewall stretching too far.
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    stance hellaflush wheels

    "Hellaflush" wheels
    Sacrificing every-day practicality for dubious styling, these rides are characterized by excessive negative camber (which makes the wheels look like they're falling off), non-existent suspension travel, and tires that can catastrophically fail from the sidewall stretching too far.
    Micheal Evans | Flickr
  • "Hellaflush" is also known as stance. This Mazda Miata doubles as a snowplow.
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    Miata stance

    "Hellaflush" is also known as stance. This Mazda Miata doubles as a snowplow.
    Mathew Bedworth | Flickr
  • <b>Donk cars</b><br>On the other end of the wheel-fitment is extreme are donk cars, which try to cram the biggest blinged-out rims into the wheel wells, which often entailed lifting the chassis to a truck-like ride height. <a href="http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/florida-most-blinged-camaro-zl1-brings-haters-force-171508028.html" data-ylk="slk:This Camaro SS;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;" class="link yahoo-link">This Camaro SS</a> (with fake ZL1 badging) rides on 30-inch forged wheels.
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    King ZL1 Camaro

    Donk cars
    On the other end of the wheel-fitment is extreme are donk cars, which try to cram the biggest blinged-out rims into the wheel wells, which often entailed lifting the chassis to a truck-like ride height. This Camaro SS (with fake ZL1 badging) rides on 30-inch forged wheels.
  • <p><b>Patching mechanical parts with epoxy</b></p><p>Cold weld epoxies such as JB Weld have a multitude of uses--but filling a control arm bushing isn't one of them, as one BMW owner <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpKOGaFqAuQ" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:painfully learned;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">painfully learned</a>. Using the cured weld as filler for the bushing, it transferred the impact energy to the aluminum arm, breaking it and mangling the front fender in the process.</p>
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    JB Weld BMW

    Patching mechanical parts with epoxy

    Cold weld epoxies such as JB Weld have a multitude of uses--but filling a control arm bushing isn't one of them, as one BMW owner painfully learned. Using the cured weld as filler for the bushing, it transferred the impact energy to the aluminum arm, breaking it and mangling the front fender in the process.

    Youtube
  • <p><b>Landau top</b></p><p>If the car's not from Detroit and at least 30 years old, chances are a landau top will be a styling flop--especially on a grocery-pushing Toyota Camry from the '90s.</p>
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    Toyota Camry landau

    Landau top

    If the car's not from Detroit and at least 30 years old, chances are a landau top will be a styling flop--especially on a grocery-pushing Toyota Camry from the '90s.

    Doug DeMuro
  • <b>Log wheels</b><br>There are wooden-spoked wheels, and then there are wheels made of a solid chunk of wood, as seen by this Skoda Capri 205.
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    Skoda wheels

    Log wheels
    There are wooden-spoked wheels, and then there are wheels made of a solid chunk of wood, as seen by this Skoda Capri 205.
  • <b>The "Home Depot" lip</b><br>Some entrepreneurial DIYer slapped rubber garage door seal under the front bumper and called it a lip spoiler. The trend caught on, as seen with this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6vfgJcXig" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Civic Si;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Civic Si</a>.
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    Home Depot lip

    The "Home Depot" lip
    Some entrepreneurial DIYer slapped rubber garage door seal under the front bumper and called it a lip spoiler. The trend caught on, as seen with this Civic Si.
  • <b>Superfluous daytime LED strips</b><br>Back in the 1990s, underbody neons were all the kitschy street-tuning rage, as immortalized by <i>The Fast and the Furious</i>. Today, budget enthusiasts have flocked toward LED strip lighting, tacking them on the headlights to mimic an Audi. The results are anything but.
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    LED lights

    Superfluous daytime LED strips
    Back in the 1990s, underbody neons were all the kitschy street-tuning rage, as immortalized by The Fast and the Furious. Today, budget enthusiasts have flocked toward LED strip lighting, tacking them on the headlights to mimic an Audi. The results are anything but.
    miggslives | Flickr
<b>Cars decorated with anime girls</b><br>A couple years back, tuners in Japan came up with <i>Itasha</i>, which roughly translates to "painful car." As seen with this hapless Chevrolet Camaro, owners put giant vinyl graphics of anime vixens on the hood of their rides--ranging from B-segment Honda Fits to BMWs.
A Porsche Boxter and Audi TT are given a similarly tragic anime makeover.
<b>"Hellaflush" wheels</b><br>Sacrificing every-day practicality for dubious styling, these rides are characterized by excessive negative camber (which makes the wheels look like they're falling off), non-existent suspension travel, and tires that can catastrophically fail from the sidewall stretching too far.
"Hellaflush" is also known as stance. This Mazda Miata doubles as a snowplow.
<b>Donk cars</b><br>On the other end of the wheel-fitment is extreme are donk cars, which try to cram the biggest blinged-out rims into the wheel wells, which often entailed lifting the chassis to a truck-like ride height. <a href="http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/florida-most-blinged-camaro-zl1-brings-haters-force-171508028.html" data-ylk="slk:This Camaro SS;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;" class="link yahoo-link">This Camaro SS</a> (with fake ZL1 badging) rides on 30-inch forged wheels.
<p><b>Patching mechanical parts with epoxy</b></p><p>Cold weld epoxies such as JB Weld have a multitude of uses--but filling a control arm bushing isn't one of them, as one BMW owner <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpKOGaFqAuQ" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:painfully learned;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">painfully learned</a>. Using the cured weld as filler for the bushing, it transferred the impact energy to the aluminum arm, breaking it and mangling the front fender in the process.</p>
<p><b>Landau top</b></p><p>If the car's not from Detroit and at least 30 years old, chances are a landau top will be a styling flop--especially on a grocery-pushing Toyota Camry from the '90s.</p>
<b>Log wheels</b><br>There are wooden-spoked wheels, and then there are wheels made of a solid chunk of wood, as seen by this Skoda Capri 205.
<b>The "Home Depot" lip</b><br>Some entrepreneurial DIYer slapped rubber garage door seal under the front bumper and called it a lip spoiler. The trend caught on, as seen with this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6vfgJcXig" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Civic Si;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Civic Si</a>.
<b>Superfluous daytime LED strips</b><br>Back in the 1990s, underbody neons were all the kitschy street-tuning rage, as immortalized by <i>The Fast and the Furious</i>. Today, budget enthusiasts have flocked toward LED strip lighting, tacking them on the headlights to mimic an Audi. The results are anything but.

Here are eight car modifications, hacks and DIY tweaks that come at great cost to dignity and/or practicality.