In case you have been living under a rock, have recently come out of a coma, have returned from foreign travel or finally replaced the smartphone that you dropped in the toilet, it is true: in addition to all of the other shows that MotorTrend is responsible for, Roadkill is done. There’s about a season left in the can plus what is currently scheduled out, and that’s all she wrote. It is a corporate decision, made by people who are more interested in the final dollar amounts versus the art form or the cultural impact. It’s a story that’s been told a thousand times, one that is currently being dissected by every opinionated individual on the Internet, and I won’t dive into those details. Frankly, if you need the backstory, watch David Freiburger’s video for his take on it, as he’s one of the people at ground zero of this whole event.
I’ve been a fan of Roadkill since the show started. Hell, I’ve been a fan before the concept of Roadkill existed. I met DF and Chad on a month-long road trip that saw me racing at Bandimere, taking an unplanned side-trip to Bonneville, visiting friends I hadn’t seen in nearly a decade at that point, meeting up with CarJunkie/Freiburger’s Junkyard/BangShift forum folks I’d been chatting with for a couple of years at that point, and even ended the trip with a triple-digit sprint through Snoqualmie Pass, Washington while trying to put a Dakota R/T in it’s place. I’ve even had my few seconds on an episode thanks to one very tempestuous Imperial. The only thing I didn’t like about the show was that I wasn’t taking part in the fun.
By and large, the show’s legacy is iron-clad, but I feel that there is one aspect that isn’t being discussed as heavily as the iconic builds, fantastic road trips, classic sights, and everything else that is being lamented over: the encouragement that the show provided to fans to get off their ass, grab the tools, and get to work. So many people I know, both in the profession and regular friends of mine, cite Roadkill as the inspiration that got them moving. Every YouTuber I know cites them as an influence of some kind. How many long-rotting heaps have become someone’s project due to that inspiration? How many relationships formed? How many businesses owe their livelihoods to the hijinks of two magazine guys who got to do pretty much whatever they wanted?
Yes, the show is over…for now, at least. And yes, that sucks. But there have been minor hints suggesting that it won’t be forever. And even if it is, so what? What is stopping you from going on your own adventure? Don’t have the right car? I did my trip in a 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo SS and I’ve done countless others in worse cars. Don’t have the time? Make some. Don’t have the means? Invite friends. It is a great big world and you should probably see it while you can, before time moves on and it no longer looks the same.
Trust me, it’s a great idea. I’m planning my next five trips now.
Well said, McT!
Life goes on. For the past couple of years, I could see that the show was becoming more of a job and less of a “hobby” for F&F. When Discovery took over, the writing was on the wall. It didn’t take long for their impact to be seen. I’ll stick it out for the remaining different show’s episodes and then cancel the subscriptions.
Roadkill was the anti-discovery channel show when it started. I’m afraid of what a reboot might look like. I visualize Richard Rawlings and that idiot from Texas Metal “teaming up” for impossible deadlines and scripted drama to build stupid donk-like bro-trucks.
Love that show. Have been watching since the beginning of the series. Seems like everything is going the way of streaming. Not exactly of fan. But is what it is.
The whole story is crazy to me. The network is not only canceling one show, which happens all the time, they’re canceling multiple, popular shows. Who does that? I read that it’s because the network was in debt for 41 billion dollars. Okay, so there’s no effort to sell the shows to another network? They can’t make up 41 billion dollars so they’re just canceling everything? The shows apparently had the same impact on me that it had on others. As you described in this article, it motivated me to get out and work on my vehicles, like I did when I was younger. I’m a disabled senior who found ways to rediscover my love of working on cars, even though it meant having to lay across an engine bay or lay on the ground to work underneath or down low. I don’t know the history of these channels being on YouTube or moving to Discovery Plus. I just watched all of the shows that I loved and now they’re gone. I hope someone makes an effort to move these shows to another network. YouTube videos and podcasts are just not the same.
Greatest concept for a show for hear heads to enjoy. The knowledge gained the hijinx watched. Thank you DF and Finnegan it was a great ride while it lasted.
Greatest concept for a show for gear heads to enjoy. The knowledge gained the hijinx watched. Thank you DF and Finnegan it was a great ride while it lasted.