boopsiedru
I really like watching the shows on Velocity and American Hot Rod is one of them. But, and this is a big but I can't stand all of the bickering and apparent lack of coordination of their projects. Obviously they are VERY talented. But after watching a couple shows I would think twice prior to giving a project to them. I think they need to take all of the positive they have and focus on that. Maybe business is way to good to bother with any criticism but I am just relating my thoughts after watching their show. Having said that, I think they are a group of very talented people.
Erik
American Hot Rod is/should be a TV series that is intended to show how to make a quality Hot Rod (or other type of car). This includes everything from the start (the design) to the finished car, and the drama between the employees.The positive is that we get to see some skilled employees doing their work, and see how cars like this is made (at this scale). But, unfortunately, there is a massive negative overtone over the whole show. I guess much of what I react on, is created to get more action or make it funny.This is what I react on or get out of the show:1. Bullying employees (or other people).2. Exploiting employees (massive overtime and pressure).3. Not building quality cars (cuttting corners).4. Running a business badly (lack of control and logistics).5. Boyd loosing a hard earned reputation.6. Destroying/chopping original classic cars.1. Employees is bullied (or shouted at) all the time, and sometimes to the extent that they have to leave or get aggressive. Had this happened in Norway, it would be highly illegal. Roy, an employee, was also made fun of all the time. He died, and still "funny" comments was made of him. No respect, what so ever! Bullying like fat jokes, stupid jokes and deliberately trying to make someone angry, is NOT what I call fun.2. Setting a time limit for a car (in almost every episode) that is almost impossible to reach, and pressures the employees to work overtime and weekends all the time, is not humane. And extremely stupid if you like to keep your employees and have a good atmosphere at the working place.3. Because of the short time limits, corners was cut all the time, making the quality of the car suffer. Yes, the cars looked fine outside, but underneath it was mediocre.4. How to not run a business. Not having the control of the build or making sure of that the parts arrive before the build, created delays and frustration.5. If Boyd Coddington had a good reputation in making quality cars, it's gone now. Quite simply said! Almost every build in this series show how little focus it was on making the best car possible. The employees commented on this all the time. If I wanted a HotRod, I would never have bought a car with his name on it.6. And this brakes my, and many others, heart, he destroys/chops good original classics. They have then, for ever, lost their value. I can understand it if it was a original classic that was so bad that it couldn't be restored, but here they destroyed good ones. Another reason to not respect Boyd.Many of the employees quit because of reasons I have mentioned.I know that Boyd Coddington has died, but I still stand by what I say. I wish he could have lived and tried to restore his reputation in future episodes of the series, and showed that he (and Dwayne) could treat people good and make high quality cars.I have followed the series because I like cars and mechanics, but many times at each episode, I strongly react on different elements (mentioned before).Therefore, I only give it 3/10
alfredmcclinton
Why on earth did Boyd dump his first wife for that Jo dame? All she does is walk around looking good and flirting with the employees. Example; when Charlie left, she had to have a closed door farewell session with him. I think Boyd should get back with his first wife, and let the young chick go. And in addition to booting her, he could get rid of those horrid floral shirts. I think that the show would be more interesting if they would just build cars, and dispense with the trite drama. What is the job of the new Black guy? What is his talent? Maybe comic relief? Many people don't like Boyd, but I think he was right when he fired blue bear and Mike.
john
This truly is a great show. Coddington is the J.R.Ewing of the southern California Hot Rod business and there is never a dull moment. Each custom hot rod build spans 3 or 4 shows each of which is interesting and filled with some unique people. I believe there may be some pressure from the Discovery channel to set deadlines on the car builds that makes for a more interesting show. In reality even if a car is "rushed" for the sake of the show it will be detailed later to be sure it meets or exceeds Boyd's high standards. The Coddington cars built on American Hotrod are even more valuable than a regular Coddington custom and are bringing excellent profits for the primary customer Scotty Gray when he auctioned a few at the Barret Jackson Auction in Feb 2005. Boyd is character himself with his current wife and ex-wife both working there at the shop there is always some tension in the air.
