No, not the hit MTV series on car customisation, but a drive by car owners to personalise their precious set of wheels.

Forget flashy sports cars and souped- up saloons, though. From everyday workhorses like Nissans to coveted marques like Mercedes, the urge to individualise is roaring ahead.

Some opt to turn their cars into mobile artwork - with graffiti done by an artist - or by stamping their personalities on their vehicles via stickers, decals or painted images.

Others opt for motorbike makeovers. MrIsaac Chew, 27, a project coordinator who spent $1,400 to emblazon his Yamaha motorcycle with blue flames and the portrait of a sultry Asian femme fatale, explains the appeal: 'It's like a tattoo. Once you spray-paint your bike, it's for a lifetime. And it's the only one in the world. Even if someone else does the same design, it won't be 100 per cent the same.'

Then there are those who turn their mode of transport into travelling billboards to promote their business.

Still others see their cars as a 'canvas' for creative expression.

Financial planner and Transformers fan Russell Teo, 35, blew $2,000 on getting the bonnet of his Mercedes E200 spray-painted with a three-dimensional image of Optimus Prime, the protagonist in the cartoon and book series.

He says: 'It's subtle and blends in with the car. It's not to show off. I appreciate the painting as art and it's also to support my friend, who's the artist.'

The airbrush ace behind it is Ms Chong Yan Ling, 34, who runs an airbrushing garage in Bukit Timah Road called Alpha Workz. She quit her job as an entertainment journalist last May as she believed the concept of car customisation behind Pimp My Ride could take off in Singapore, too.

Her own car sports figures from Michaelangelo's ceiling mural in the Sistine Chapel.

She says business is still 'a bit slow as people here are quite sceptical and Singaporeans think of resale value (of their cars)'.

A design for a bike can cost between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars, while a design for a car can range from $700 for a simple line or tribal look on a bonnet to $15,000 for the whole car.

A LifeStyle check with five other workshops which provide customisation and modification services reveals that such works can cost between $300 and $10,000 upwards, depending on the scope of one's visions and fancies.

Airbrush, spray-painting and stickers are the main methods of enlivening the look of one's car.

As for how far you can go with your transport of delight, Land Transport Authority guidelines say that external modifications should be done in accordance to the car manufacturer's recommendations and should not protrude from the car body or obstruct the driver's view.

In particular, the number plates should be free from any advertisements, pictures and stickers and such images 'must not carry graphics or wordings that are in any way pornographic, obscene, vulgar, seditious or affronting any religious belief', according to an LTA spokesman. The basic colour of the vehicle should also be retained.

But is blinging up one's car still seen as the domain of Bengs and the resultant car a Bengmobile?

Dr Sharon Low, 30, who works in a government hospital and whose car is themed blue and silver, says: 'My best friend thinks it's Beng and when you look at me, it's quite unexpected that I own the car. But it's personal enjoyment.'

Have you customised your car? Share your photos by e-mailing them to stlife@sph.com.sg