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.