13 Greatest Automotive TV Shows of All Time

Automotive TV shows have been hugely popular for a couple of decades now. Shows such as Top Gear and American Chopper proved that they didn’t have to focus on a tiny viewer niche.

Since then, we’ve had shows about restorations, modifications, vehicular adventures, muscle cars, and more.

Obviously, not all the shows were good, and not everyone will like every show, but we’ve picked 13 that we think are among the greatest of all time.

Top Gear

Until its 2002 reboot, Top Gear was a fairly average show, but when Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman took over the reins, it was transformed into a juggernaut and is still the most famous car TV show ever.

Clarkson, May, and Hammond would review cars and go on adventures, and all was well until Clarkson punched a producer. The trio was replaced by multiple hosts, including Matt LeBlanc and Chris Harris, but the show was finally canceled after the 33rd season and 240th episode.

The Grand Tour

After leaving Top Gear, Clarkson, Hammond, and May (along with Andy Wilman) went on to start a new show on Amazon Prime. After some weirdness in the first Grand Tour seasons, they soon figured out what worked and focused on their famous adventures and road trips.

After a number of adventure specials, the trio is now calling it quits, and the Grand Tour will be no more. Luckily, watching them in other shows, such as Clarkson’s Farm is still possible.

Fast N’ Loud

Richard Rawlings and his Gas Monkeys ruled the Discovery Channel ratings for years. Rawlings bought ratty vintage cars, the crew would fix them, and then sell them for a profit.

There’s nothing new to the formula, but since they churned out amazing cars at a fast rate, it was impossible not to like it. Throw in some humor, drama, and fake deadlines, and you have a recipe for success.

In fact, it was so successful that Rawlings and the Discovery Channel created a couple of spin-offs in the form of Misfits Garage and Garage Rehab. After eight years and 16 seasons, Rawlings announced that Fast N’ Loud was over. However, he’s still going strong on YouTube.

Chasing Classic Cars

Wayne Carini, star of Chasing Classic Cars, is a well-known classic car restorer, collector, and seller. The show is practically drama-free, which is a welcome change, and it always features some excellent vintage cars.

If you want to see sparks flying, big beards, and tattooed knuckles, it’s not the show for you. But true classic car connoisseurs who enjoy listening to a Ferrari 250’s idling V12 and endless classic car facts geekery will find a lot to like here.

Diesel Brothers

The bearded guys on the show Diesel Brothers aren’t really brothers, but they are most certainly bros. They work at Diesel Sellerz/Sparks Auto, where they customize massive pickup trucks that their fans can win.

The show ended after the shop and owners were fined huge amounts for violating the Clean Air Act on hundreds of occasions. While they’re no longer on the Discovery Channel, they’re still open for business and continue to post videos on YouTube.

Wheeler Dealers

Wheeler Dealers is a British cult classic automotive TV show. In it, Mike Brewer finds a used car, haggles a bit on the price, and brings it back to the garage, where the mechanic takes over.

Originally, Edd China was the guy who fixed the cars, but he left and was replaced by Ant Anstead. Since then, Marc Priestly has taken over the mechanic duties, but the show’s premise remains the same: buy a car, fix it, sell for a profit, all from a DIYer’s perspective. The first season aired in 2003, and they’ve bought and sold many amazing cars since then.

Rust Valley Restorers

Rust Valley Restorers is a muscle car restoration show set in South Shuswap in British Columbia, Canada. The area is known as “Rust Valley,” and has become known for its thriving car community and multiple junkyards.

The show focuses on Rust Bros Restorations and its quirky characters, such as owner Mike Hall, his son Connor, and buddy Avery Shoaf. Together, they’ve restored several classic cars, but they struggle to make a profit due to Mike’s way of doing business.

Graveyard Carz

Graveyard Carz is shot on location in Springfield, Oregon, and the show was born when shop owner Mark Worman decided to document his restoration of a 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda. As you may know, Plymouth is a Mopar brand, and the shop’s motto just happens to be “It’s Mopar or No Car.”

If you’re into Mopar vehicles or just American classics in general, it’s well worth watching. If that’s not your cup of tea, or you think that’s a bit niche, we have some other good shows for you.

Bitchin’ Rides

Bitchin’ Rides, also known as Kindig Customs outside the States, follows the custom car maestros at Kindig It Designs, led by Dave Kindig.

The Salt Lake City-based company builds some stunning custom cars for their clients. Unlike other shows that tend to focus on one type of car, such as classic muscle cars, Kindig It Designs has customized everything from a ’33 Ford Tudor to an Audi R8 Spyder.

Overhaulin’

Overhaulin’ is one of the most popular car restoration/modification shows ever, as proven by its run over nine seasons and 100+ episodes between 2004 and 2020. The show’s host, Chris Jacobs, would get the car from the owner, and then legendary car magician Chip Foose would come up with a design before the crew built it.

The show predates restoration shows such as Fast N’ Loud, and it had a much more sensible approach to car modification than the rather ridiculous Pimp My Ride. Foose and his gang would transform beat-up muscle cars and European classics with new bodywork, fancy paint and wheels, and usually a massively powerful engine. What’s not to love about that?!

Fastest Car

Fastest Car is a Netflix original series, and in each episode, we’re introduced to three sleeper cars and their owners, as well as one supercar owner. They talk about their lives and cars, and at the end of each episode, they all go up against each other in a quarter-mile drag race.

The winner of each episode moves on to the final championship race at the end of the season. Unfortunately, there are only two seasons, but they’re absolutely worth watching.

Car SOS

Car SOS is another British show where the two hosts, Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townsend, fix up a car belonging to someone else. While it may sound like several other shows, there’s a twist here.

The cars belong to people struggling with medical issues or who’ve experienced some tragedy in their lives. In most cases, they’ve wanted to fix their cars for years, but haven’t been able to do so. At the end of each episode, they’re reunited with their pride and joy, and holding back the tears become a challenge for everyone, including the viewers.

Iron Resurrection

Iron Resurrection is set in Austin, Texas, and follows the people behind Martin Bros Customs, including Joe Martin, his wife Amanda, and his friend Jayson “Shag” Arrington. They’ll take you around the countryside in search of vehicles to restore, and it doesn’t matter if it has two or four wheels, as long as it’s got some potential.

Each team member has a specific skill, such as general car knowledge, mechanical wisdom, or car salesmanship. In that sense, it’s similar to Gotham Garage, except Iron Resurrection features cars you wouldn’t be embarrassed to drive.