Fast N' Loud skyrocketed to success, perhaps because it was so raw and authentic? At least it seemed like that in the early days of the show, when the monkeys were churning out cheap builds from their small shop.
Updated February 2022: If you're a fan of Fast N' Loud and the Gas Monkeys, you might not care that the show was filled with fakery. However, we still took the time to update this article, just to inform you about the things people ignored about the "reality" show.
As the show's fanbase grew, so did the garage... and the amount of fakery. Towards the end, it was practically meaningless to watch the show, as all of the original charm was long gone. Somehow, the producers expected us to believe that a shop of that size is still the underdog in the world of car customizing? Nah, while some people might ignore it, we don't think the Fast N' Loud concept was making much sense towards the end.
15 The Show Is Scripted
You didn't really believe reality shows were real, did you? Turns out, "reality" television shows employ just as many scriptwriters as any TV drama or sitcom. Sure, the crew might be real people, but the drama and the banter between them have become increasingly scripted with time and are now as artificial as any other show on television. However, they still claimed Fast N' Loud was unscripted, but that's probably because there was still a hint of real dialogue left and some actual work being done on the cars.
14 Over-Simplifying Problems And Solutions
Occasionally, the Monkeys will run into trouble during a build, but the problems are seemingly fixed in no time. However, the problem is often much worse than we're led to believe. For the Roadkill challenge, they built at least two transmissions and several torque converters from scratch, as well as re-coding and modifying the engine computer system. It looked like it was done all in one night, but in reality, it took much longer.
13 Not So Random Clients
In the early days of the show, Rawlings would buy a car, they'd fix it, and then flip it. That was back when the show was actually worth watching. In the latter days, the Gas Monkeys were usually approached by a client with a major job that has to be done in a specific, and impossible, timeframe. These "random" clients are chosen specifically for the show by the producers.
12 Richard Acting Weird Around Money
Every time there's a lot of money on the table, Richard starts acting all nervous. Why? We know Rawlings owns the garage. We know he's got other businesses and is an experienced businessman. We know he's the producer of the spin-off shows. Basically, we know he's worth millions. It makes zero sense that he'd be all jittery over $20K.
11 Baffled By Modern Electronics
Apparently, the Gas Monkeys are supposedly some of the best in the vintage car customizing and modifying business. But why do they struggle so much when dealing with modern parts? It doesn't make sense that a well-reputed car modifying shop doesn't hire their own computer guy. They've had to call in an expert several times – although Rawlings insisted that the cameras stopped rolling.
10 Cars That Are Sold Appear In The Background
Numerous times, someone on the show was talking us through something that happened on their current build, only for there to be a car in the background that was supposedly sold several episodes, or even seasons, ago. Was it just a continuity error, or perhaps it happened because the show was scripted and fake? We'll let you decide.
9 Buying Cars On The Spot
Now, it is actually true that Rawlings always carries a wad of cash on him because he never knows when a deal will present itself. However, the show makes it seem like a deal worth several thousand is done just by Richard showing up and talking to the car owner for a few minutes. In reality, these deals are actually sorted out long before filming even begins.
8 Small Crew
When watching the show, it looked like there was just a handful of people working in the shop, and they were doing some fairly major jobs. In reality, there was a massive support crew for this show. Watch the credits for each episode, and you’ll see them listed as “support staff” when in fact they do a lot of the real work the Monkeys get the credit for.
7 The Amount Of Work
Fast N' Loud makes it appear as if the Monkeys work on a single car non-stop until it's done. They barely get any sleep during the entire build, that's how important it is to get the car done. Except that's not entirely true. Thanks to TV magic and editing, a couple of weeks' worth of work will seemingly be completed in only a fraction of that time.
6 Added Drama
Those who've watched more than two episodes of Fast N' Loud will have noticed that something always went wrong at the worst possible time. Usually, it would happen just before the made-up deadline of a build, but of course, they managed to pull it off and deliver the car on time with just seconds to spare. Yeah, that makes perfect sense... especially when it happens for the 10th time.
5 Constant Money Woes
Fast N' Loud made it seem like there were just a couple of cars in the shop. In reality, there were roughly 50 cars sitting at the garage at all times. For some unknown reason, the show's producers want us to believe they are living from hand to mouth, from one car to the next. We know Richard is a millionaire, so that made no sense!
4 Questionable Cars
There have been more than a few questionable cars in the Gas Monkeys' possession over the years. Hideous creations such as the off-road Camaro, the drift spec Ford Fairmont, the Shorty Bus, the Cut Dawg lowrider, K.I.T.T... the list goes on and on. Clearly, these cars were just built for the entertainment aspect of the show, as they're not well-built, nor interesting.
3 Richard Constantly Making The Same Mistake
Every time Richard has been surfing the internet unsupervised, he ends up buying some worthless rust heap. It's a massive waste of time, money, and labor, but seeing as there are so many episodes like that, apparently, no one has learned any lessons from this. Either lock up Richard's fridge or his computer, perhaps even both. Then he won't have access to beverages and internet auctions at the same time.
2 Holy Grail Firebird Prototypes
Richard claimed that he'd discovered an automotive Holy Grail - two prototype Pontiac Firebirds that were used as a “proof of concept.” He then went on to claim they were worth $325,000 each, and once cleaned up, they would be even more expensive. Except these “expensive” cars had both sold for a mere $30,000 on eBay a year earlier and were just stored in the barn, not abandoned.
1 Questionable Workmanship
Several of the cars that have been built on the show have had viewers ask themselves if the quality of the Monkeys' work really is any good. People often refer to the fact that GMG rarely takes a car entirely apart for restoration. Of course, these complaints are most often heard in regard to high-profile builds, such as Dale Jr.'s '55 Nomad, the Ferrari F40, and maybe the Ford GT.
Sources: Autoweek, Jalopnik, IMDB, Gas Monkey Garage, Discovery