Chris Harris Podcast (Collecting Cars)
Discussion
Always play these in the car when I get the chance and enjoy them.
I also liked the initial format where they had guests on. Loved the ones with David Clark talking about the McLaren F1 days and Simon Kidston talking about his career and the auction of the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut.
Always wanted them to do an interview with Andy Wallace the ex McLaren F1 tester and Bugatti test driver. Must have some brilliant stories.
I also liked the initial format where they had guests on. Loved the ones with David Clark talking about the McLaren F1 days and Simon Kidston talking about his career and the auction of the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut.
Always wanted them to do an interview with Andy Wallace the ex McLaren F1 tester and Bugatti test driver. Must have some brilliant stories.
Enjoyed the "Car Week" item from the lads. Hope it replaces the music section.
Chris Harris telling of his shock at being overtaken by an unusual vehicle was funny also. Keep up the good work and interesting stories!!
That couple of weeks off seems to have helped bring back a liitle of the cheeky energy recently.
Chris Harris telling of his shock at being overtaken by an unusual vehicle was funny also. Keep up the good work and interesting stories!!
That couple of weeks off seems to have helped bring back a liitle of the cheeky energy recently.
Its Just Adz said:
Chris isn't hated on here, is he?
If that was a reference to PH, I’m not sure where it came from. Can’t say I’ve noticed any pattern of CH being ‘hated’.I’d have thought any enthusiast respects him as one of the best motoring journalists out there. Love his content whether it be written or video. Balanced opinion on the motoring world with skills behind the wheel.
I didn’t like the direction of his earlier top gear persona, being forced to be the ‘angry’ one. Happily that eased off as time went on.
20% switch off for the music bit…. Sod them, 80% remain. I enjoy the podcast as it is. Perhaps the odd special in the old interview style would be nice and allows the odd break as a group. For free entertainment, I’m grateful for their time.
Yes if you look back at some of his old articles on PH he does engage with people in the comments, argumentative is what you’d probably call it!
I thought the music section was a strange decision-pandering to the smaller demographic seems an odd choice.
It’s also sounded a little formulaic recently, a little like they’ve ran out of ideas. Everyone has their own little thing that they stick to, it sounds less like some mates having a crack and more like four blokes who’ve pigeon holed themselves into four characters that they need to play.
The repetition of “facility” is a bit like Peter Kay saying “garlic bread”, it was amusing the first time you heard it but getting cheap laughs rarely works twice.
It’s gone from my favourite podcast to being way down the order I’m afraid.
They need to bring in some guests or a few more presenters and rotate the line up if it’s going to go this stale this quickly. Either that or drop the output to once a month which would probably kill it (and lesson the advertising stream to CC).
I thought the music section was a strange decision-pandering to the smaller demographic seems an odd choice.
It’s also sounded a little formulaic recently, a little like they’ve ran out of ideas. Everyone has their own little thing that they stick to, it sounds less like some mates having a crack and more like four blokes who’ve pigeon holed themselves into four characters that they need to play.
The repetition of “facility” is a bit like Peter Kay saying “garlic bread”, it was amusing the first time you heard it but getting cheap laughs rarely works twice.
It’s gone from my favourite podcast to being way down the order I’m afraid.
They need to bring in some guests or a few more presenters and rotate the line up if it’s going to go this stale this quickly. Either that or drop the output to once a month which would probably kill it (and lesson the advertising stream to CC).
Maybe they should have a different guest join them each week, not to be interviewed but just to be one of the gang. Maybe even give one of the regulars a week off every few rotations by substituting them for someone else.
I'd like to see a bit more balance on some things as there are too many tropes ("clear glass, obvs" / buttons on the dash vs on steering wheel / everything on a touch screen is the worst thing possible / 911 is the answer to every "which car" question etc etc). I suppose the listeners are going to be enthusiasts who don't necessarily want to hear about what's new in the latest VW electric thing, or which 2010s diesel estate is best for a 1-car family... but there's a growing "everything was better back in the 1980s/90s" type vibe which gets a bit monochromatic.
I'd like to see a bit more balance on some things as there are too many tropes ("clear glass, obvs" / buttons on the dash vs on steering wheel / everything on a touch screen is the worst thing possible / 911 is the answer to every "which car" question etc etc). I suppose the listeners are going to be enthusiasts who don't necessarily want to hear about what's new in the latest VW electric thing, or which 2010s diesel estate is best for a 1-car family... but there's a growing "everything was better back in the 1980s/90s" type vibe which gets a bit monochromatic.
12TS said:
I think the dislike came from when he used to provide content for ph. I’m not sure if he was supposed to engage with the comments or not but ISTR he did.
I think if I was a journo I’d not read any comments on my stuff. BTL is a load of dross often.
I can't recall any hate for Harris on PH I recall one spat with a poster called Cmoose (IIRC), Harris took him on which I quite liked as he was a very supercilious poster that thought he knew best and would argue endlessly.I think if I was a journo I’d not read any comments on my stuff. BTL is a load of dross often.
ewand said:
Maybe they should have a different guest join them each week, not to be interviewed but just to be one of the gang. Maybe even give one of the regulars a week off every few rotations by substituting them for someone else.
I'd like to see a bit more balance on some things as there are too many tropes ("clear glass, obvs" / buttons on the dash vs on steering wheel / everything on a touch screen is the worst thing possible / 911 is the answer to every "which car" question etc etc). I suppose the listeners are going to be enthusiasts who don't necessarily want to hear about what's new in the latest VW electric thing, or which 2010s diesel estate is best for a 1-car family... but there's a growing "everything was better back in the 1980s/90s" type vibe which gets a bit monochromatic.
They are all middle (or better) class men of a certain age, so it's hardly surprising that their views on certain things are fairly entrenched.I'd like to see a bit more balance on some things as there are too many tropes ("clear glass, obvs" / buttons on the dash vs on steering wheel / everything on a touch screen is the worst thing possible / 911 is the answer to every "which car" question etc etc). I suppose the listeners are going to be enthusiasts who don't necessarily want to hear about what's new in the latest VW electric thing, or which 2010s diesel estate is best for a 1-car family... but there's a growing "everything was better back in the 1980s/90s" type vibe which gets a bit monochromatic.
In many ways it's not dissimilar to PH, in terms of the sort of tropes that get rolled out regularly.
C70R said:
ewand said:
Maybe they should have a different guest join them each week, not to be interviewed but just to be one of the gang. Maybe even give one of the regulars a week off every few rotations by substituting them for someone else.
I'd like to see a bit more balance on some things as there are too many tropes ("clear glass, obvs" / buttons on the dash vs on steering wheel / everything on a touch screen is the worst thing possible / 911 is the answer to every "which car" question etc etc). I suppose the listeners are going to be enthusiasts who don't necessarily want to hear about what's new in the latest VW electric thing, or which 2010s diesel estate is best for a 1-car family... but there's a growing "everything was better back in the 1980s/90s" type vibe which gets a bit monochromatic.
They are all middle (or better) class men of a certain age, so it's hardly surprising that their views on certain things are fairly entrenched.I'd like to see a bit more balance on some things as there are too many tropes ("clear glass, obvs" / buttons on the dash vs on steering wheel / everything on a touch screen is the worst thing possible / 911 is the answer to every "which car" question etc etc). I suppose the listeners are going to be enthusiasts who don't necessarily want to hear about what's new in the latest VW electric thing, or which 2010s diesel estate is best for a 1-car family... but there's a growing "everything was better back in the 1980s/90s" type vibe which gets a bit monochromatic.
In many ways it's not dissimilar to PH, in terms of the sort of tropes that get rolled out regularly.
Its Just Adz said:
Chris isn't hated on here, is he?
Of course not, it’s just like any other internet situation in that everyone who likes him doesn’t find the need to post that at every possible opportunity - the complete opposite to those few who might not necessarily enjoy him as much.It’s still one of my favourites (and I like the music section!).
I do wish they would invest some money into their cameras and microphones as the quality of the YouTube videos are awful in 2023. And because they use Teams/Zoom they often cannot hear each other or walk all over the other persons sentences.
I’d love to spend an evening in a pub listening to Neil, Chris and Harris talking but this is the next best thing. I wish Neil and Chris Cooper would expand on their car collections as they hint at having some real gems.
Paul Dishman said:
That's true, but it's why I enjoy the podcast. I don't care about diesel estates or cheap Chinese electric SUVs, there are other places to find out about such vehicles, but I do like the sort of stuff they go on about. I don't agree with all of it, but I've got similar views and ideas on many of their topics.
Absolutely. It's not 'edge of the seat' excitement stuff for sure. But for me it's nice background noise, akin to sitting in the pub or standing around at a trackday and talking car bore stuff with your mates.Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff