There are a million car shows on both conventional and streaming video channels.
Unfortunately, only a small fraction of these programs is worth a viewer’s time on a regular basis.
Jim Sutherland
For the record, we lean toward programs that involve a generous supply of mechanical ability laced with unscripted humor delivered by car hosts who truly understand the funny angle. These programs are extremely rare because too many of these shows feature car guys who may have superior mechanical skills but are not funny by nature and would have great difficulty working their way up to mediocre comedian status.
The obvious question is what should a car guy do if he wants to host a show? The answer is simple: resurrect an abandoned vehicle and drive it on a long road trip. A select few (very few to be accurate) car shows feature car guys who have solid mechanical skills, along with a strong Indiana Jones-like sense of adventure and a razor-sharp wit.
Sadly, this collection of TV car show host qualities are as rare as Abominable Snowman sightings in Death Valley during the hot season–but there are a handful of programs that meet these very tough car guy TV show standards. Most car guy viewers are aware of the top shows–or will become aware of them because of their immense popularity.
Fortunately, the good news is car guy shows can still be a hit even if the hosts lack a well-developed sense of humor. Their path to success is buy an old vehicle and attempt to drive it home over a long distance.
Most car guys will understand the immense challenge these car guy adventurers face when they drive a shaky old car hundreds of miles back to their home base. Lesser programs will get an old relic fired up, yard drive it in a pasture or up a driveway and consider the whole experience to be a victory lap worthy of their viewers’ time.
Sadly, these lesser car-guy-takes-a-short-drive-around-a-pasture programs are like non-alcoholic beer compared to 140-proof rum in terms of actual misadventure potential; an important detail not lost on viewers. There is a huge safety net when a resurrected old car is driven in a tight radius within sight of home base. On the other hand, a TV car guy who chooses to drive his resurrected and very sketchy old road warrior over a long distance typically has no safety net. The uncertainty of a road trip in a resuscitated old rust bucket is a huge part of the show’s appeal for us here at MyStarCollectorCar.
What can possibly go wrong when an old vehicle is taken for a long drive by the TV host? The short answer is everything since ancient rides usually get parked because something went wrong with them. Consequently, the TV host needs to figure out the original problem, along with a herd of other issues that raise their ugly heads when the vehicle has been parked outside since Fred Flintstone was in cave baby diapers.
After the revival, the host needs to drive the ancient road beast several hundred miles under a heavy cloud of exhaust smoke or electrical fires–and an even thicker layer of uncertainty.
These shows are the stuff of magic for us here at MyStarCollectorCar. Even when the host is not a gifted (or even a competent) comedian.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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