the shows, by and large, are stupid. As per usual with most of these "reality" car shows, too much f'ing around and not enough about the cars that they are building. I will say this though, no way they got to where they are by putting out junk.. just because it's being built for TV doesn't instantly make it garbage - ...seems most of the "reviews" I've read about the cars on OverHaulin' lean to the positive side.. all of these guys are just average Joes who managed to make it work for them. I sense an edge of envy...
You sure about that?
There's a reason a lot of these folks are pimping themselves on TV. It's because the TV money is needed to keep the shop afloat. Otherwise, the builds themselves can't.
The shows producers don't seek these people out, the people seek out the shows producers to get on TV. If you're knee deep in building cars all day, if you're knee deep in customer satisfaction all day, if you're knee deep in running an operation all day, you don't have time to pitch a show to the networks. If you don't have time, that means you're actually doing the work.
Would I go so far as to say, "junk?" Maybe not, but there's a reason a person is pimping himself, and that's because they get paid to advertise themselves on TV, whereas the builds before the TV deal weren't getting enough attention or (considering most shops start local) the clientele just wasn't interested in "you" building the car for them. One too many local customers didn't like what they got and the reputation started going down hill, leaving the shop hanging on by a thread. Pitch it to TV and, again, boom! Don't need to make money on the build. The paycheck and royalties are guaranteed. Not a bad deal for a business owner, but a bad deal for the hobby in general.
It's evident in what you see on TV. The Tuttles didn't build that new shop in money brought in by the sales of the bikes, they built that new shop on the sale of t-shirts and hats and TV money.
Boyd Coddington didn't appear on TV until after he got stiffed on a huge build.
Now, ask yourself why guys like Roger Gibson or Dave Ferro aren't on TV. Because their reputation for the build and build quality has been built steadily over the decades. They're actually making money in the shop and don't need to make money from t-shirt sells or TV deals.
And they definitely don't have to appear on TV, making car guys in general look like a bunch of illiterate buffoons.
