When Dax Shepard isn’t making cutesy videos about how many towels his kids need along with his actress wife, the gorgeous Kristen Bell, he breathes automobiles. Like, constantly, and every kind.
This is probably the reason why he became a natural choice to be one of the new hosts of Top Gear America because his love for cars is no secret. He loves wheels of all types, owns some gorgeous cars, loves to ride as much as he loves to drive, and tends to get into colossal wrecks as well. Sometimes even needing surgeries to fix himself up.
Considering Shepard grew up in Detroit, the land of the Big Three, his love for cars comes as no surprise. Plus, he is immensely likable as a host, as is clear from the Armchair Expert podcast, and he comes across as funny as well.
Here’s how and why Dax Shepard got involved with Top Gear America, and why it's so right...
A Very Detroit Childhood
Dax’s father seemingly sold cars, and was also very into cars, as told to Jalopnik.
His parents apparently also raced when they were in high school with his father owning a ’68 Chevelle and his mom winning the powder puff drag race, setting a record at the time. Both of them were ultimate gearheads, so much so they owned plenty of cars and bikes. Later, Shepard’s mother started to work for General Motors, and once she quit, she started a company that managed all of GM’s press events.
A teenage Dax Shepard tagged along with his mother at all the events, and got up, close, and personal with many of the race cars and other cool vehicles, so an interest in all things motor has been innate in him since then.
His first car was a 1976 Pontiac Catalina after which he moved on to a 1984 Ford Mustang. He later also acquired a 1967 Lincoln Continental which was used in his movie Hit & Run and apparently it still rests in his garage. Other cars in his garage are a 700-horsepower 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon as well as a Mercedes AMG E63.
Shepard Is Still Very Into Cars
Apparently, Shepard likes all cars.
While he may not want to drive something too classic, like a car from the pre-40s, he mostly is okay with anything and everything that runs on gas. He loves everything off-road and taking on sand dunes, classic and muscle, and even motorcycles.
The one thing about the way Shepard treats cars is that he does not really value any of the old and original stuff if it's on the verge of a breakdown or peel-off. For him, it's all about taking an old car, strip it off anything that slows it down and replace it and then turn it into a screaming monster that makes everyone sit up and take notice.
For example, his Lincoln Continental does not run on its original V8, it now has a 700-horsepower fuel-injected Ford Racing crate motor paired with big wheels, coil-over suspension, and Wilwood brakes for superior stopping power.
He can take a car and strip it down, or race motorcycles enough to crash them and himself into a pulp. His most recent motorcycle crash ended up with him breaking four ribs and needing surgery to fix it though in April before, he had performed “self-surgery” by removing a pin from his hand, put in there to heal his broken finger, a result of another tumble.
Why Dax Shepard Is A Perfect Fit For Top Gear
Top Gear America is produced by BBC Studios, with Craig Armstrong as showrunner and Travis Shakespeare as executive producer, streaming exclusively on Motor Trend. They have had some faulty starts, and neither of the two attempts has managed to catch with the viewers as has the original Top Gear series.
But Dax Shepard knows his cars and his TV. He can talk about cars and talk funny. He’s hosted game shows and directed movies, crashed motorcycles, and off-roaders and finally, he knows how to strip an engine and build it back.
Clearly, Top Gear and BBC had the right guy in mind with Dax considering he told Motor Trend, “I feel like that’s the one prerequisite the host should have. Cars are my full-time hobby. It’s the only reason I act: to acquire money to buy s—t that you put gas in.”
Along with Shepard, the co-hosts are going to be actor Rob Corddry, motoring journalist Jethro Bovingdon and of course, the helmeted mystery driver, Stig. Will the show be a hit? Who knows, considering two attempts to bring back the show have already flopped.
Is the third time the charm? Especially with the charming Dax Shepard? Time and Top Gear America viewership will tell...
Sources: Jalopnik, MotorTrend