Who watches TV?

[bret]

Who still watches the various Hotrod oriented TV shows...Musclecar, Horsepower, Trucks, Gearz, or Hotrod TV? How often? Are they better than the magazines, or not as good? Are they credible? Are they an influence to you? What do you like best about the shows? Least?

Just so I'm not mooching free market research, I'm going to pick 10 people from this thread and send them a free t shirt for their effort in responding.

Thanks in advance for your input!

[FirebirdSteve]

I like Stacey David. A bit of a nut job but I watch him. I PVR alot of them and skim through to the relevant parts when I have time.

[JEFFTATE]

I like Gearz with Stacy David , because he's a great car -guy .
But , I watch all those shows ( except Trucks TV ).

The car-oriented entertainment shows are somewhat informative , but they are mostly for casual car enthusiasts . They are more for beginners . ( Which is good , because the shows draw new converts into our hobby ).

I mostly try to watch race coverage of American Lemans , Grand Am , V8 Supercars , Formula One , IndyCar , and World Rally ..

[muthstryker]

The TV shows are no where near as good as a magazine. I will watch them but as far as info goes, give me a tech article in a magazine any day of the week. Being that these TV shows are only 30 mins long, including commercials they are maybe what, 24-26 mins long? They are trying to show info in a short amount of time and I don't feel that they cover everything as well as a magazine can. As fun as they are to watch, I wouldnt ever use one to learn anything from.

[Vicinity]

I don't watch any TV, and only rarely do I pick up a magazine. Most of my research, entertainment comes from the internet, much easier to find exactly what I'm looking for, or for lots of entertaining races, cool cars, etc. With stuff like the 48 Hour Camaro, why bother watching TV? :)

EDIT: For the sake of the poll, I find magazines > TV shows. TV shows are obviously more for entertainment value than any really good information.

[RS_Customs]

I enjoy watching them when I am home and they are on (doesn't happen often) I have too much on my dvr that I don't watch to record more.

Being into fab work a lot, I enjoy extreme 4x4 the most. Might not be the toys we are building, but shows the most metal skills out of the shows and a lot of it can be scaled down for what we do. Stacy Davids Gears is another that is pretty good, but I only seem to catch that one if it's showing after midnight lol. I do have a few min saved on my dvr of the 2 guys garage or maybe horsepower making a fiberglass hood mold. Unfortunately I don't have any magazine subscriptions at this time, but I do look through My buddy David's when they are laying around the shop.

Robert

[Slick68]

I DVR all of them. Some shows aren't that great, and as mentioned earlier, magazines are more informative.

[cmraman]

Although I voted for Hot Rod TV, I usually watch all that are listed, when I am at home on a weekend.

[BuzzKillian]

I like Gearz & Muscle Car... Mostly because they remind me of what Hot Rodding is... My project is not moving as quickly as I like, So seeing this stuff keeps me motivated. I also like seeing products being installed then used/abused. I don't have any magazine subscriptions right now, but I will occasionally buy one from the store. With the magazines it is a lot easier for me to take out to the garage to compare what they did as to what I'm doing.

[Dee T]

I don't get to watch very often so I dvr my shows and watch them for a couple of hrs on Saturday and Sunday morning from about 5:00 -6:30 and then the kids get up.

[SM69Mach]

I watch them when home on the weekends as well, and usually more so during the winter time when the car is put up for the winter. I don't really watch them from a how-to do it aspect, but I do keep an eye on the products and tools they use on the show. If they mention something intersting, it gives me the chance to look into it more. They do give you an idea of how much is involved on an install so its a place to start.

[wellis77]

It's hard for me to watch in Switzerland but I follow the stuff for Stacey David on the net pretty closely. He strikes me as a regular car guy. He has stirred me to get some KindigIt door handles for my build. He used them on the Cougar. I'm also seriously looking into using the paint he had mixed for the Banshee. He's crazy, but I dig him.

[jknight16]

Even though they do tend to be aimed at a more beginner-level audience, I still watch Musclecar (Rick Bacon is probably the best of the presenters), Horsepower and Extreme 4x4 on Saturday mornings and will occasionally pick up a useful hint or new product idea. I too like Stacey David's Gearz and have it set on the DVR. He's a unique guy, but I feel like he's good at passing along some of the more technical information.

I like that you can see the products in a way that's not pictures, especially when the presenters can point out some of the aspects/features that set one product apart from the rest. Something could look a lot more impressive on the TV than it does in a glossy 2" magazine photo.

[HotRod47]

I like hot rod tv and Horsepower tv. Both good shows. The magazines definitely are better, but with only 20 sum odd minutes for content I guess you can't expect too much?

Hope this helps a bit.

[dontlifttoshift]

I don't watch any car related TV with the exception of TopGear. The one on BBC. Aside from the cars it just great TV.

[rfalker1]

^^ same as above... I watch Top Gear and Monster jam when possible, and sometime passtime, but that has no relevance to the thread lol

[WVhotrod]

I like gearz. When I was in Ohio going to automotive college me and my buddy watched all of them. I still remember sitting there one day watching Gearz and typing a paper about electric cars for my electrical class when two police officers walked in and started questioning me. All because I ate my room mates cookies.

All these shows are very basic. Like everyone said they are for people just getting into the hobby or someone who just wants to learn to change their oil so they don't have to pay for it all the time. I just like watching to see the final result. One of the shows I like that isn't geared towards teaching is Overhaulin. I record most of these shows if I have room. Also like that they show new parts from certain companies.

[Tony_SS]

Just so I'm not mooching free market research, I'm going to pick 10 people from this thread and send them a free t shirt for their effort in responding.


Much respect for the honesty and generosity!

I like Stacey..., voted for Gearz.

[brownz]

I feel that I learn more from the magazines and on this forum then I do watchig those shows. I do know set time in my week to watch them but if I happen to be watching tv I will watch any of those shows, I would have to vote for gearz because I like how David does real world builds.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

I voted for Gearz, but I also like Extreme 4x4 (for the same reasons noted above, good fab work) and Musclecar. I'll watch the others when they are on, though, if I happen to be at home.

[nowukno]

I like them all to be honest

[Scott Parkhurst]

I also seem to watch them all, if I happen to be home on the weekend and not busy. I still like Horsepower the best- probably because I'm an engine guy or because it was the first of the breed. Watching Joe is a habit. I've been hearing that deep buttery voice of his for a lot of years now.

[shep]

I dvr all of them except hot rod. Along with extreme 4x4 as said earlier the fab work is good and so are a lot of the tips that they give. A lot of what all these shows cover is for beginners but since I haven't done a lot of fab work or painting I don't mind. As for better than a magazine not even close, Magazines are a distant second to tech forms such as this one. Also most of these shows seem to be more about what sponsor gave them something to bolt on vs building something from scratch or using OEM parts from different years to upgrade what ever they may currently be working on. Most magazines are only marginally better about this.

[sixfivepost]

There is so much crap on TV these days including all of those completely fake repo shows on the un-Trutv network, that car/gear-head shows are a refreshing escape for those of us who enjoy a simple, clean, way to enjoy our hobby from our couches and lounge chairs. Magazines are excellent, but at least with the TV shows, you can hear the rumble of engines and occasional screeching of tires while at the same time learn a thing or two during the build segments of these shows. I enjoy all of the shows listed above and have been watching them since back in the day when versions of the same shows were on TNN.

[wmhjr]

Bret, I TiVo them and watch them at random every once in a while. To be honest, most of them provide little real usable info for me, but I have picked up a few tips. Mainly it's just kind of inteesting. I like the Stacey David format best but he's a little too forced for me sometimes.

I will say that there have been a few products ive discovered through them and some of the product marketing on there got money from me. That may be the direction you're thinking about?

This should earn a t shirt. I'm typing this on my iPad in my truck with my son driving enroute to rtth! Imagine that 10 years ago.

[70supersport]

i like hot rod tv and muslecar the most ,got a sub. to super chevy and hotrod mag. but i sure do miss rides and american hotrod.

[srh3trinity]

I watch all of them but hot rod TV. It was never very interesting to me.

[Speedy911]

I don't really watch much car related content on TV. I don't think Jersey Shore counts.

[rjsjea]

I DVR em all. Skim through most of the commercials. It's the only thing on TV I watch

[BuddyP]

None of those..... I watch Top Gear UK religeously though

[80 MONZTA]

I watch them all. Even if I have seen an episode, I watch it again.
A good tip that I picked up from watching Gearz was the use of turnbuckles to locate your engine during mock-up. That tip sticks out in my memory, but there are countless others I have learned watching those shows.
I consider myself kind of like a handy-man, not a car expert like a lot of members here. Having said that, in the 23 years that I have been driving, the only repair that I ever had a shop do was replacing front springs back when I was 18. That was completely over my head back then, but I would tackle it myself now without hesitation. Ha, right now I am for sure in over my head with my Monza project, but I will get it drivable again eventually.

[79-TA]

I go out of my way to DVR the powerblock every week, minus Extreme 4x4. I watch Gearz every now and then, but don't record it specifically. As far as a comparison to magazines, it depends on the magazine. For instance, I let my subscription to Chevy High Performance run out after 7 years (2002-2009) because it felt like they'd run out of things to write about. That is, they just started rewriting articles that I could go through my stack of magazines and find already written and delivered years ago. On the other hand, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine is an absolute treat and I always learn something new reading it.

But back to the "tv" shows, I also occasionally watch Motorz TV, which isn't as well known. I think it's on some small cable network.
http://www.youtube.com/user/motorztv

The real honorable mention goes to the guys at Mighty Car Mods. It's just a couple of guys and their friends putting together a show, but don't think that means that it's thrown together. Their show focuses mostly on Japanese cars, but the production quality is great and the show is fun.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mightycarmods

[badazz81z28]

I like watching Horsepower TV since the begining with Chuck and Mike, over the years I leaned more towards Muscle Car alot. Stacy on Gearz is a good show too. I really lose interest in sitting on the butt with Hot Rod TV (Does that guy know anything about cars?). The old days Two Guys Garage was a hoot too!

I voted for
HP Tv
Gearz
Musclecar

[derekf]

They're the only shows I actually PVR (Horsepower, Gearz, Musclecar, plus "2 Guys Garage", "Chop Cut Rebuild", and "Dream Car Garage" back when it was on in the US). Used to watch Xtreme 4x4 as well, but it just wasn't as interesting to me after Jessi left.

[Johnny Blaze]

No cable in my household!

[eldogg]

I dvr all of the car shows. All of the RTM stuff plus Chop Cut Rebuild, 2 Guys Garage, Gearz. I prefer magazines hands down to TV. I subscribe to 14 or 15 magazines. OOOO yeah I wear an XL.

[130fe]

I used to watch all of them when I was living in the states (currently living in South America). After a year lapse I am able to watch them again. I enjoy all of them and but still use the internet to do alot of research for information (like the others have said- How much tech info can you put in 20 minutes of the shows when it seems to be alot of advertising). Some of the hosts are kind of corny but overall there is some good information on all of them. My favorite host was Lou on Musclecar TV, wish he was back on TV again!

[damannhw]

I DVR all of these, but I voted for Musclecars. I like the cars they choose to build, and the way they approach showing you their build techniques. They also tend to stay on the realistic side of the budget ! I like Gearz ok, but Stacey builds some odd looking cars I would never drive, almost cartoonish. But I do like his passion and his personality on air. Horsepower TV I like, especially all of the engine tech and comparisons they do on the dyno. Trucks has done some pretty cool builds, really liked the 70's Ford crew cab on a late model Cummins/Doge frame ! That was bitchin'. HotRod TV is just completely out of touch in my opinion. They focus too much on high end and celebrity stuff. Also get tired of seeing the same old reruns.

I subscribe to 4 magazines (Hot Rod, Popular HotRodding-my favorite, Car Craft, Camaro Performers). Love 'em all. I think I do prefer Popular Hot Rodding magazine to the TV shows, but it's a close tie w/ Musclecars ! I think all these show and publications are credible, and at some point all with cover soemthing I'm interested in. And yes, they do influence me as far as styles, what's hot in the market, what others are building, and most of all they entertain me and push me to get out there and do more w/ my car.

Good luck !

[NOT A TA]

Bret, the title of your thread is "Who watches TV?". I expected my short reply to be "I gave up TV about 10-12 years ago". After opening the thread I see a survey titled "Which shows do you watch the most?" with no options for those who don't watch TV, or don't watch car oriented shows on TV. I think the results of your survey will be skewed and not be representative of the group of forum members at large, but rather represent a smaller portion of members who watch car shows regularly, feel strongly enough about certain ones to vote or reply, and who are also willing to participate in a survey.

[Black93GT]

Personally I love watching car shows... all of them. But I don't have cable, let alone own a single television. :shrug:

[andrewb70]

......I think the results of your survey will be skewed and not be representative of the group of forum members at large, but rather represent a smaller portion of members who watch car shows regularly, feel strongly enough about certain ones to vote or reply, and who are also willing to participate in a survey.

That is the problem with all surveys which leave it up to the population of interest to respond or not. What you are describing is called self-select bias.

For what its worth, I don't own a TV nor do I have any subscriptions to any car magazines.

Andrew

[406 Q-ship]

I will watch when I am not in the garage tearing into my rides, or off at a car event. So I miss alot of the episodes. I enjoyed Xtreme 4x4 with Jessi (great to watch a good welder), I found the design of the construction to be of questionable quality though. Horsepower TV will be the one I would pick as the top show (not saying that much), I go back to the days when it was called Hot Rod TV on TNN (I miss the gun shows that were on TNN :sad:). I really like Stacy on TrucksTV, but don't get to see Gearz.

Does anybody remember Popular Hot Rodding TV?

[John Wright]

I picked Gearz and HPTV. I surf channels while the others are on, so I guess those don't count.

Hey Bret, Whatcha got up your sleeve? You doing another 48Hour camaro? I spent alot of hours watching that.

[Nessumsar]

I don't watch any car related TV with the exception of TopGear. The one on BBC. Aside from the cars it just great TV.


^^ same as above... I watch Top Gear and Monster jam when possible, and sometime passtime, but that has no relevance to the thread lol

Same here.

[moreHP]

None of the above. They just dont hold my interest.

[GrabberGT]

I watch them all but will be more selective with trucks, Gearz, and Hot Rod TV. Trucks just doesnt appeal to me unless its their Ranger build or some painting, body mod technique I like. Gearz is good but there just isnt enough project work going on. I think there is 10 min of project and the rest is filler. Hot Rod just doesnt appeal to me. Its more of a lifestyle show than an auto show. They have some killer builds like the Reybestos GTO recently but 20 minutes for an entire build??? I'd like to see an entire series on that project.

[Tony_SS]

What about 'My Classic Car'... or 'Car Crazy'?

lolz

[Jim Nilsen]

Hi Bret, I turned my tv off in the garage a couple of years ago but before that I watched as many of the shows as the networks would let me. There used to be little conflict with how you got to see the car shows and most cable networks had them in a package that was basic. Now in order to get the Speed Channel and Spike or any other network you have to be lucky enough for what you want to be available and 2nd you have to pay for them now. The 1st thing to drop when the bills have to get paid is all the extra cable channels.
I really only watch them to see what they think is new and popular so I know a little about things I probably might miss. Heck without them how would anyone know what new products the advertisers have for us. I like technical shows over the bling. I also will watch just as a subjected car interest always seems to take over and next thing you know your in the middle of an infomercial,lol.

I subscribe to car magazines to keep up with all the people here. There seems to be a lot of people with cars here that have been in a magazine. The level of the cars has nothing to do with it to a point and it is all about the way the car is used that makes all the difference. Without the magazines there is nothing to see when the power goes out and the ups system goes dead on the pc. I subscribe to Camaro Peerformers for obvious reasons and then I always have Popular Hotrodding, then alternate with others and right now get Car Craft and am thinking about Hot Rod again because it is so cheap to get.

The advertising bar here has more vendors than ever and the list of who is in it is really making a statement as to where they think the money is and the great thing is that it is interactive if you go to events. Meeting vendors and seeing your parts right in front of you is a good thing. The more I get used to how the new way everyone is having to business because of the internet and cable conflicts and mergers it is a sea of info and you are looking for the needle in the haystack.

I am still not used to podcast as a way to entertain myself but it is something that I think I could get knid of addicted to if I gave it a chance. Getting up close and personal with people of interest always seems to teach me something I can make useful in my life too. There is a very fundamental change going on in what people are looking for and what medium they want to go through to get it.

Maybe I will turn my tv back on in the garage someday and who knows maybe I will switch to my computer with a big screen HDMI'd to it. I am getting a good selection of videos and pictures to make one heck of a video that I could loop and run for entertainment in my own garage,of my garage, of my car in my garage and my car loose on the track. Lots of other cars including some of yours.

Until something changes you can find me here or Lateral G and maybe a few other random places.

See ya at the track somewhere......

[go-fish]

I DVR all of the shows on Spike and then look at the description of what they have going on in the show and decide whether or not to watch it.

FWIW, you should send me a shirt because I use your rear suspension and I replied! LOL:yeah:

[ndm68]

Gearz and Extreme 4x4 are good shows

[NOPANTS-68]

I watch Gearz the most, but will usually tune into most of the powerblock stuff. I feel that Staci David is a jack of all trades since he can fab, wire, do bodywork, and show the planning part of the build and its goals. It gets pretty corny at times, but overall its solid auto entertainment.

What I like most of all the shows mentioned is that it gives an awesome forum for vendors and industry folks to show off their newest and best. I can still remember years ago when the HPTV guys installed one of the first Airbar kits on their dually. What incredible exposure that creates for product awareness! Now we have guys like the Ring Brothers co-hosting Powerblock and pushing the industry even farther. Compared to the astronomical pricing for advertising on TV elsewhere, these "automotive themed" shows create awareness and push folks to go create art for themselves.

[mikey]

I watch all of them except trucks. I also watch car crazy,my classic car and 2 guys garage. I usually find some useful info about a new tool or cool part. Not to mention some new ideas that I can modify to my liking. I also really miss american hot rod and overhaulin for ideas only can do without the drama.

[GeoffP]

I watch them all plus Car Crazy and My Classic Car only on occassion. I try to catch Two Guy whenever it's on, but don't DVR it.

[TT302Z28]

Muscle car is good, I like the projects and build styles. Search and Restore is ok so far but just another Overhauling. I wish someone would have a show like the 4x4 show on Powerblock with cars.

[bret]

Wow. Just...wow! I am stunned at not only the quantity of responses, but the content!

As to what I'm really up to? Well, I'm always looking at new (and not so new) ways to get my products in front of more eyes. At the same time, always trying to do that without blowing a fortune!

I agree this is far from a conclusive scientific poll, but it does shed a bit more light on what you guys think.
The two things that have stuck out to me so far...Stacey davids show is very well liked (as it should be...its great!). And the fact that so many people DVR their programs...meaning that you would likely blow right past any commercials ( including mine) that might be there.
It makes sense...I just needed to be reminded of it!

Thanks so much for your responses...keep them coming. I have to go to Texas this week for a Goodguys show and autocross. When I return I'll get those t shirts selected and delivered!

[LT1Nova]

I don't have cable anymore, when I did I dvr'd the majority but when I get the chance now I like to catch Extreme 4X4 because of the fab work and Muscle Car because I'm into muscle cars.

[go-fish]

My favorite host was Lou on Musclecar TV, wish he was back on TV again!


Dito! Bring him back! He was working on a bitchin mustang when he left. Someone needs to put him on again.

[TT302Z28]

I met Lou at SEMA a few years ago, what a cool guy.

[go-fish]

And the fact that so many people DVR their programs...meaning that you would likely blow right past any commercials ( including mine) that might be there.
It makes sense...I just needed to be reminded of it!

Thanks so much for your responses...keep them coming. I have to go to Texas this week for a Goodguys show and autocross. When I return I'll get those t shirts selected and delivered!

You're right. If you had a commercial people who DVR the show would miss it unless they were the type to just DVR it and set the remote down to watch the full broadcast. In the description on the DVR, if it said "Such and Such install Ride Tech", I would definitely watch. Now, another thing also, on Power Block they feature a nice car every week and show it and talk to the owner before the show comes back from break. If the car owner mentioned that he used your product it would be more effective on TV watchers like me rather than having a commercial.

[SLO_Z28]

Bret, the title of your thread is "Who watches TV?". I expected my short reply to be "I gave up TV about 10-12 years ago". After opening the thread I see a survey titled "Which shows do you watch the most?" with no options for those who don't watch TV, or don't watch car oriented shows on TV. I think the results of your survey will be skewed and not be representative of the group of forum members at large, but rather represent a smaller portion of members who watch car shows regularly, feel strongly enough about certain ones to vote or reply, and who are also willing to participate in a survey.

^Dead on.


I dont own a DVR and im usually doing stuff when these shows are on, but on off weekends I enjoy watching them. Id rather be at a car show or autocross than sitting on my ass or fixing my car on a weekend!

[srh3trinity]

I never watch the shows live and I always skip through the commercials. By doing that I can watch a show in about fifteen minutes so I would fall into the class of people who would miss an ad. You have gotten some good product placement with a few builds.

On a side note, I liked Lou a lot

[camarokid67]

i DVR them and watch them when nothing else is on TV. i can FF through the comercials and watch the show in 15 minutes. not realy indepth enough for me but its a great place to showcase new parts.

IMO for hardcore indepth tech info the best place to look is the forums all over the net.

[Chris 68]

Out of the listed choices I'll watch musclecar tv the most, though I ussually prefer magazines if I see certain projects or cars that pertain to my build. When it comes to TV I'll watch top gear (BBC's version) I always pick american but in this case the american version tries to hard to imitate the original (poorly I might add)

[Ripped]

I used to like "overhauling". The search and restore show, doesn't do it for me. I used to like Boyd Coddington's show also. I like(d) Pass Time. Pinks- not so much.

[davidk68]

Although not as good as magazines or the forums as far as hard core tech, I do watch any and all of them when I can. I probably watch Musclecar the most because I've only recently suscribed to SpeedTV. Stacey David used to do an awesome job on Trucks though and he's probably the most talented of the group.

David

[TT302Z28]

Although not as good as magazines or the forums as far as hard core tech, I do watch any and all of them when I can. I probably watch Musclecar the most because I've only recently suscribed to SpeedTV. Stacey David used to do an awesome job on Trucks though and he's probably the most talented of the group.

David

Is this Stacey David? LOL!

[yellow1098Greg]

I watch horsepower tv and musclecar.....what channel is gears on the other to are already on my Dvr......nice i am a newbie i try to learn as much as possible any know of better ways...

[coolwelder62]

My Tv comes on in the morning when I walk in the shop and stays on until I leave in the evening.During the week I have it on speed or TV Land.On the weekend I enjoy all the car shows.The Rides Show was one of the best.The new 2guys garage is also a good show.There needs to be a show that goes around and visits the Home builders so folks can see what most of the car guys are building.Good luck Bret.Buy the way,Ride Tech's new coil over's are some the best shocks the home builder can get his hands on.For the money you can not get a better shock.

[vintageracer]

ALL THE CAR SHOWS particularly the RTM shows on SPIKE have way to many commercials during each half hour show. Just put a clock to the commercial breaks on any guy oriented show on SPIKE and you will be amazed at how many commercials (number) and how long the commercial breaks are. I ALWAYS surf the other channels when the commercials come on SPIKE so if you are wondering if you should spend YOUR money on advertising on the RTM shows on Spike I say NO, save your money. There are better avenues of advertising with a better return on investment than being lumped into a LONG commercial break on SPIKE TV. Your message will get lost in the shuffle!

IF I were advertising on any of the TV shows I "might" try Stacy David's Gearz or Hot Rod TV. I'd pick Stacy as the best host as he is genuine in his presentation, knowledgeable about the subject and makes a better technical presentation than any of the other hosts. His show is more "geared" to the home builder than the other shows and not AS heavily loaded with commercials as the RTM shows. Hot Rod TV has the name but not much else. The name alone will draw viewers.

I am sure they ALL tell you that TV is the best place to advertise your product and that they are the BEST TV show out there to advertise with. Lot's of viewers does not mean those viewer's will buy your products. Print, Internet, Radio, TV and participating at the events as you currently all help sell your products. Given the changes in where people spend their free time social media and the internet is probably a better bet than all the other advertising mediums.

The questions is "Which is Best"????

Given the expense associated with TV advertising AND the lack of ability to qualify the effectiveness of TV I do NOT think TV advertising of your products would even make your top 3 choices of advertising mediums.

Spend wisely my friend!!!

[shortrack]

Yeah I watch most of 'em why???
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[zzfranczz]

I watch most. But having two DVR's I DVR most shows with engines and wheels and can watch or fast forward at my leisure. That said, most have or are influenced by corporate sponsored adds. Which I think they all have some bias towards their sponsors so their is some credibility tarnish. I do appreciate the adds since I may see things I have not seen before as I am always looking for new products to research. I prefer the magazines but wished they'd do a better job of going digital. I think I have seen every overhauling and now believe that I can do a frame off, ground up restore in two months...

Did I say I am very impressionable?

[GrabberGT]

Its funny how you post all the shows except the one you actually have airtime on. I found time to watch "Search and Restore" this weekend to see Bret and others adding their Ridetech goodies to a 67 Mustang. I waded thru 3 episodes to find out what they were going to do suspension-wise to it. It would have been cool to see them put it to a proper test.

Now having done my first Autocross, I think it would make for outstanding TV. Why is there not a televised series following autocross pro's. Or even just a 30 minute recap of the weekends Goodguys autocross.

[PT Sportwagon]

I watch as many car shows as I can. love Gears but not getting up at 3am to watch it. Did watch it when I couldn't sleep with 4 broken ribs. Stacey seems to be a all around cool car guy.

Tim

[ProdigyCustoms]

I admit I do not watch any of the car shows but that is because I get my fill of car activities 12 hours a day / 7 days a week. So I end up watching non car stuff when I do watch TV.

I will say this and I think others have kind of said it and might agree. In our house we watch NOTHING live unless it is a Presidential address or news story. We DVR everything and are quite talented at fast forwarding through commercials, LOL! We are so bad even if we are really anticipating a show we let it record half way through so we will just catch up at the end to skip the commercials.

With that said. I do think that were I watching a car show and fast forwarding through the commercials, that if I caught a flash of a Playboy bunny in a flesh colored bikini laying across the hood of the 48 Hour Camaro, I guarantee I would rewind and see what the hell that was!

[scherp69]

I'm like a lot of the guys on here, use the PVR to tape most of those shows and watch them later. The only one I don't watch, like many, is Trucks. Shift work rarely allows me to watch many shows live. I usually fast forward through the commercials also, but do stop if one grabs my attention. Bret...what about seeing if you can have some of your parts featured on one of their builds or during the "parts" segment of the show. That's the one part of the shows that I always watch to see what parts they feature.

[spacepirate]

I watch and DVR all of the above shows every week. I'm just getting into the car building world and know very little so these shows really help me make my decisions. I think the beginner to moderately experienced person really is their target demographic and feel that the parts they use greatly influence a future purchase. Now I'll research the product further after seeing it, but without the ads or installed parts on the show I wouldn't have known that they existed. You have to remember a lot of beginners just get overwhelmed or confused and really need a jumping off point. Hope that all makes sense.

[bret]

I am still blown away by the amount of response this thread has gotten. As I promised in the initial post, we will select 10 people at random to receive a free RideTech T shirt for the trouble of responding to this thread. We'll pull 10 post numbers out of a hat in the morning and PM the posters tomorrow for size and shipping info. Thanks so much again for ALL the responses!

BTW...keep those opinions coming...we're not done listening!

[John Wright]

Bret,
How about this?...rather than an actual commercial, see if Stacy David or one of those shows will highlight your product line on the show. I see him and others(thinking two guys garage) highlight specific products and give a quick review and approximate price range, or have them install some of your stuff...seems like it might be a better way of capturing the audience vs a full blown commercial that may get fastwarded.

[bret]

Bret,
How about this?...rather than an actual commercial, see if Stacy David or one of those shows will highlight your product line on the show. I see him and others(thinking two guys garage) highlight specific products and give a quick review and approximate price range, or have them install some of your stuff...seems like it might be a better way of capturing the audience vs a full blown commercial that may get fastwarded.

The realities of the TV and Magazine world are that to get them to feature your product you must engage in some form of paid advertising. It is not "tit for tat" neccessarily...we've been the beneficiary of a few nice product plugs without [or at least before] buying ads...but overall, the payers are the players.

I can understand and even appreciate this position...TV and magazines cost money to produce...REAL money. That money has to come from somehwere. If you ever wonder who really supports your favorite magazine...it sure isn't the $9.99/year subscription rate!

[skigoose]

I watch all of them, but I wish someone did a show on a avg. guys garage, and making tools work, like grinding the head of a bolt to make a flaring tool, like I do, or not having a lift, only jack stands wood and a jack to put a engine in from the underside of a car, thats the stuff I love.if you guys want to shoot a show in my garage, I can assure you you can do the job but it will be a challenge.... and a learning process

[srh3trinity]

I thought the Search and Restore exposure was nice.

[spacepirate]

Saw the Ridetech stuff get put on a Ram this morning on Gearz.

[GunaMan74]

I like the Spike TV series, sometimes its not interesting to me or relevant to my project at the time. I always enjoyed Extreme 4X4 since I have three four wheel drive vehicles! The thing I really like is they don't try to pretend to build cars in 7 days. The builds are usually appealing without being silly. Also they don't waste time with personal drama between cast members! I watched West Coast customs one time but the interpersonal relationships are rediculus and from what I saw, detract from the quality of their work. If I want drama I just hang out in my living room. I read a lot of magazines as well, my favorite right now is Popular Hot Rodding. They had a Laguna build and Musclecar did a Buick Century - Long Live the GM 3Rd Gens!! haha

[John Wright]

OK, I'm curious...what does the time/date stamp say on post#83. I was expecting it to say "Today", instead of 10/8/2011 ....since it is marked "today" in the todays posts search.


EDIT* Ok, I think I know what happened...there's a poll in this thread.

[73GA]

I watch them all, except Trucks, but that is only because I'm not a huge truck guy and I only have so much TV time. I record all of my shows Saturday A.M. and then get up early Sunday A.M. and watch them. Admittedly, I zip through the ads, but ... if it is an ad I haven't seen before I will watch it at least once, especially parts ads. Why? Because I respect the fact that those vendors serve my hobby and my passion, so sure, they get a few minutes of my time. Same with the shows. Twenty years ago there were zero shows on TV serving the car guy. Now there are several and I am hugely grateful. Every show has something in it that I can learn from whether it is directly applicable to my car or not. As to whether they are better than magazines or not, I think of them as two completely separate entities. I LOVE my car magazines and subscribe to seven of them. For me there is a comfort in sitting down with a new car mag and enjoying the stories and the tech. Again, I want them to succeed because they are integral to my hobby and interests, so I support and enjoy them as much as possible. Finally, I visit a few select sites on the net. Some good stuff there, but my issue with it is that the filters are off, and there is little verifiable tech, just opinion. Entertaining to a point, but also considerable blow-hardiness. Conclusion: I fully support the shows and the magazines that support my hobby, and I in turn support the advertisers that support them. Simple as that.

[dropit69]

I like Gearz and Horsepower and watch Musclecar....Stacy David a nut ..love his crazy builds..and Joe Elmore i got to meet at RTMC..great guy..

[CHRIZ28]

Anybody else catch the pro-touring episode on horsepower this morning?

Chris

[shortrack]

Anybody else catch the pro-touring episode on horsepower this morning?

Chris

Oh yeah....it was pretty good showing the guys two foot driving technique and all.

Bret - I will tell you I would have never known that Air Ride was for anything other than low riders if it wasnt for that Track Day special you guys put on a few yrs back....that was you guys wasnt it???? lol

FWIW - Because of Stacy David I have started using Duplicolour products, have been very happy with the results so far and will continue to give their products a serious look when Im considering a purchase where they have a product.

I will also say that Lou from Musclecar did a track Mustang build where he went crazy with the plasma cutter and MADE the thing work.....cutting out huge sections of car....that, along with this site inspired me to take my thought of putting a Chevelle body on a genuine Nascar chassis to actually putting a Chevelle body on a genuine Nascar chassis......D

[brrymnvette]

I love Gearz, but it's got so few new shows I can't keep my enthusiasm for it. Plus he's been building Sgt Rock for what, 10+ years. Since he was on Trucks!

[TheJDMan]

I like the TV shows for the product reviews/anouncements. But they are limited 30 min segments which means they are just able to hit the highlites of a project. That is one thing I really liked about the 48 hour Camaro broadcast.

[DynoDon]

Although we (JBA, PerTronix, Doug's Headers) advertise on the Spike Hot Rod shows It's kind of ironic that I don't really watch most of those programs. For me personally they are just a little to much "fluff" for me, not in depth enough, which of course they can't do in a half hour show.