We in another period where automotive themed TV shows are all over the place and from what we have heard and seen, even more of them are slated to be coming out in the months ahead. Obviously these shows range from the good and entertaining to the stupid and obnoxious. The rest of them seem to fall right into the middle and rank as OK. While these are “car” shows, the fact is that the people who star in them play the major role in the formation of the public’s opinion on the show’s goodness or badness. For example, we know lots of people who watch FAST N’ LOUD that aren’t really car people as much as they are entertained by the dude’s antics on the show. Flopping the dial in the other direction there are car shows that lack all of the drama and slap stick and rely on both the host and the cars themselves to tell the story and keep watchers engaged. I’d suggest that Chasing Classic Cars on the Velocity Channel is one such example. There’s no real drama to speak of, Wayne Carini isn’t setting himself or anyone else on fire in the shop, and the real highlights of the show come when a cool old car is found, sold, or restored.
Chad and I are lucky in that we run in a couple of the same circles as some of the TV guys you know and frankly zero of them are bad dudes in our experience. We’ve never had the impression that they walked around thinking that they were of some advanced life form the rest of us could only dream about being or that they knew everything because they were on TV. What’s funny is how polarizing many of the TV personalities are to viewers. Lots of you are probably annoyed with Mark on Graveyard Carz. We’ve never hung out but the guy strikes us as the Michael Scott (boss from the office) of the car reality TV show world. The whole deal seems like a comedy act and it has worked on us so far. The dude is pretty funny in our eyes. That’s why this should be interesting. The people who really like one guy will be really annoyed with another suggestion that someone else thinks is best. Comment below!
BangShift Question Of The Day: Who Is The Coolest TV Car Guy Currently On The Air?
Not on TV, but Finnegan and Freiburger
This.
No.
They are better than anything the Discovery Network could ever think to produce!
Second that. They’re the only personalities with anything resembling a non-manufactured edge in the entertainment/car world.
Its got to be Ray Evernham right? great show and no drama/money making bullshit.
No bad dudes on TV ? Don’t you two ever have the pleasure of watching the uk version of Top Gear ? I bet you would just love to meet a certain mr J Clarkson ! . HE will change your mind .
I simply love chasing classic cars. No drama. Easy going personality. I just started getting the velocity channel a month and a half ago so my DVR was going nuts taping every one that came up. I finally got caught up during all this bad weather, to the DVR that is. There are still old ones I haven’t seen though. And those 60 s front engined V12 Ferraris with 4 cams and 6 weber dual throat carbs are the bomb.
Brian – Was Wayne Carini standing on a box?
Gotta be Wayne, no scripted drama, no stupidity….just people who love cars.
Jay Leno . . . oops . . . never mind.
Powernation’s Joe Elmore.
Jay leno has a great internet show at http://www.jaylenosgarage.com. Jerry Seinfeld has a car/comedy internet show at comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com. Otherwise Carini is the best.
Met Chad, Brian, Finnegan, Freiburger. Also Farmtruck, Azn, Big Chief, Shawn (murder nova), and Chuck from street outlaws at SEMA last year. That was freakin awesome!
There are some good ones out there but by far THE WORST one is “Graveyard Carz”!!! Mark Worman is the biggest jack off I have ever seen and his so call side kick, Daren (I think that’s his name) is an idiot! I would be embarrassed to be associated with this show! Sorry to deviate from the question but I just had to say it.
Where is the like button? Worman is an egotistical ass! If I watched that show, it’s with the volume muted.
I watch most all on Velocity. Enjoy some of most, but I think CCC the most honest. Not TV I know, but Roadkill and Leno are regulars for me.
Stacey David (Gearz) on MavTV (ch214 on DirectTV) is my favorite cool car guy on TV.
Dennis Gage from My Classic Car seems like a genuinely nice dude and has a wide and varied interest in cars. He seems to pick out the odd/different stuff for the show and I like that. Chevelle’s, Camaro’s, Mustangs, etc are cool but get boring after awhile.
I love the Top Gear BBC guys, they never fail to crack me up. Chad Reynolds is always a favorite as well 😉
Mark Worman because of his Mopar knowledge, and the quality of work they produce.
It isn’t a buy cheap, flip car show, and I’ve actually learned from it.
Top Gear BBC….. Clarkson by a long shot.
Would say Finnegan and Reynolds. No drama and no script. They both throw out hilarious one liners and have fun talking and being real. There are others that could step up but haven’t moved forward like Steve Magnante.
Ian Johnson from Extreme 4X4. Never met him in person but is a blast to watch. No BS games or antics just straight up enthusiasm for his work.
Chasing classics cars is very cool because it does not have the typical reality show vibe. There is no made up problem which is somehow magically fixed by the end of the show, followed up with dumb unfunny pranks. As if that’s how the real hot rod shops that make the big bucks do it! Lol.
Even though gears is a total advertisement for thirty minutes, Stacey is the man. I want him in my shop for positive motivation haha
Stacey David (Gearz) – A combination infomercial meets motovational speaker that makes it mildly entertaining.
Joe Elmore (Detroit Muscle)- He’s a staple that hasnt changed since he was on TNN, but I do miss his cheesy jokes with Chuck Hansen.
The best overall, I think are on the web…
Finnegan and Frieburger being the best; these two remind you of the friends you had in high school or college and stupid mechcanial hijinks you wish you could have gotten paid for.
Mike Musto (Big Muscle)- Mike always sounds genuinue and doesnt always feature main stream cars; his outlook is refreshing as is that fact that he’s a native NY guy who I can relate best to.
No one said Chip Foose. Seems like a genuine, nice car guy, with outstanding skills. I DVR Overhaulin so I can fast forward through the BS and watch Chip ply his craft. Not a car show, but American restoration is great. Graveyard cars makes me sick, what an ass.