Who watches TV?

[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: