Many of us can only dream of fast cars, muscle cars, modifications and such, mostly because of financial or practical reasons. While some of us manage to realize our automobile dreams, most of us live vicariously through the greatest car shows, especially those of us passionate about not only cars but everything else on wheels.
But with so many choices out there catering to different automotive tastes and preferences, it can be a time-consuming effort to find the one perfect for YOU. But don't worry because, in this article, we've compiled a list of the 15 greatest and most entertaining car shows that will surely tickle your automotive fancy, most of which are still on air!
And even if your favorite show is off the air, there are plenty of streaming options to watch them on, with Amazon Prime and Netflix being just the tip of the iceberg. So here go the 15 greatest car shows to start binging, especially if you're homebound.
15 Pimp My Ride: The One That Started It All
With 73 episodes spanning six seasons, MTV’s Pimp My Ride may seem a bit dated, especially because of playback quality from the 2000s, but it is still a fun and pertinent show to watch. And yes, sometimes; the person whose car was being customized overacted to the point of rage, but the cool works by West Coast Customs definitely make up for that.
14 Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Cars, Comedy & Coffee
Three of our favorite things, together. This is one cool show indeed. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a show by Jerry Seinfeld who not only gets to be in the coolest and most classic cars but also delves into the history of the car while he drives to the star he plans to have a conversation and coffee with. Perfect for every gearhead and comedy-lover, 83 episodes have spanned 11 seasons till now.
13 Inside West Coast Customs: The Mods Continue
West Coast Customs was made famous by Pimp By Ride, and when MTV’s show wrapped up, West Coast Customs decided to get a slice of that fame for themselves. By 2011, West Coast Customs had launched their own show, Inside West Coast Customs, orchestrated by CEO Ryan Friedlinghaus, and frequented by celebrities like Mark Wahlberg, Justin Bieber, and Conan O’Brien. With 68 episodes, it ran for eight seasons.
12 Wheeler Dealers: Fixing Beat-Up Classics
Wheeler Dealers began with a simple concept: the host buys a beat-up car, while the mechanic partner fixes it up. Of course, there is a lot of hard work behind it all because restoring old and ill-maintained vehicles is tough. The host is Mike Brewer and Edd China was the mechanic, later replaced with Ant Anstead. After 15 seasons, the show was renamed Trading Up, for a total of 167 episodes and nine specials.
11 American Hot Rod: The Time Boyd Coddington Was Up And At It
The legendary Chip Foose began his career with Boyd Coddington, whose car shop made hot rods and custom vehicles. The shop and the show seemed to have a pretty high turnover, with many of the cast/crew leaving to work for Chip Foose, who had his TV Show, Overhaulin’. American Hot Rod ran for 76 episodes from 2004-2008 spanning five seasons. In 2009, Boyd Coddington sadly passed away.
10 Fifth Gear: Top Gear’s Well-Running Competition
Fifth Gear is one of the longest-running car shows on this list, with 28 seasons to date, and it is also the main rival to Top Gear. The one major difference is that Fifth Gear mostly reviews the more affordable cars, and for now has Vicki Butler-Henderson as the host, though they have had some seven more hosts in the past seasons. A total of 265 episodes have been made.
9 Street Outlaws: Cars Plus Street Racing
Counting 177 episodes and over 14 seasons, Street Outlaws is a reality television car show which explores the world and the challenges of American street racing. Many different cast and crew participate in this show, which is all about racing and the street race cars that make for nail-biting finishes. Fun to watch if you have a serious need for speed.
8 Jay Leno’s Garage: The Car Show With An Emmy Win
Jay Leno was a pretty cool and funny host of The Tonight Show, and he’s only become cooler and funnier in his gearhead oriented show, Jay Leno’s Garage. In it, Leno discusses and reviews various cars: classic, vintage, sports, custom, and even hypercars. The show has aired for five seasons and is 60 episodes down, plus won the Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Special Class: Short-Format Nonfiction Program” in 2016.
7 Stacey David's GearZ: For Some Tinkering
Before Gearz came along, Stacey David was the host of Trucks. The show aired for some eight episodes and used to come on ESPN2 before moving on to the channel SPEED. When SPEED had a makeover, it used to air on MavTV and Velocity. The show was pretty popular, mostly because of Stacey David and his tinkering with cars.
6 Chasing Classic Cars: The Best Of Classics
This is a great car show for anyone who loves classic cars, where the host Wayne Carini chases and restores the best of classic cars from all eras, and hopes to make a sale from it. What’s amazing about the show is how Carini manages to find the rarest of classics. Though sometimes, the restorations don’t always make a good sale. It’s 13 seasons and 181 episodes down.
5 Overhaulin’: For Chip Foose’s Amazing Work
The hosts, along with Chip Foose, make an elaborate scheme for every episode in which they go and pretend to steal a car from the “mark” (the show's name for a person who wants to restore his beat-up car but does not have the financial wherewithal). Then they restore and refurbish the car within a week and return into the surprised but delighted owner. It spans nine seasons with some 131 episodes and is one cool car show.
4 Fast N’ Loud: For Anyone Who Loves A Fast-Paced Car Show
A Discovery Channel car show, Fast n’ Loud moves rather quickly, with car finder and picker Richard Rawlings and master mechanic Aron Kaufmann working together at the Gas Monkey Garage. The idea is to find the rare and cool cars of the past, and turn them into beauties perfect for car shows, and of course sales. It spans 16 seasons and 135 episodes.
3 Counting Cars: Pawn Stars Spin-Off
Counting Cars is yet another spinoff from the popular reality TV series Pawn Stars, starring “The Count” Danny Koker who is a self-made gear addict and autophile. The episodes show his car restoration business called Count’s Kustoms, and the various classic cars and motorcycles brought in for restoration and a sale. Eight seasons down, there have been 184 episodes of this on History Channel till now.
2 Top Gear: One Of The Longest-Running Car Shows Till Date
Top Gear has had a fantastic 28 seasons, with a total of 214 episodes. One of the coolest hosts on the show had to be Matt LeBlanc, aka Joey Tribiani from the hit TV sitcom Friends. With LeBlanc stepping down, its Andrew Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness who have now taken the lead in driving fantastic cars, doing insane stunts and cracking as many jokes as they can while doing it.
1 The Grand Tour: The New “Top Gear”
With four seasons and 36 episodes, The Grand Tour is fast becoming the most popular car show around, produced exclusively for Amazon Prime. It's hosted by the original Top Gear boys: Richard Hammond, James May, and Jeremy Clarkson. Not just that, it shares plenty more similarities with Top Gear, with a focus on superb cars, challenges, and road trips.