Can anyone explain MotorWeek to me?

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I know what the show is and can look up the history. My kid loves cars and really seems to like watching clips from it. However, I wasn't really all that familiar with it. The gist I get is that they seem to be aiming for an 80s vibe to the show with their editing, including quick cuts and fades. The graphics are obviously using more advanced technology than in the 80s, but still seem to be going for an old school look. I haven't seen it on a regular TV, but the clips available look like they're in lower resolution to give it a different look. At first I thought the clips must have been at least 20 years old, but then I saw the vehicles being reviewed were fairly recent.
 
I watch it regularly on PBS as I am a donor supporting PBS and get this passport thing. It hasn’t really changed much. They have reviewed some things lately like the Ford Maverick. The reviews are sort of short and wanting, but I like it anyway. Lots of good shows on PBS, and the news is not one sided opinions, just the facts.
 
It may be on PBS but it is really sponsored by the auto manufacturers. They depend on loaners for testing and I dont believe I have every heard them say anything derogatory about a vehicle without immediately making an excuse for it. They use to give some tips on maintaining your car but in the past 10 years or so their advise is to take it to the shop because its too complicated for you. They have slowly moved from a show for blue collar car lovers to a show for white collar car shoppers.
 
Of course I am from the days of 3 channels and they shut off at night.

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I checked what I could see on-demand with my TV package and found one episode of MotorWeek available. Turns out it is in 16:9 HD and definitely looks that way. So all those clips on YouTube seemed to be lower res. The computer-generated graphics definitely look more like the kind I remember from the 90s even though it's clearly sharper and faster. The colors and sharpness of the overall broadcast seem to be tuned for excessive (frankly artificial) sharpness.

Still - they seem to employ a lot of 80s style "news magazine" editing. Stuff like continuing with an interview subject's voice as it goes to quick cuts of other scenes.
 
The host john davis is quite full of himself. I have seen him media day many times before the car shows open to the public. He is quite impressed with himself based on seeing him act like he owns every car show.
The show has no credibility as far as car reviews any more. Every car is great and fantastic. The chevy trucks with failing engines and transmissions and the vw stuff with horrible interface deals on the sub par interiors.
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The best car reviews are on youtube with savage geese. Excellent comments and photography and writing.
 
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Like Zee said, it's local MD PBS made in a small studio in Odenton on a small budget. Like Goss' Garage, it has an old, old school host who's been on since forever. The show has the same format and low key style it has had since inception.
 
The review format is very “Consumer Reports”-ish. Meaning, it’s not really geared towards “car people”. They only cover the basics, and, yes, the same guy whos been doing it for 40 years still does it.

I do enjoy occasionally watching the old ones.

There are far better review channels on YouTube. I enjoy savagegeese and Hagerty, to name a couple. Doug DeMuro reviews some really cool cars, but his personality/demeanor really irritates me.
 
The host john davis is quite full of himself.
The pbs part means plenty of lefty arrogance along the way.

You talk as though he is Scotty Kilmer

Let’s see, old engineer that is a long running TV personality,

And Being an engineer I doubt what you are seeing is him being full of lefty arrogance

Just old fashioned big headed old engineer arrogance compounded with TV arrogance.
 
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