Customizer takes aim at hybrids

A Los Angeles car customizer who designed vehicles for The Beverly Hillbillies and TV’s original Batman said his latest passion is sprucing up dull hybrids.

George Barris, 83, said he has customized six Toyota Prius hybrids and is currently working on a seventh that will have cost more than $100,000 by the time it is finished, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Barris said the Prius he is customizing for Silicon Valley entrepreneur Satish Dharmaraj features upward tilting doors, flared fenders, a metallic gold and orange paint job, yellow-tinted glass, 20-inch rims and panels over the

windows. He said he is planning to further customize the car with a notebook computer, a lithium-ion battery kit to allow the car to drive 75 miles per gallon of gas, LED lights and dual rear video cameras to replace the side mirrors.

I love taking something that nobody wants to do anything with and make it look better, Barris said.

Barris said the final product will have cost more than $100,000 to construct — not counting the additional $20,000 needed to purchase a stock Prius.