tvmaster
True Classic
But it was one of the few cars that sold sight-unseen to an online caller. No hand shake on that one...
FYI: "Wheeler Dealers" Cast and Location Changes
- Thread starter Dan Sarandrea (Phila)
- Start date
tvmaster
True Classic
I dunno - Mike is the personality, the passion of the show. Not to mention he likely owns it. There’s a recent, 45-min interview on Youtube, during the Covid shutdown, where he tells us who he is, what happened to Edd, and more. He’s a likable bloke, and adds something other car shows don’t have - pure, non-financial enthusiasm. I think him being half the show is what draws 200 million viewers worldwide. And, I bet his demographic with women is higher than most car shows save ’Top Gear’.A friend of mine is a neighbor to Ant's SoCal home. I heard the new shows that Ant will do are something like the ones he previously did solo - building a car for himself. The upcoming ones will be another "custom" build like the prior one was. I'm not surprised he is staying in the US, now that he is married to a very successful US citizen and has a baby with her (my friend's wife is friends with Ant's wife - quite the story behind their relationship).
I got the feeling that Mark Priestly is something of a "milder" personality in the way that Edd China was. Meaning not as assertive as Ant. I had the feeling Brewer did not like being upstaged by Ant's strong manner, nor did Ant like playing second role. Kind of surprised they lasted as long as they did together.
I'd love to see the program with people like Edd and Mark - dropping Mike altogether. In other words stick more to just the technical stuff and get more detailed on it.But I know that's not what sells TV.
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Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Not sure I agree with that part. He seems little more than financially motivated to me. The typical used car salesman. But that's just my view.
Regarding the dropping price on the TR7. If you closely monitor most of their builds you see that they tend to omit a lot of expenses. Not the least of which is the labor rate for the total hours involved. Basically if you account for everything they usually take a rather big loss on most of them - despite the way they try to skew the data to make it look differently. If Mike was really motivated by the cars and not the money I don't think this would be the case. However that is not the main reason I find him disingenuous.
None the less it is only TV, so as long as someone enjoys watching then that's all that matters.
lookforjoe
True Classic
The tally of the labor costs really is a joke, but I don't watch it to see them make money on the cars. I find it fun, Mike does seems like a bit of dick sometimes, but I don't think the show works without some friction between the two - Edd did a better job there, I think. I'm glad they are shooting in the UK again, I'll look forward to the next season, for sure.
lanciahf
True Classic
That just reminds me I have a tiny garage and no lift!
Am I really the only one here, who doesn't like any TV car/ build shows?
I much prefer watching real people building real cars, on YouTube
carl
True Classic
This is why I keep telling people to watch Project Binky. Now Bad Obsession Motorsports has a youtube series on running a cheap race car. Just two Brits with amazing skill and nice humor. These guys put all those Motortrend programs to shame. The discussion of the female "actors" on the programs is a bit creapy for you guys.
Motor Trend appears to think that most watchers want Real Housewives type angst rather than watching skilled craftsman at work. I assume for their base audience that's correct.
Motor Trend appears to think that most watchers want Real Housewives type angst rather than watching skilled craftsman at work. I assume for their base audience that's correct.
tvmaster
True Classic
I meant that if you have access to the cars WD’s do up, you’re probably getting a really good, used deal. Everything that’s a safety issue gets replaced, many things which improve the original get thrown in, none of the labor is counted against the sale price and they likely take a loss on their purchase price/parts/selling price. Hence why I posted the Triumph ad.
lanciahf
True Classic
I tried to watch Project Blinky but once the Mini ceased to be a Mini I turned it off. Now if they want to show me how to convert a Mini to a Cooper or 124 Spider into a Abarth then sure I'll watch it.
NEG
True Classic
Project binky sort of lost its way...talk about mission creep...however it is a fascinating thing to watch and marvel at...with luck it will be finished next year. It certainly isn’t conventional and is unique in every way, converting a mini into a Cooper doesn’t really inspire me
Bjorn Nilson
True Classic
Thank God Youtube is for free and without adds (with the Edge browser and an add blocker). I don't have Viasat or any other services as I am not willing to pay for commercials. I would love to have some motor sport channels but they are included in a big expensive content package with a lot of crap that's not interesting for me.
I like watching people with real skills without (directed?) intrigues so Youtube is my favorite. -Urchfab, Trev's Blog, Bad Obsession Motorsport, Italia Autos, RRC Restoration, Colin Byrne among others deliver very good content.
I like watching people with real skills without (directed?) intrigues so Youtube is my favorite. -Urchfab, Trev's Blog, Bad Obsession Motorsport, Italia Autos, RRC Restoration, Colin Byrne among others deliver very good content.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
I'm totally with you about the cost to have a TV service, they are ridiculously expensive with extremely little decent content. In my case I'm the caregiver for my elderly mother (she recently turned 96) and all she wants to do is watch TV all day. So I pay $230 (USD) a month to give her a million channels to choose from. Crazy expensive, and all of it sucks. But it also allows me to view the automotive and motorsport content. Thankfully I'm able to program the DVR to record those programs. That way I can view them when I want, pause it if I need to finish it later, and fast-forward through the commercials and people like Mike Brewer. Otherwise, as you say it wouldn't be tolerable.
I'm not a fan of YouTube. Perhaps I just haven't figured out how to manage it well enough. But all I keep finding are idiots that like to hear themselves talk with nothing worth saying. I have no patience to listen to some yahoo bloating, with all of the "um", "you know", "right", "so", and complete lack of thought for what needs to be said. And the videography is so poor I get a headache trying to figure out what they are showing. It takes them 20 minutes to cover 2 minutes of real material, if any. But that's not to say there isn't good content on YouTube, it's more a matter of how to filter out all the crap to find it.
Eastep
True Classic
Jeff, if you can Google, you can YouTube. Its algorithm is based on what you watch. So for instance the moment you open up or "like" one of those videos of the "TikTok" variety of vapid trash; you will have similar vids suggested. Just search Fiat X1/9 or something to get started. Then be selective of the video that pop up as suggested.
I literally only get project car, hunting, music, aircraft, and Sasquatch videos, recommended.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Understood. It isn't so much about finding related content. My problem is more about wading through all of the really bad videos that are within the variety I'm looking for. The vast majority of YouTube I've come across is such poor quality - in terms of content material and production - that I can't tolerate watching it. And I don't see a way of knowing just how bad a video will be until I start watching it. All of that wastes more time than actually watching the very few quality programs. However I'm sure it is something that gets better with experience. I just haven't had the patience to find out....too painful in the meantime.Jeff, if you can Google, you can YouTube. Its algorithm is based on what you watch. So for instance the moment you open up or "like" one of those videos of the "TikTok" variety of vapid trash; you will have similar vids suggested. Just search Fiat X1/9 or something to get started. Then be selective of the video that pop up as suggested.
I literally only get project car, hunting, music, aircraft, and Sasquatch videos, recommended.
tvmaster
True Classic
You can usually tell within the first 10 seconds what you’re in for based on audio quality. If the host is properly mic’d up and there’s evidence of scripting, I continue. The only time I suffer through bad production quality is if it’s a specific, niche video, like “how to change mirrors on a FIAT X 1/9.”
kmead
Old enough to know better
Unless you were looking for a good deal on an old car
So you were the one who bought the WD X1/9 I take it?
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
If so, based on his posts it seems he bought a LOT of problems. Although typical for any old car, not exactly what you'd expect from a 'world class' restoration shop like WD (sarcasm).
Dan Sarandrea (Phila)
Waitin' On Parts...
If so, based on his posts it seems he bought a LOT of problems. Although typical for any old car, not exactly what you'd expect from a 'world class' restoration shop like WD (sarcasm).
I don't know that TVMaster ever stated that he bought the verde '74 that WD offered on Craigs a few weeks back. We'll just have to wait for him to clear that up.