West Coast Customs

West Coast Customs
Company typePrivate company
Founded1994[1] (LA Times), 1997[2] (USA Today), 2000[3] (incorporation)
FounderRyan Friedlinghaus
HeadquartersBurbank, California, U.S.[a]
Key people
Quinton Dodson, Chris G. Cooley, Dana Florence
ProductsCustom cars, branded merchandise,[4][5] franchising,[6] trade school courses[7]
Revenue$10 million (2008)[2]
Number of employees
40 (2015)[8]
Websitewww.westcoastcustoms.com
CEO of West Coast Customs Ryan Friedlinghaus, in red, poses with three Microsoft employees. Friedlinghaus makes a "W" hand sign as in the opening sequence of Inside West Coast Customs, while the Microsoft employees make V signs.

West Coast Customs (abbreviated by the company[9] as WCC) is an automobile repair shop focusing on the customization of vehicles. It was started by co-founders Ryan Friedlinghaus and Quinton Dodson circa 1994.[1][2] According to Friedlinghaus, he began the business with a $5,000 loan from his grandfather,[10] but other sources claim that he raised the seed money for the business while working at his father's liquor store.[1] Owing to the patronage of celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal and Sean Combs,[1] along with appearances in the reality television programs Pimp My Ride and Street Customs, the company has gained a high degree of notoriety and has become a multimillion-dollar[2] business.

Besides celebrities, West Coast Customs has also created vehicles for global brands such as Virgin,[10] Nintendo,[11] and Microsoft.[12] It is frequently characterized as one of the best custom car shops in the United States.[13][14][15] However, the company has also at times been accused of missing deadlines,[16][17] using aggressive sales tactics,[17][18] and producing low quality and potentially unsafe customized vehicles.[17][19] Some observers and past employees have also criticized the company's employment practices.[2][20]

It has had some success franchising outside of the United States; it has opened franchises in Dubai,[21] and Shanghai (as Chinese: 西海岸汽车定制).[22][23] Other franchises, however, such as the one in Berlin, closed shortly after opening due to becoming insolvent. With a long history of different locations within the U.S. state of California, its current flagship and largest facility of 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2)[24] is headquartered in Burbank, California.

  1. ^ a b c d Labossiere, Regine (September 2, 2004). "Customizing Cars, a Career and Even a Show on MTV". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e MacMedan, Dan (February 11, 2008). "'Pimp My Ride' car customizer moves on to his next gig". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference LLC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Advertisement: "MORE ACCESSORIES. MORE VALUE.", Los Angeles Times, p. CB3, August 28, 2005
  5. ^ "West Coast Customs Store". West Coast Customs Official Website. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "Inside WCC – Franchising". West Coast Customs Official Website. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  7. ^ "West Coast Customs Announces West Coast Customs Academy And Launches Indiegogo Campaign". PRNewsWire. August 5, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  8. ^ Carpenter, Susan (March 6, 2005). "West Coast Customs finds a new home". The Orange County Register.
  9. ^ "West Coast Customs on Twitter". Twitter. December 17, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "The Armored Lounge". Inside West Coast Customs. Season 1. Episode 1. February 20, 2011. 0 minutes in. During intro: I'm Ryan Friedlinghaus, CEO of the world famous West Coast Customs. What started as a $5000 loan from my grandfather became this: The most creative and innovative custom car shop on the planet. This is my world, and this is how it's done.
  11. ^ Goy, Alex (November 18, 2011). "LA Auto Show video: West Coast Customs make life size Mario Kart". AOL Cars UK. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  12. ^ Lavrinc, Damon (March 24, 2012). "Microsoft, West Coast Customs Create the Ultimate 400-hp 'Device'". WIRED. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  13. ^ "The 20 Best Custom Car Shops in America – 3. West Coast Customs". Complex. Complex Media Inc. February 15, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  14. ^ "Incredible Work From 25 of the Best Customs Shops in the US". independentmotors.net. Independent Motors Boulder. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  15. ^ Crenshaw, Michael (July 24, 2013). "The 10 Best Custom Shops – #1. West Coast Customs". Rides Magazine. Harris Publications. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b c Acoba, Paulo (December 30, 2015). "West Coast Customs Returned YouTube Star's G-Wagen Unsafe To Drive". Art of Gears. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Van Luling, Todd (February 25, 2015). "'Pimp My Ride' Was Way More Fake Than You Thought". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Hewett, Jenny (May 15, 2012). "Customise your car in Dubai – image 5 "Three to try – local body shops"". Time Out Dubai. ITP Digital Ltd. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  22. ^ 西海岸汽车定制进驻中国，线下业务全面启动！ 齐鲁晚报 [West Coast Customs, now open for business in China!] (in Simplified Chinese). Qilu Evening News. August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  23. ^ 西海岸汽车定制. www.westcoastcustoms.com.cn. West Coast Customs China. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  24. ^ "RVLT Outfitted The Entire 60,000 Square Foot West Coast Customs Headquarters With Its Energy-efficient LED Flat Panels, LED Tubes And Other LED Products. (Photo: Business Wire)". TheStreet. March 4, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2016.


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