American Hot-Rod

This is quite an old programme and it's 2004 shows that they are airing on the Quest Channel at the moment and I have to say I'm finding them very enjoyable - which is unusual for me because I normally can't abide reality shows.

The show is about Boyd Coddington's Hot Rod Shop and the staff and staff interactions therein. It ran from 2004 until just before Boyd's death in 2008 although very few of the staff seem to have lasted long there.

I suppose I like it because you get to see a lot of the construction of the vehicles albeit in not as much detail as the Various-Vehicles Is Born Series where a veterinarian and an old bloke build or rebuild various projects - now that was educational and helped me understand a hell of a lot of what Boyd and Co. were getting up to.

The nearest modern show to American Hot-Rod is Bangla Bangers and its spin-off series Chop Shop:London Garage where a Cockney mechanic called Bernie and a Bangladeshi coachbuilder called Leepu swear at each other for 45 minutes while building wild and wonderful cars to tight deadlines then hug and say how wonderful each other are when it is finished.

Anyway, back to Boyd and his team...Duane Mayer is Boyd's number two. He makes a very good narrator and obviously is good at his job but he is ALWAYS MOANING.

Mike Curtis is obviously quite clever but comes over as completely gormless. This is because he doesn't move his mouth when he speaks. It was subsequently revealed that he had suffered severe facial injury in a high-speed car smash on the Salt-Lake beds.

Roy Schmidt is the grumpy old git in the series - but everyone respects his experience. If you believe Wikipedia, and I sometimes do, he sadly died of lung cancer.

Charlie Hutton looked after the Body Shop (where they prepare and paint the cars - not The Body Shop where women buy perfumes and stuff) - he was always the cheeriest person around.

Al Simon seemed to be the easiest-going one there who was also very experienced and always hidden behind his massive moustache.

Chad Geary (I can't find a picture of him) was a young, and it has to be said, immature worker who had a good surname for a car-worker and an unexplained nickname - "Bluebear". He was given (and squandered) a golden chance to build his own car for a competition against one Boyd was building. This really made Duane jealous and plenty of arguments ensued until Chad was eventually sacked.

As well as this lot, Boyd also employed his ex-wife - the mother of his children and a very effective accounts and HR person - and also he employed his newer, younger, prettier wife who liked to redesign the tee-shirts worn by the staff.

I suspect the TV people liked to liven things up for broadcast because there would be plenty of teambuilding trips out and practical jokes played inside that seemed very out of place. Boyd's management style left a fair bit to be desired anyway so it all added to a high staff-turnover and a very enjoyable show.

Catch it if you can at 7pm each evening.