Say it Ain't So! Edd China is leaving Wheeler Dealers. Velocity screws the pooch

Started by BruceK, March 21, 2017, 08:29:45 PM

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BruceK

The best car show on TV is now dead.  To me, Edd was the show.  Here's a video of Edd explaining why. 

Short version: Velocity channel took over production of Wheeler Dealers and suddenly realized they'd have to actually film Edd actually doing real work on a car, rather than the usual reality TV car show where they hire a psychopathic loudmouth to scream about "getting the car ready before the [artificial] deadline!!".  Ugh. 



1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Yep, the show is dead to me too......Edd showed a lot of class they way he did this, asking people to give Mike and Ant a chance, but we know better......Edd was the show, not Mike.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

gr8kornholio

Never heard of this one, now I'll have to check it out.  Good place to catch old episodes?

Yea, I hate it when TV gets too involved and ruins things.  None of them last and eventually it's all about the deadline drama and not the building of the car.
I am the GR8KORNHOLIO! Are you threatening me?

Saussie Aussie 1965 Australian MK1 Mini.
"Beavis" - 07 MY/MY MCS, B/MY Konig Daylites, JCW sideskirts, TSW springs, TSW lower rear control arms -- Exploring the country with new friends since 11/09.

BruceK

Quote from: gr8kornholio on March 22, 2017, 05:05:50 AM
Never heard of this one, now I'll have to check it out.  Good place to catch old episodes?

Yea, I hate it when TV gets too involved and ruins things.  None of them last and eventually it's all about the deadline drama and not the building of the car.

I'm kinda surprised you (and, based upon the comments on Jalopnik) and many others are not aware of this show because I've been hooked on it for about 10 years now, and I consider it the best car show on TV (and yes, I'm including Top Gear and The Grand Tour in that).   Apparently it has over 200 million viewers in 140+ countries.   

Wheeler Dealers has an extremely simple format: one guy buys an old car, the other guy fixes it up and they sell it.  And about 75% of the show focused on actually finding problems and repairing them - no artificial drama, no bullshit.   It started with very limited budgets of like £1,000 so the repairs were simple on cheap cars, but in its later years they were working on cars worth £20,000 or more.   It was great seeing a huge variety of cars in detail, and just watching Edd turn a wrench, or solve a problem.   In the more recent episodes, they moved the show from the UK to California due to the near-endless supply of interesting CA cars.

The good news is there are more than 130 episodes to catch up on. 

I just picked this WD episode at random, check it out:

1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Surprised you didn't post one of the Mini shows, either the old green Mk1 or the Mini City they put the faux carbon wrap on.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

Quote from: MiniDave on March 22, 2017, 08:04:44 AM
Surprised you didn't post one of the Mini shows, either the old green Mk1 or the Mini City they put the faux carbon wrap on.
Yeah, I really did pick that episode randomly.  And that was one of the things that really made WD great - the huge variety of cars.     

That first Mini episode with the Almond Green Mk. I was for a Mini in a pretty sad state.  Back then the goal on WD was just to ensure a classic car could still be used as a daily driver, and to do it all with just a budget of £1,000 total.  I liked those early shows, but I found myself wishing they did more.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Yes, the point is that the work they do could be done by anyone working out of their home shop, but some of their repairs were a little cheesy, like painting the Q panel on the old 924 with a spray bomb. Still, stayed under their £1K budget.....

I also was surprised how many people on Jalopnik had never heard of Edd or the WD show....

One thing I'm always fascinated by is how many little shops they find that can do very specialized repairs or make parts for them, like the guy who made the hubcaps for the Messerschmitt!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

It's going to be fun to see what Edd ends up doing.  He mentioned his YouTube channel, so I think that is where we'll see his new stuff showing up. 

To me he's kinda like James May - different personalities for sure - but I could watch either of them do the most mundane things or explain how various stuff works and be perfectly entertained.   
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

I also like James May, have you seen his series on assembling things?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

Yup.  My point exactly.  I recently spent an hour watching May assembling a little Honda motorbike from hundreds of pieces.   
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

John Gervais

Regarding James May's show, I enjoyed the proper British lawnmower and telephone episodes.

I'd wouldn't mind Ed China  looking at my mini someday; maybe he could help me figure a few things out...  (having some technical difficulties...)
- Pave the Bay -

BruceK

Holy Crap this Internet is a very crazy place.   

Crazy enough for unhinged people to feel that should threaten Mike Brewer's life (and his wife, and daughter, too) just because Edd China is leaving Wheeler Dealers?   Yes, apparently.   

Edd asks for cooler heads.

1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

gr8kornholio

Yea, is the world going more crazy, or is it just more apparent now that we are all instantly connected.  Steve Harvey still has full time security because of the Miss Universe or what ever it was mistake he made.  Still gets threats.  Personally I feel those should be considered a crime and should be reported and dealt with.  With today's technology it isn't that easy to hide behind your keyboard.
I am the GR8KORNHOLIO! Are you threatening me?

Saussie Aussie 1965 Australian MK1 Mini.
"Beavis" - 07 MY/MY MCS, B/MY Konig Daylites, JCW sideskirts, TSW springs, TSW lower rear control arms -- Exploring the country with new friends since 11/09.

BruceK

I just saw a promo for the next Wheeler Dealers series - with Edd's replacement - which will be out October 4th.   The promo is humorous and addresses the new guy coming in.   I guess we'll see if it's any good.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

gr8kornholio

Yep, they were running them on velocity during older episodes.  I've enjoyed watching these when I catch them. 
I am the GR8KORNHOLIO! Are you threatening me?

Saussie Aussie 1965 Australian MK1 Mini.
"Beavis" - 07 MY/MY MCS, B/MY Konig Daylites, JCW sideskirts, TSW springs, TSW lower rear control arms -- Exploring the country with new friends since 11/09.

BruceK

I may have to re-title this thread. 

I watched the first episode of the new Wheeler Dealers with Edd's replacement and it did not suck. 

In fact, it was pretty good. 


As a mechanic and co-presenter, Ant is doing well.  He's likeable, and obviously knows his way around a garage.  I'm guessing the producers took Edd's criticism to heart when he complained about them wanting to cut back on the actual mechanical repair parts of the show and they realized he had a very good point.  The segments showing wrench-turning is the main reason the show has been successful in the past IMO.  And they don't seem to be lessened in the new season. 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

gr8kornholio

Agreed, I've had to change up the car show's I watch because the one's on the "networks" don't show any actual building being done.  Curious to see how bad the new fast and loud is going to be.  Aaron Kaufman is supposed to be filming his own show too. 

Been enjoying iron resurrection on velocity.  The Martin Brothers have a shop near Austin.  It's mainly the one Martin, but his brother makes an appearance occasionally.  They used to make some of the craziest custom cycles back in that craze.
I am the GR8KORNHOLIO! Are you threatening me?

Saussie Aussie 1965 Australian MK1 Mini.
"Beavis" - 07 MY/MY MCS, B/MY Konig Daylites, JCW sideskirts, TSW springs, TSW lower rear control arms -- Exploring the country with new friends since 11/09.

MiniDave

I saw one of the WD shows tonight (Toyota Supra) and I have to echo Bruce's opinion - it did not suck - at all.

Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

gr8kornholio

I am the GR8KORNHOLIO! Are you threatening me?

Saussie Aussie 1965 Australian MK1 Mini.
"Beavis" - 07 MY/MY MCS, B/MY Konig Daylites, JCW sideskirts, TSW springs, TSW lower rear control arms -- Exploring the country with new friends since 11/09.

Mudhen

Just happened to see the first part of the Supra episode (my 15yo son had it on...ok, happy dad moment)...are they now based in the US?  That kills it for me.  It's way more appealing to me to see the UK and European side of things - even from the simple standpoint of scenery when they're checking out cars; I get too much US with just the nightly news.

I'd only seen a handful of episodes anyway so had no idea it had been around so long.  Jumping on the old episodes now!   77.gif

MiniDave

Watching the Saab story episode right now, interesting to see that the 96 rusted in many of the same places as out classic Minis!

Fairly easy to do a clutch job on it tho.....I've done my share of those on Saabs back in the day. When the 99 came out it was unique in that to change the clutch on one of those you didn't have to remove the engine or the transmission! All you had to do was remove the clutch cover, pull a short shaft out, unbolt the clutch and out it came!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

ve9aa

WD is (was?) one of my very favorite car shows, with Edd being my favorite 'cast' member by far due to the fact he was a real repair/fix/troubleshoot guy and not just a parts swapper.  (ie: He has a brain and skills)

I grudgingly have watched 2 new episodes recently with Ant Anstead and he's pretty good as well, but he's not Edd.

Mike in NB

30 minutes in a Mini is more therapeutic than 3 sessions at the shrink.

BruceK

The new season is on.  I wish they'd tone it down a little. 

Next week they will feature a R53 MINI Cooper S.   Wow.  I guess that is sort of being considered a classic now?    A little premature I think, but I do love the R53.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

BruceK

I was just thinking: what has Edd China been doing? I thought he would've surfaced by now because it's been a about year.   
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara