MattyG

And he comes across like that on the show too. I have watched him for over 30 years and I like how he narrates and how he is so easygoing on this show. In Canada, we have many lame copycat shows but none of them will ever equal John Davis and Motorweek.

I think it's the reason why it's easily one of the most long-lived television motoring shows in this genre. Remember how obnoxious the Car and Driver crew was during their failed attempt at creating their own show? Ugh. Came across as a bunch of overgrown teenagers yelling at you through the TV. Davis is the gentleman of this segment easily.

Having worked in a minor corner of the TV world in many roles there are a couple of things you realize pretty quickly with some of the blow-dried airhead "talent'.

1. They think they're celebrities and you should listen to them and cater to them by kissing their toes.

2. See above. Very few decent real people to be found.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

BrownPride

Wow that's awesome. He is one of my favorites, seems like a really classy nice old guy with a real passion for cars.

UDel

John Davis seems like a nice guy, I try to watch/record Motorweek when I can. I met and listened to Jim Scoutten at a auto show in the 90's and he was really nice and informed, he hosted Motor Trend Television which I used to watch. He hosts gun shows now. The guy has a great career testing and writing for cars and guns and he is very knowledgeable on both subjects without being snooty and elitist.

mmarshall

The one (signifiant) problem with Motorweek is that the show's producers usually try to cram too many features and videos into a single half-hour show, including reviews, road tests, product-summaries, auto-industry news, and Pat Goss's auto-care tips (Goss is their Lead Technician, and owns his own service shop). John Davis is a good reviewer, (and yes, an extremely nice guy by auto-press standards)...but the show's abbreviated schedule often doesn't give him enough time to really describe the car thoroughly.

MattyG

I think the issue is that they've had to put in a lot more stuff to keep viewers interested and/or their mandate going. They didn't have those "green" segments before so those now chew up a bunch of time (too much time in fact). I don't actually like those that much because I'm interested in the cars, not the "here are a bunch of natural gas/propane buses". And I'm very interested in green or emerging tech but not here on a motoring show about today's cars (yes I know it sounds Luddite-like but buses and trucks don't interest me on a motoring show).

They still need to stick to the half hour format. Expanding it is the death-knell because you'll bore the viewers who don't want to stick around that long for a car show unless you do... you know... that other show from across somewhere else

They've also gone to a lot these motorcycle segments, that again, don't interest me. I understand that motorbike riders might like those, but those pieces are really special interest. I get that they have to do them because they are funded publicly so the demographics might be driving this.

Basically if they stick to car reviews and short take road tests, long term "how are our fleet test cars doing", and auto news - they'd be ok. Maybe once in a while a tire test or nowadays, tech tips about what's inside your car's infotainment or electronics and how to conquer it or new emerging tech, that would be good.

SW17LS

All you Motorweek fans should subscribe to their YouTube channel. Great way to consume the show, watch the segments you want, etc. Retro reviews are my favorite.

MattyG

YT videos have the issue of watching on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Motoring shows are best experienced on a proper widescreen HD or better tv set. PBS has very nice quality when you watch it on the actual broadcast channel on a nice big screen.

SW17LS

You need to buy a smart TV or buy an Apple TV. I enjoy watching these YouTube shows right up on my big TV. Plus, YouTube videos mostly are in 4K now which means they are much higher quality than anything you can get over broadcast channels.

Tons of great car content on YouTube both from big sources like MotorWeek, MotorTrend, Consumer Reports, you name it they all make YouTube reviews and such, as well as independent sources like the Fast Lane Car, Motoman, Alex on Autos, Saabkyle04, it goes on and on. Yes there is stuff that's real amateur but there's also very professional stuff with real high production value.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i record motorweek (dvr) and it usually takes me about 10 minutes to watch it.
- skip all the 'sponsors' (aka advertising on other channels )
- watch davis intro and big review
- skip green crap
- skip goss
- watch news
- watch long term updates
- watch quick take
- skip retro (old crappy cars )
- that's about it.

i'm not with ya there... watching a review of a 1985 Fiero is about as exciting as a painting show on pbs.

you might be a luddite if... as SW pointed out, watching youtube on a big screen can be done in lots of ways... if you don't have a smart tv you can get a $30 chromecast and transmit the youtube to your tv from your phone.

tex2670

It's great that Caddy built a car that's great, without major disappointing aspects, like the ATS and CTS have been. But it will still take a major marketing effort by the brand to get converts to this car.

mmarshall

Yeah...Davis was always the best part of the show. Problem is...the show's length and schedule don't always allow him enough time for a thorough review.

Goss is extremely knowledgeable, especially in diagnosing electrical problems. But he lacks John Davis's friendly and outgoing personality, tends to get into arguments on his radio and TV call-in shows with people who don't always see eye to eye with him, and recommends an insane amount of expensive service, such as flushing out all of your car's fluid systems every 2 years/24,000 miles....power steering, engine coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, etc....

Well, if you ever saw a video of one of those old POS Fieros catching fire, that would solve that problem. Some of the junk that GM and Chrysler produced in that early-mid 80s time period was unbelievable.

LexBob2

I like the retro reviews. I think you have to be a certain age to appreciate them. It's fun to see what was state of the art 30 years ago, looks like today. A few cars age gracefully and most just look old. Time marches on.

BrownPride

I love their YouTube channel but it seems like the past couple months they haven't been uploading videos consistently, especially the Retro Reviews.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i don't think he's good at all, but he is... consistent. his phony 'broadcast voice' smirky smile and attempts at humor is like a used car salesperson. he can't say 'wheels' - he says 'hawheels'.
not saying he's not a nice guy i know you say he is, and i'm sure you're right. i just think there's a reason he's on a 1/2 hr low budget show on pbs. but good for him for having kept it going all these years.

it wouldn't as i simply don't care about 99.9% of old cars.