Chris Harris must modernise and up his game
Discussion
I do find chris Harris video's entertaining and i do think he is a likeable chap.
HOWEVER.. im increasingly watching his videos and wondering when he will actually criticicse anything on the car. I mean , can you recall the last time he said that a car he had been paid to go and review was actually not very good ??
I wonder if he is just pandering to the manufacturers that are funding his visits and drives instead of really telling us that something is crap !
HOWEVER.. im increasingly watching his videos and wondering when he will actually criticicse anything on the car. I mean , can you recall the last time he said that a car he had been paid to go and review was actually not very good ??
I wonder if he is just pandering to the manufacturers that are funding his visits and drives instead of really telling us that something is crap !
He does often Criticise cars however they're usually not in videos.
Lambo for example currently won't lend him any cars as the last time he drove one he remarked that all lambos are the same and they all understeer... So it does happen but it wouldn't make a very good video to hear how much he is hating his current experience being in said car.
Also he has often voiced his dislike of the Mx5
Lambo for example currently won't lend him any cars as the last time he drove one he remarked that all lambos are the same and they all understeer... So it does happen but it wouldn't make a very good video to hear how much he is hating his current experience being in said car.
Also he has often voiced his dislike of the Mx5
jl34 said:
I do find chris Harris video's entertaining and i do think he is a likeable chap.
HOWEVER.. im increasingly watching his videos and wondering when he will actually criticicse anything on the car. I mean , can you recall the last time he said that a car he had been paid to go and review was actually not very good ??
I wonder if he is just pandering to the manufacturers that are funding his visits and drives instead of really telling us that something is crap !
The whole concept of watching objective car reviews on a small youtube channel is fundamentally broken. HOWEVER.. im increasingly watching his videos and wondering when he will actually criticicse anything on the car. I mean , can you recall the last time he said that a car he had been paid to go and review was actually not very good ??
I wonder if he is just pandering to the manufacturers that are funding his visits and drives instead of really telling us that something is crap !
Reviewers rely on the manufacturers to provide the cars so they won't bite the hand that feeds them. CH did some good reviews when he was paid by /Drive... that was the last time he pointed out flaws in cars by the way. RS3, RS4, etc.
Car manufacturers love it because the reviewers simply censor themselves to stay relevant.
Granted he rants about Lamborghini all the time but I haven't seen a single one of these cars on his "new" channel so that only proves the point.
Youtube is good for entertainment but I'll turn to magazines like sport auto to get the facts.
I think Harris' videos are generally ace, as are his articles. A good balance of entertainment with anorak knowledge and experience.
However, the content is too infrequent. I was a paid up member of Drive+ until he left (which required me to use a second Google account which was a huge pain in the arse), and I was a paid up Patreon as soon as that opened up. I ended up closing that payment a month or two back because the content just got too sparse to justify the spend. Afterwards the hypercar trio video came up, but I sadly havent had time to watch it, Ill get round to that this week.
In the meantime I have however watched loads of quickfire videos from loads of other car guys, no favourites, because they fit into the "I have five minutes free to watch a video" mindset.
If it were once a week updates, one full fat video and one or two infobites then Id quite happily return to paying for the product. Chris is a much better writer and driver than just about any of the other 'youtubers' available and Id much rather watch him than them.
However, the content is too infrequent. I was a paid up member of Drive+ until he left (which required me to use a second Google account which was a huge pain in the arse), and I was a paid up Patreon as soon as that opened up. I ended up closing that payment a month or two back because the content just got too sparse to justify the spend. Afterwards the hypercar trio video came up, but I sadly havent had time to watch it, Ill get round to that this week.
In the meantime I have however watched loads of quickfire videos from loads of other car guys, no favourites, because they fit into the "I have five minutes free to watch a video" mindset.
If it were once a week updates, one full fat video and one or two infobites then Id quite happily return to paying for the product. Chris is a much better writer and driver than just about any of the other 'youtubers' available and Id much rather watch him than them.
Samjeev said:
Also he has often voiced his dislike of the Mx5
I think with that he may be trying to be controversial or is just used to much more expensive cars perhaps, of course it will be a bit underwhelming compared to Hypercars, of course he can be objective but I think it only goes so far when you are used to having your face distorted and lungs crushed. EricE said:
The whole concept of watching objective car reviews on a small youtube channel is fundamentally broken.
Reviewers rely on the manufacturers to provide the cars so they won't bite the hand that feeds them.
TBF, two of his best reviews, ever, IMHO were both of his own cars; his 2CV and his 997.2 GT3RS winter hibernation piece. (Granted the 911 would not be wholly independent of Porsche UK.)Reviewers rely on the manufacturers to provide the cars so they won't bite the hand that feeds them.
CS Garth said:
I'm a broad church kind of guy but non-ownership of a socket set is almost indefensible. You'd have a have a large amount of other "hallmarks" of a car enthusiast to make up for this.
We live in an age where new drivers may never see a spare wheel, and sealed power units are no doubt around the corner. Things are a changin'.balls-out said:
God help this self obsessed generation. I really DON'T want to watch videos about the life of Youtubers. I want to see cars.
Mass appeal often means sinking to the lowest common denominator
First reply nailed it.Mass appeal often means sinking to the lowest common denominator
The day Chris Harris starts uploading daily videos about going to have his haircut or getting his car wrapped in a vile colour with 'WOW!!', 'OMG!!' or 'FAST!!' slapped on the video video thumbnail is the day I'll stop watching his content.
Of course the more lucrative business model is catering to the lowest common denominator. I'd like to think that doesn't apply to lot of PH members hence I've no desire to see him stoop that low.
Quality > Quantity.
My remedy to all of the above is too dip into http://petrolicious.com/films on a regular basis
What I love about this channel is the sheer diversity of cars and owners, the great filmography and the enthusiasm of the owners. The videos are just the right length and the cars and owners are the stars, not a presenter with an agenda trying to raise his or hers personal brand.
It would be great to have a UK version of this channel, I wonder????….
What I love about this channel is the sheer diversity of cars and owners, the great filmography and the enthusiasm of the owners. The videos are just the right length and the cars and owners are the stars, not a presenter with an agenda trying to raise his or hers personal brand.
It would be great to have a UK version of this channel, I wonder????….
jl34 said:
HOWEVER.. im increasingly watching his videos and wondering when he will actually criticicse anything on the car. I mean , can you recall the last time he said that a car he had been paid to go and review was actually not very good ??
I haven't got my sound on (at work) but I seem to recall he wasn't very happy with the RS3 in this clip 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xwecTp91-oR8VXF said:
J4CKO said:
Good luck to him, I would rather be making videos about Supercars than sat here coaxing a SQL Server to run a badly written query I am not allowed to change, CROSS JOINS FFS !
Oh b
ks, I said I was out till you mentioned that! Just trying to work out why one of my DB servers has its CPU pegged to 100% at the mo!
otolith said:
R8VXF said:
J4CKO said:
Good luck to him, I would rather be making videos about Supercars than sat here coaxing a SQL Server to run a badly written query I am not allowed to change, CROSS JOINS FFS !
Oh bks, I said I was out till you mentioned that! Just trying to work out why one of my DB servers has its CPU pegged to 100% at the mo!
Sorry, but that just cheered me up 
I do feel your pain though.Streetrod said:
I have often defended Shmee on here mainly because a lot of people get the facts wrong especially about how he funds his cars. He knows what his audience wants and delivers it better than almost anyone in the field, why else would manufacturers be willing to lend him their high products to play with.
But I do have an issue with his content, and that is that he might as well be quoting from a manufacturer’s brochure. Shmee never ever criticises anything he drives. It’s like he is trying to set himself up as an online marketing company which is why I think manufacturers are happy to lend him whatever he asks for, he will never give them bad press and they will get a lot of free publicity.
It is also evident from his video’s that he little of no knowledge of the history of cars. I have lost count of the times he has walked past a significant classic or race car or is stumped unless he reads what it is on a show stand.
And whilst I am having a pop, for guy with such great cars at his disposal I wish he would learn to drive better. He made a massive thing about his GT4 having a manual transmission and how interactive it is but has failed to learn how to heal and toe to get the most out of it, preferring to let the auto blip do it for him. Maybe it’s just me.
I suspect Shmee does not even own a basic socket set and would have a hard time identifying even a minor ailment on one of his cars but this is probably a generational thing
At the end of the day I think he is a nice guy, and you can’t deign that for someone who has not yet hit 30 he has done well for himself. But as he gets older he is going to need to raise his game. Kids have short attention spans, it won’t take much for them to switch their elegancies to the next younger more relatable and up and coming youtuber
As for Harris, I have a huge amount of respect, I think he is the petrol heads petrol head.
Having read this thread, this is the response that strikes most true to my feelings on the issue.But I do have an issue with his content, and that is that he might as well be quoting from a manufacturer’s brochure. Shmee never ever criticises anything he drives. It’s like he is trying to set himself up as an online marketing company which is why I think manufacturers are happy to lend him whatever he asks for, he will never give them bad press and they will get a lot of free publicity.
It is also evident from his video’s that he little of no knowledge of the history of cars. I have lost count of the times he has walked past a significant classic or race car or is stumped unless he reads what it is on a show stand.
And whilst I am having a pop, for guy with such great cars at his disposal I wish he would learn to drive better. He made a massive thing about his GT4 having a manual transmission and how interactive it is but has failed to learn how to heal and toe to get the most out of it, preferring to let the auto blip do it for him. Maybe it’s just me.
I suspect Shmee does not even own a basic socket set and would have a hard time identifying even a minor ailment on one of his cars but this is probably a generational thing
At the end of the day I think he is a nice guy, and you can’t deign that for someone who has not yet hit 30 he has done well for himself. But as he gets older he is going to need to raise his game. Kids have short attention spans, it won’t take much for them to switch their elegancies to the next younger more relatable and up and coming youtuber
As for Harris, I have a huge amount of respect, I think he is the petrol heads petrol head.
Edited by Streetrod on Monday 21st December 13:56
I’m not going to question whether or not Tim is a nice chap as I have every confidence that he is. That said, his content is not something I watch as I find “the supercar lifestyle,” a little grating and it’s all very polite about the subject of the review.
Harris’ content, to my mind, is wonderful. The production values to which the P1, 918 & LaF film were made were sensational and yet he has balance to tell us about his 2CV, in another film. He’s also remembered the appeal of the utterly absurd with the “Bread,” 512TR video.
Both are playing to entirely separate markets; I guess I fall on the CH side of the fence.
otolith said:
R8VXF said:
J4CKO said:
Good luck to him, I would rather be making videos about Supercars than sat here coaxing a SQL Server to run a badly written query I am not allowed to change, CROSS JOINS FFS !
Oh bks, I said I was out till you mentioned that! Just trying to work out why one of my DB servers has its CPU pegged to 100% at the mo!Streetrod said:
My remedy to all of the above is too dip into http://petrolicious.com/films on a regular basis
What I love about this channel is the sheer diversity of cars and owners, the great filmography and the enthusiasm of the owners. The videos are just the right length and the cars and owners are the stars, not a presenter with an agenda trying to raise his or hers personal brand.
It would be great to have a UK version of this channel, I wonder????….
What I love about this channel is the sheer diversity of cars and owners, the great filmography and the enthusiasm of the owners. The videos are just the right length and the cars and owners are the stars, not a presenter with an agenda trying to raise his or hers personal brand.
It would be great to have a UK version of this channel, I wonder????….
- I felt the same ( see post earlier )Gear98 did a brilliantly filmed one on the AE86 as well
http://youtu.be/MjKN0Ummc6M
One of the best I've seen this year....a world away from Smee for me personally
R8VXF said:
Sorry, but that just cheered me up I do feel your pain though.mwstewart said:
I need some DBAs for a 12c upgrade on Exadata. Come and do it for me
I've just hired a minion so once he's trained up I won't have to deal with this crap anymore!I don't think some people on here really understand Youtube as a medium. So, because CH spends more time and money on production and his content, he deserves to be more successful than Shmee because he only uses a handheld camera and films himself? The majority or the biggest Youtube channels/personalities (now worth millions) probably started with a cheap camera and gained their audience with their personalities, not their production costs.
I think Chris Harris is okay. Not much originality though. Most of his videos are either standard press reviews that generic car mags have also filmed in the same settings, or relatively basic reviews at Anglesey or that go-kart track he uses. If you want generic reviews, Evo is the best channel for that in my opinion. CH's channel won't survive with 1 upload a month. Youtube nowadays is quantity over quality - views snowball. It's a social network more than a video platform, and people check it every day like they do with Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. If I log onto YT right now, I'll probably see a new, 10+ minute Shmee150 video. I have to wait a month to see CH do that.
I think Chris Harris is okay. Not much originality though. Most of his videos are either standard press reviews that generic car mags have also filmed in the same settings, or relatively basic reviews at Anglesey or that go-kart track he uses. If you want generic reviews, Evo is the best channel for that in my opinion. CH's channel won't survive with 1 upload a month. Youtube nowadays is quantity over quality - views snowball. It's a social network more than a video platform, and people check it every day like they do with Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. If I log onto YT right now, I'll probably see a new, 10+ minute Shmee150 video. I have to wait a month to see CH do that.
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