I’m nowhere near a gearhead, but I do enjoy looking at classic cars. I find this show strangely addictive, but I don’t know a soul besides me who watches it.
My main question is this: What is your impression of Danny? Usually guys who act as over-the-top friendly as he does rub me the wrong way, but somehow I find that I genuinely like him.
Do you think it’s all an act? Or do you think that’s his real personality and he is sincere?
What do you say, brother?
mmm
Not really. I watched a couple episodes but like Pawn Stars I find it way too heavily scripted. I have heard from some CA people I know and trust that he really is that friendly but more in a snake-oil salesman sort of way.
I enjoy watching the show because of the work his team does. They are incredibly skilled. They charge an arm and two legs, but the results are stunning.
I should add that the scripted portions/sub-plots send me to the FF button right quick.
Love the cars, though.
mmm
My husband watches the show for the cars, but he hates the fakey drama. Danny strikes me as fakey also, but I don’t watch - I usually just hear the show from the next room. I don’t get the appeal of the car shows or the motorcycle shows or the tattoo shows or the remodeling shows - they all have artificial conflict that wastes time that could be better used showing the rebuilds/remodels/restorations.
On weekends I’ll often search out the car shows so I’ve seen bits and pieces of CC but don’t follow it, mainly for the same reasons already mentioned. I want to learn something useful and see some nice work. Anything beyond that will send me back surfing. I especially like Wayne Carini’s Chasing Classic Cars and the Mecum auctions but will also stop to watch the F&L Gas Monkeys and the desert and Dallas shows. UK’s Top Gear of course, that’s a given. One I kind of enjoyed that seems not to have been renewed was the California guy, El Rey. His drama actually was pretty amusing.
I like it for the work they do, and when they interact with other car owners they are trying to buy cars from. The fake drama in the shop, not so much. I like Danny though.
I wish they spent more time on the actual build though, too often the car gets dropped off, and suddenly it is finished. I like* Overhaulin’* more because of this, you get to see the artistry that goes into the transformation.
I think Danny has questionable taste, but I like him and I think he’s genuine. He’s able to offer to buy the car out from under someone without seeming like a dick about it, because when they’re nowhere close on price he doesn’t slag the merchandise (like on, say, Pawn Stars).
But overall I think the show is too heavily produced. Some of the “random encounters” feel genuine, and others feel awkward.
Eh, whatcha gonna do? I still like the show and the cars and the people. When we hit the lottery, I’m going to have Ryan do the paint on the cars they restore for me. But Mike isn’t allowed anywhere near them! I don’t particularly like their imagery, but the stuff they crank out is beautiful nonetheless.
Agree with most others, I enjoy the cars and the work the team does. Horny Mike is a pretty awesome artist. It’s always funny to see how people have completely trashed classic cars with hideous shag interior or cheap paint jobs.
When I hit the lottery, I’ll see if Danny (whose Facebook page says “fictional character”, by the way) still has that first gen Ford van and have his crew do a resto-mod for me.
The other day Danny and one of the other guys were driving though a neighborhood, and stopped to look at a car in the driveway. They rang the doorbell, but no one answered. Then a cop shows up – seems the owner was inside, but didn’t like the look of the two guys in his driveway.
Actually, I can’t really blame him – with the clothes, the tattoos, the hair, and Danny’s do-rag, I probably would call the cops as well.
Honestly, for all the stated reasons, I’m surprised The Law is summoned more often on the drive-bys and pullovers.
mmm
I’m a bit of a connoisseur of the car rebuild/flip shows, and my personal favorite by far is Fast ‘n’ Loud. This is despite, or perhaps because of, Richard Rawling’s general obnoxiousness. That’s balanced by a more eclectic selection of vehicles than tend to show up on Counting Cars, because Aaron, who actually supervises the builds, is quite the clever fellow, and because the hour-long format allows more of the actual build to be shown.
Counting Cars is just OK. I don’t care for their build team’s taste in paint and interiors, most of the cars seem to be the usual 60’s muscle or hot rods, and the shorter format, as already mentioned, doesn’t allow much of the actual build to be shown.