Top 10 must-see car TV shows

Apologies to Peter Wherrett (anyone remember Torque?), but motoring television shows were pretty staid until Top Gear came along and turned the concept on its head.

Injecting irreverence and humour aplenty, Top Gear went way beyond the information-only format. It also demonstrated the importance of the charisma and chemistry of the hosts. (Most will agree that every other incarnation of the show without the original trio has fallen dismally short.)

The best of the current crop of TV car shows walk a line between anything goes/YouTube format and more professional production, but the characters are equally as important as the cars.

Here's a selection to track down, if you can...

Fast N Loud

Despite first appearances, Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman are both immensely likeable characters. Richard’s brashness is born more of exuberance than ego – at his heart he’s a well-mannered Texan boy (and ex-policeman!) who always calls elders “Sir”. Bearded mechanic Kaufman is the straight man, though as a tradesman he’s clearly uber ambitious.

Says Executive Producer, Craig Coffman: “Richard’s appeal is he is sort of a used-car salesman that you love to be annoyed by. Aaron is the purist. The two of them together create an interesting dynamic.”

Beginning by buying, restoring and selling affordable hot rods and muscle cars, the show’s budget has evolved to take on a Ferrari F40 and a 2005 Ford GT.

Rating: *****
Focus: Muscle Cars and Mods
History: 2012 – present, USA
Channel: Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Hot cars, tatts, beards, and beer-drinkin’ Texan fun.

Wheeler Dealers
A classic variation on Laurel & Hardy, Mike Brewer is the boisterous born salesman with the gift of the gab, and long and lanky Edd China is the practical mechanic who isn’t afraid to tackle anything. The budget started out at £1000 and has grown steadily, but mostly with DIY in mind, taking in some interesting sports classics and muscle cars along the way.

Rating: ****
Focus: DIY
2003 – present, UK
Discovery Turbo
Trademark: British bonhomie in instructional buy and flip projects.

Chasing Classic Cars
So host Wayne Carini isn’t exactly wild like Fast N Loud’s Richard Rawlings. No tatts. No beer. Dry as a chip. What he lacks in animation, he makes up for in knowledge and respectability. One of the most respected classic car authorities in the USA, he is often assigned to restore and/or sell the rarest and most valuable cars, and also buys and sells vehicles himself. This is more about beautiful old Packards and Rolls Royces than Dodges and Mustangs.

Rating: ****
Focus: Classic Cars
2008 – present, USA
Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Tweed, driving caps and million dollar classic cars.

Stacey David’s Gearz
A little heavy on the cheese and relentless product marketing, Stacey David’s Gearz is best viewed online where you can skip to the good parts. That said, I enjoy the refreshingly slow pace of this show – there are no frantic project deadlines or teams swarming over the cars. Just David tackling a broad range of fascinating restorations and mods – everything from insane offroad vehicles and snowmobiles to classic muscle and sports cars with history lessons thrown in.

Rating: ***
Focus: Wild projects
2007 – present, USA
Velocity Channel/Discovery
Trademark: Slow paced and cheesy but great projects.

Mighty Car Mods
A great example of how an amateur online series can create popular demand and make the jump to television, Mighty Car Mods is an all-Australian production that began on YouTube in 2008. The show, initially staged in a driveway belonging to one of the host’s mothers, has followed a DIY ‘buy-modify-sell’ routine, with a strong emphasis on Aussie humour. A notable milestone was the How To Zombie-Proof Your Car episode, which has been viewed almost three million times on YouTube.

Rating: ***
Focus: Budget, DIY mods.
2008 – present, Australia
YouTube/Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Tiny budget projects and Aussie humour laid on.

Americarna
Ray Evernham’s infectious infatuation with the history of American motoring is what drives Americarna. The ex-NASCAR crew chief hunts out rare, unique vehicles (like the original 1948 Chevy panel truck that Elvis drove when he wanted to be incognito), and interviews stars like Ron Howard and The Beach Boys’ Mike Love about their own car interests.

Rating: ****
Focus: American Motoring History
2014 – present, USA
Velocity/Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Amazing historical discoveries unique to this show.

Iron Resurrection
Promoted as a “picker’s dream”, this relative newcomer takes a little bit of Fast N Loud and a little bit of Wheeler Dealers, in the ole’ ‘buy, fix, flip’ formula. While nothing new, the show does introduce some rare female input in the form of mechanic Joe Martin’s wife, Amanda, described as “the beauty and brains of Martin Bros Customs”. Whether the characters are interesting enough to make a point of difference remains to be seen.

Rating: **
Focus: American classics, hot rods and motorcycles.
2016 – present, USA
Velocity/Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Husband/wife/brothers team in buy/restore/flip adventures.

Street Outlaws
So testosterone-filled gangsters racing each other illegally on the streets (and pushing each other about before the race) isn’t exactly my thing, but there’s a massive audience for this show – it’s up to Season 8! Obviously it’s highly contrived and not ‘illegal’ at all, but there’s plenty of exciting action in the brief moments when cars are actually racing.

Rating: **
Focus: “Illegal” street racing
2013 – present, USA
Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Lots of testosterone, lots of staging, and a little exciting action.

Misfit Garage
A spin-off from Fast N Loud, Misfit Garage gathers some of Richard Rawlings’ rivals and ex-employees in the old Gas Monkey workshop in a hammed up rivalry. In much the same vein as early Fast N Loud eps, the show picks up cheap hot rods and muscle cars and moves them on, with the focus being on the characters. Ex-Fast N Loud mechanic Tom Smith invariably steals the show with his antics, along with intimidating upholsterer Sue.

Rating: ***
Focus: Hot rods, American muscle.
2014 – present, USA
Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Humour and hammed up rivalry in the old Gas Monkey garage.

Jay Leno’s Garage
Personally I can’t stand comedian/host Jay Leno, however, his fame and money open a lot of doors. Here he puts that to good use in the world of motoring, exploring the elite world of supercars one minute and going on a motorcycle trip with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis the next. The quality of the guest stars makes it watchable.

Rating: **
Focus: All forms of motoring, high profile guests.
2015 – present, USA
Discovery Turbo
Trademark: Jay Leno pits his personality against other personalities in a motoring format.

As a final word, let's also acknowledge reality pioneers Pimp My Ride and Overhaulin’.