Check this out Aaron from Fast N' Loud

[Rochlow]

Fake or real. The shows aired on TV currently give an extremely skewed version of how the hobby or industry really is.

The general masses see a show like fast and loud and think they can bring whatever car they have, that has been neglected in a field for 30-40 years to any shop and have it built to show quality in 2-4 weeks on a shoe string budget. Not going to happen and they get offended when the shop owners tell them to pound sand.

The owners of these shops now have to waste time defending parts and labor rates along with realistic build times. I see a owner of a shop that builds top quality cars/truck talk about dealing this topic weekly on facebook.

I work in an office enivorment and get asked often by people who have no knowledge of cars, how come it's taken me two years to build a truck "when them guys on TV can build one in a week"..

whether I like them or not, I think they paint the tried and true car hobbyist and industry in a bad light.

[magwakeenercew2jh]

I know I have a non-professional, non-intellectual, hobbyist's point of view on this s%$t.

I remember my brother telling me, long ago, that T.V. shows did not filter into the house in order to entertain us. They come in to sell crap.
And the content they put in between the commercials is only there to try to keep us in front of the tube...In front of *their* so-called show.

He said , ".....if you can remember that, it's waaaay easier to watch the drivel".

As for all those "reality shows", particularly the ones associated with our hobby...and some of your professions?
They are simply fiction. Laced with something some of us know a little or a lot about (and, I include the fantasy series' of Barrett Jackson, Meek-Ham, etc.).

I watch...I yell, I turn the tube off, I get disgusted about the fakery, etc. But then I remember why all those puds are on the screen.

Now, if you want to get to the positive side, maybe some younger dudes and dudettes see that stuff and get the gearhead bug...Also, sometimes when I watch,
I get inspired to get off of the couch and go do something fun or not-so-fun on the truck. And, if rich dudes want to go to Scottsdale or Monterey and buy that
either pristine stock or, as the Auction Talking Heads call it, a "resto-mod".... 67-72 Chevy or GMC truck for $96,200? That doesn't hurt my feelings.

As for some dunder flopping into a shop with a checkbook and wanting his rust-bucket restored in three days with a chromed out, blown big-block, Hodgekiss
suspension, and a pristine multi colored paint job.... for $3,350, I think any shop-owner should just show him these pictures (couldn't find a good Mr. Ed shot that worked).

Tell him that it'll get done for that price right after you see this guy at the local Pick-Apart.

[WIDESIDE72]

Trump should be perusing a swb bed. They are twice the cost of lwb

[IwantaK5]

Originally Posted by Thomashsturgill

Maybe you saw this. Check out number 5 on Aaron's list.

Aaron's Top 5 Rides | Fast N' Loud - YouTube

anyone notice that when he says "55-6-7 chevys" the show a picture of a 64' chevelle? wtf

[special-K]

Originally Posted by flashed

I talked to Chip Foose at a show here in Ga at YearOne several years a go and he said he did not like all the things they had to do but the sponsors were the deciding factors .

So,you're saying some of those cars weren't "Foosed",more like "sponsored"? heh heh.

TV effects my home contracting business much as these car shows effect that business. People always want it done in a half hour for less than I estimate. "This ain't no reality show. This is reality",has become one of my favorite sayings. "You called me because you were told I do good work. I didn't get this good reputation by doing it fast or by taking longer than it should",is the one I have actually had to say to some customers.

When will I be done? When there's nothing left to do.

[AMERICAN PICK-UP]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

I try not to get mad when that show comes on it is fiction it is not real. I mean the car business is not like that people don't just hand over thousands of dollars profit for cars and trucks. I do late model stuff and the last year or so I've just been hanging on. I have been doing this since 1987 and seen hard times and harder times and I have made some money on some trucks. I don't at the end of the week have a voice over guy that tells me how many thousands I made. Jim

man you hit the nail on the head right there. the best part of the show is when he takes a rig to the auction and sells it NO reserve and he looses his shirt!! that part i can believe!!.... lol.

[Eddie H.]

I think the show would be much better if they would lose Richard and replace him with a real monkey.

[Fatherof3]

I blame the producers and writers. Yes, today's faux reality shows have writers. If the producers did not want the cheesiness and drama it wouldn't be there.
Cheesiness and drama may come easier for some than others but in the end I think we would all do what we were told if we wanted to keep the show going. I'd do cheesy drama until I got enough money in the bank.
And three cheers for Aaron for mentioning our beloved trucks!

[special-K]

I blame the viewers,if anyone is to "blame" for anything. Gas Monkey is a big hit and it's not because the producers watch it. It seems ridiculous sells. The History Channel shows little history,The Learning Channel & Discovery Channel aren't educational,National Geographic Channel is hung up on Drug Wars and shows little of the world's cultures the magazine is famous for,Entertainment Tonight is a tabloid magazine...need I go on? TV isn't made for producers,it's made for the general public. It's the chicken and egg life imitates art/art imitates life syndrome. It's media and what keeps it rolling is advertising. Just like this internet we're on.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Fatherof3

If the American Viewers did not want the cheesiness and drama it wouldn't be there.

Fixed it for you

They only give "us" what "we" want. People who want to see more of the actual "builds" are a small % of the viewing audience.

As Sue always says... "Why you always bring me junk? Ass Monkey!" That's gold right there.

[Fatherof3]

True

Why Opie, it's as if the them TV companies is just in it for the money

[Daddy'O]

I’m really surprised by the number of people who dislike Fast & Loud. I absolutely love this show. For the record….I have been accused of being easily amused.

[Lou Boffa]

Its like a train wreck for me...can't look away....ashamed to say. BS, fabricated, unrealistic and downright silly...for sure, but I love old trucks and cars.

[StoningtonQB]

Have any of you watched Texas Car Wars? They take junk cars and "fix them up" and sell them to unsuspecting people. The best ones are the imports that they repaint and sell to people on TV, while calling the cars "junk" and trying to do everything cheap. I've seen them Bondo some cheap body kit up to a Civic and then say, "Let's call this a 'drift' car and sell it to some loser." Then some guy is on TV buying it! I wonder what these people think once they see the episode aired. What does that even say about the business they are running? We fix up junkyard cars on the cheap and then sell them to you?

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by StoningtonQB

.....snip.... and then say, "Let's call this a 'drift' car and sell it to some loser." Then some guy is on TV buying it! I wonder what these people think once they see the episode aired. What does that even say about the business they are running? We fix up junkyard cars on the cheap and then sell them to you?

Chances are that if there's B.S. on one side, there's B.S. on the other.

My money'd be on the fact that *everyone*, including the buyer, is in on the deal.

It's T.V.

OTOH, if my disgust for this stuff (I watch it, too) is too deep-seeded to allow me to be accurate in that regard,
one purchaser of a Jeep on one of those shows would be a perfect example of "Buyer's Idiocy".

He bought a Jeep that was presented as a challenge as to whether or not those Dunders would get it running.
It was re-painted by them "during the show". If I remember correctly, some sort of Texas iconic color.

The guy showed up with his son and said something like, "We've been looking a long time". Took a test drive...
..Then wanted to, "think it over over-night". While the producers made the grease-bags pretend they were worried
about their fish getting off the hook, they said the buyer came back
(or showed him ...I can't remember)....and bought it.

Hell, if he'd REALLY been looking for a long time...and if he'd REALLY gone home to think it over, he would'a run all
the way to New York before he laid out even four bucks of his cash.

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by magwakeenercew2jh

snip

I remember my brother telling me, long ago, that T.V. shows did not filter into the house in order to entertain us. They come in to sell crap.
And the content they put in between the commercials is only there to try to keep us in front of the tube...In front of *their* so-called show.

He said , ".....if you can remember that, it's waaaay easier to watch the drivel".

snip

Its just like fishing.
When I was a kid Al Lindner was my idol. He caught numerous, humongous walleyes on every trip AND GOT PAID TO DO IT!

While going to high school then college I always kept working on being a "professional fisherman". I got in the industry, looked around, and learned a few things.

1. They are selling stuff.
2. 99% of them are divorced (althought my idol Al is not).
3. I'm glad I have a college degree.

Number three is because unless you want to be on the road all the time selling stuff (number 1 above) - which leads to number 2 above - you're going to need to be able to do something with your life.

EVERY 20 nothing that got in my boat to fish a tournament had the same reply when I asked them what they wanted to do in life. They all wanted to fish. EVERY one of them said pish posh when I suggested step one in their fishing career is get a college degree so you can earn money to go fishing.

So what does this have to do with Aaron and Fast N' Loud?
Well. Remember, they are selling stuff.
To put together a show like that you are going to need a lot of sponsors with deep pockets. Sounds fun huh? Well if anybody knows Aaron, ask him how is wife/girlfriend/whoever he has feels when he is on the road pimping his sponsor's goods instead of spending time with the wife/girlfriend/whoever. Sponsors just don't give you free money. You need to work for it. I haven't seen Fast N' Loud in a while so I don't recall just what they are selling but lets just say for arguements sake its Anderson's Knuter Valves. If Mr. Anderson sees a dip in sales he is going to do a study. If his study says Fast N' Loud people are no longer buying Knuter Valves, he pulls his money and Fast N' Loud needs to look for something else to sell.

If Anderson's Knuter Valves is giving you $100,000 a season to run his ad during your show, you can spend a lot of money on high end parts to "restore" a higher end car - of course highlighting the Knuter Valve - to sell it to somebody who wants to pay top dollar to tell his friends his car is a Gas Monkey Garage car.

Back to fishing -
I guarantee Jimmy Houston would not have a brand new Ranger boat every year if Ranger Boats didn't give him a free one every year.
I guarantee Al Lindner would not have a brand new Lund boat every year if Lund didn't give him a free one every year.
[Actually the boats aren't free, they are "memo" boats]
I never worked in the car industry but I bet Chip Foose wouldn't be using Mother's Polish if they weren't paying all kinds of money to be a sponsor on his show.

I have NOTHING against Ranger Boats, Lund Boats, or Mother's Polish. In fact Lund, Ranger, and Mother's are doing the right thing. You get your product out there in the hands of somebody who is an expert - that generates sales.

I got to tell you, watching car shows and fishing shows knowing that all they are doing is selling stuff makes it much easier for me to watch. In fact I kinda like Fast N' Loud.

[67ChevyRedneck]

One episode that kinda proved to me that the pricing/sales stuff was fake was when Aarons step dad? bought an Impala that they had redone. I can't remember the exact numbers, but he pretty much paid 20K more than what they "had" into the vehicle.

No way. Even if he hated his step dad (he seemed to like him) there's no way he could let his mom's husband walk away paying that much over what they had into it.

[MadManAndrew]

One thing about Fast n loud is that they don't push product on you like every other car show. Fast n Loud is designed purely for entertainment and they make their money off commercials. No traveling, no promoting, just commercials, just like any other major network television show. I too like Fast N Loud; a little for the cool cars and a little for the drama. When I want to watch real talented guys work on real projects I watch my recorder episodes of Gearz. Why only recorded episodes? Because Gearz got cancelled because nobody watched it because it didn't entertain the general masses. As everyone else has said, there's a REASON Fast n Loud is so successful. They are the new OCC. They've bought this huge shop on tv money and when the ratings start dropping they will be screwed, just like OCC was.

On a side note, that video doesn't surprise me. Aaron has good taste.

[special-K]

Fast 'N' Loud actually does give build information. No,it's not step by step throughout an entire build. They also drop in little bits of information on a vehicles history or random auto history facts. The show is very well produced because it's totally random,which keeps it interesting. The whole thing is not meant to be taken so literal. The money part is just something that has to be part of it and not to be taken as a price guide. Richard is a wheeler and dealer. He reminds me of two friends of mine who are gifted. They could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. They would never rip anyone off,but they will get the most out of what they seller because of their personality and talent with what they do to cars. Some vehicles they just flip. They buy right and find the person who will pay more.
I liked that '32 Ford Cabriolet they just did. They showed the old school way to drop the rear using existing parts (not a sponsor's bolt-on),which kept the vibe of the vintage rod build back in the day. They removed the rear spring cross member,cut it,took enough arch out for desired drop,and welded it up. Then,to remove the notoriously cantankerous flathead head studs,they drained the coolant,filled with Marvel Mystery Oil,ran temp up to about 300,then drained. The MM works it's way up into the threads of the head studs (they go into the water jacket),plus the heat,to help ease removal...which didn't help on all,so those had to be drilled out and re-tapped. That isn't learning something? That isn't realistic? It didn't go all peachy keen,it went how things go for us and I learned two old school rodder tricks used back when cars were "built",not bought.

[FLATROCKER]

Most if not all of the cars sold on the show is made up. I have saw most of them listed and sold on ebay. As for the show most of it is made up for what the producers want because its its what people want too see and for higher ratiings and more money .

[PanelDeland]

Originally Posted by StoningtonQB

Have any of you watched Texas Car Wars? They take junk cars and "fix them up" and sell them to unsuspecting people. The best ones are the imports that they repaint and sell to people on TV, while calling the cars "junk" and trying to do everything cheap. I've seen them Bondo some cheap body kit up to a Civic and then say, "Let's call this a 'drift' car and sell it to some loser." Then some guy is on TV buying it! I wonder what these people think once they see the episode aired. What does that even say about the business they are running? We fix up junkyard cars on the cheap and then sell them to you?

Met a guy in Houston about 15 years ago.He was loading wrecked Hondas into containers.He shipped 30-50 Hondas a month to Guatamala or Brazil or somewhere.They would split the up and build a car from the wrecks.He bought thru some ins.co's. so that he got the cars before they had the title stamped "junked".That way,when they were rebuilt,he could ship them back and sell as used.No bad marks on the title,low wages for rebuilds and He was making profit on every car and writing off expenses to help keep his taxes down.I don't know how much he was making but he was driving a brand new Hummer.

[BowlerJon]

Ok i will clear up fast and loud.... I have personally met richard, aaron and the guys have hung out with aaron and been given the actual shop tour and down low.... The show is staged it is a closed tv set they do no customer work etc it is all for tv aaron and the other guys are all car guys and have or work at other shops...

[tommys72]

^^ Well that sucks..I liked that show. May be different now knowing its fake. At least Christie is cute...

[rambler]

Originally Posted by BowlerJon

Ok i will clear up fast and loud.... I have personally met richard, aaron and the guys have hung out with aaron and been given the actual shop tour and down low.... The show is staged it is a closed tv set they do no customer work etc it is all for tv aaron and the other guys are all car guys and have or work at other shops...

so is the restaurant real? and is Sue real from the upholstery shop ??

[67ChevyRedneck]

Yeah, there's got to be some form of "realness" to it. I can understand if the builds for the show are staged, but I can't imagine the entire thing being staged? There's a lot of time that goes into filming a show, I can't see those guys doing the show and then heading off to their normal jobs at other shops. It does take a lot of time to build those cars... so who really builds them then?