I probably watched most of the episodes, but had to quit because I got stressed out just watching. Every car featured had a short deadline, a frantic rush at the end, and a shop full of other cars that just sat there week after week after week. Some of the employees should have been fired long ago, like “Blue Bear”, what a punk troublemaker. His foreman has one operational mode - yelling and insulting. All the turmoil, yelling, and the mad rush to complete cars on time got to be too much to sit through, and I had to grit my teeth at all the cars delivered with the paint still wet, untested for leaks, etc, etc, etc. Too stressful to watch.
I always watch to see how many time I caught him trying to do stuff and he didn't know spit about it.
The only one that really was fun to watch was the old man, former fireman, that passed a couple of years back. The one that liked to drink and moon the train!
I always watch to see how many time I caught him trying to do stuff and he didn't know spit about it.
The only one that really was fun to watch was the old man, former fireman, that passed a couple of years back. The one that liked to drink and moon the train!
As an observer of the hot rod scene since the 60’s I never heard of this guy until his show came on the air. Maybe I’m just ignorant but I got the impression that he catered to aging yuppies of my generation as opposed to making cutting edge designs. Foose is similar. He’s really a designer/bodyman. None of them build their own motors or do anything mechanically innovative preferring to enlist the aftermarket industry to supply they with modules to plug into their “creations”. Oh well, if they can make a buck and build a rep to prosper who am I to criticize.
It was a TV show about working relationships and included all the various stereotypes. You see this all the time on these shows: you have the quiet thinker, the dumb as a board goof-off, the boss’s punching bag, the mean boss, etc, etc. Who would watch a show about nice, normal guys actually building cars? Maybe a few of us, but not enough to keep viewer’s tuning in. Throw in an impossible deadline to build the car and you have a show.
Several people on a hot rod website I visit know Duane and they say he is not like that in real life. I met him at Goodguys and talked awhile. Totally different personality in real life. Very soft spoken.