Here’s everything you need to know about the MotorTrend chain

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In an age when automotive journalism and automotive TV shows are pushed to online streaming services like YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix, a TV channel remains, at least in the mind. Founded in 2002 in Maryland, the television channel airs on DirecTV channel 281 and Dish Network channel 246.

With over thirty programs in the channel’s library, they fill every niche of interest in the automotive space. From custom car builds, barn finds and restoration to more technical, engineering-based programs. The list of programs under the MotorTrend umbrella is impressive, to say the least. Having acquired the broadcast rights to critically acclaimed shows like Top Gear UK, Fifth Gear and Wheeler Dealers, the channel offers everything a car enthusiast could demand.

So let’s take a closer look at MotorTrend and everything you need to know about this chain.

MotorTrend overview

Automotive trend

Via: Motortrend, YouTube

Many of the programs that air on MotorTrend have taken on cult niches, but that doesn’t mean everything the channel has done has been a big hit. Refusing to be left behind as other networks put their content online, the channel launched MotorTrend On Demand, a service to stream all of their content as part of the Discovery Channel.

They also regularly post smaller videos and clips of the upcoming shows to their YouTube channel, which has over six million subscribers. But here’s what you need to know about this automotive TV channel and its journey from part of National Geographic’s Discovery brand to becoming Velocity and finally MotorTrend as we know it today.

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The shows offered on MotorTrend

Via: Mecum auctions

In 2017, a rebranding came, this time bringing the name MotorTrend to life. The Discovery Channel has partnered with The Enthusiast Network. This union of forces created the modern MotorTrend channel and launched MotorTrend OnDemand, which, as part of Discovery More for the first time, presented these programs to an international audience. MotorTrend’s YouTube channel not only works as a way to publicize the programs they broadcast, but also allows them to create more typical YouTube content.

Report on the occasional release of new cars with a buyer’s guide such as the new Ford Mustang Mach-E. But they also create demo videos which, often referred to as Head 2 Head, compare the latest and greatest sports cars from the craziest manufacturers around the world. More recently, they looked at restoring a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro.

But on the channel itself, there are plenty of programs that are familiar to aspiring bubbly. Wheeler dealers, Chasing Classic Cars and Inside West Coast Customs all make their home at MotorTrend and have the highest quality production. The oldest programs in the creation of the channel are available on Amazon Prime; the first season of MotorTrend TV features serious journalism on a range of trucks, auto shows and luxury cars.

They aired on the Discovery HD Theater in 2002 alongside a series of programs covering geography and history. The channel would eventually be renamed Velocity before adopting the name MotorTrend from the hit magazine. These episodes are like a time capsule from the early 2000s as they introduce the widely ridiculed large SUVs such as the BMW X5 which, over the next decade, will dominate the roads.

A strange but appropriate programming choice came in 2015 when, under the name Velocity, the Barrett-Jackson auctions were broadcast live. This corresponded to much of the programming of the channel, which often offers vintage cars for auction before or after their restoration.

Prior to that, Barret-Jackson, an Arizona collector, had been running auctions on Fox Sports. MotorTrend emerged as a more suitable platform, and being able to pull a program from Fox proved how successful the small chain had been.

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People

Wayne Carini Chasing Classic Cars tv show

At the heart of MotorTrend’s reality-based programming is personality. Chasing Classic Cars is brought to you by master restaurateur Wayne Carini, the perfect host for a program on restoring classics to their former glory based on his experience, demeanor and personality. Carini showcases some of the coolest cars that are tucked away in barns and garages.

Ant Anstead is another on the channel, watching Wheeler Dealers as the successor to Edd China, the designer and engineer who would become the titular mechanic in Ant Anstead: Master Mechanic has his UK TV debut on, For The Love. of Cars. This oft-forgotten Car TV gem propelled Anstead to fame and place as a host on Motortrend.

It’s All Geek To Me starred David Pogue, a lovable character who, after co-authoring much of the For Dummies book series, had developed a certain way of humorously explaining complicated ideas; this rings true in the program which successfully explains modern technologies such as iPods and digital cameras. Aired in 2007, this show is the perfect example of how the channel began its life with a more diverse selection of programs that engaged in more than automotive interests.

Coming content

Richard Hammond Classic Cars Show Discovery Plus

via YouTube

The network recently kept its cards close to its chest; throughout the past year, they have stuck with their successful formula and have remained virtually unchanged. They are known to release the rebooted US Top Gear when it becomes available after it is delayed due to the pandemic.

Recently, Richard Hammond announced a new show called Restoring Classic Cars. But in the meantime, their YouTube channel remains very active, providing frequent content updates, and the magazine remains a staple in automotive journalism.

NEXT: Watch: Richard Hammond Roasted These YouTubers’ Vehicles


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