Motor City Masters

From the network that brought you such shows as, "Lizard Lick Towing," and "Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura," comes a series that attempts to combine a car design competition, with a fashion, and a reality show. The result of this fusion fiasco, is a program that is rife with emotional outbursts and childish conflict, but which contains very little emphasis on the cars, the design process, or the work required to accomplish the concepts. Instead, the show chooses to spend the majority of its time covering feuds between artistic prima donna's, and judges who appear in ridiculous hats and outfits, and then assert their authority to decide what looks good. I have a feeling, the only reason this competition was 'centered' around cars, was simply because the series scored sponsorship from Chevy. A better tittle for the show would be "Project Runway, Chevy edition."

Like most guys, I'm an over the top car nut. I have stacks of Super Chevy and Car Craft from decades gone by. I watched every American Hot Rod episode and never missed the newest Top Gear or RoadKill. I drool over the classic and modern muscle at car shows. So I think I have some credentials with regard to reviewing this show.

Let me start by stating that Brooke is basically the best thing this show has going for it. Talk about design perfection, proportions, body lines and flashy paint jobs and you basically have Brooke on the brain the entire episode! OK, with that out of the way, this show absolutely has plenty of flaws but still can entertain and educate the viewer. I honestly do learn some things each episode. Not very much from a technical standpoint, but plenty from a design view. For example, I found myself somewhat surprised how graphics and paint can affect the look of a car, regardless of what body panel lines may be underneath. I own a couple Audis and SAABs which I feel have unique body lines that work well without fancy paint, so perhaps this show has expanded my viewpoint somewhat.

With regard to specific contestants on the show, I have to admit that Darby is catching my attention. Sure, she's female and attractive, but that isn't the reason, especially with Brooke around. No, Darby is actually a talented designer and even at this stage I can state that she deserves the win. Of course being on a team, it is possible she will get stomped on in a future episode, but that would be a shame. Hopefully having lead two teams to victory already will protect her somewhat.