"Classic Car Rescue" Channel 5 on Mon 24th Sep 20:00
Discussion
Just found this posted on the TV headed thread following the same arguements as this thread.
Proves the point but raises more questions as well.
davamer23
27 posts
16 months
[report] [news] 15:07
Update on the MBG being 2 or even 3 different cars, I sent channel 5 questions which I don't have a copy of but along the lines of confirming if indeed the car was the same as the wreck "rescued " from the barn and about the validity of the 2 week restoration claim. This was the reply I recieved:
Dear David
Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding Classic Car Rescue.
While the production team were filming in Canada, the mechanics in London discovered some serious problems with the MGB, midway through the restoration, which meant they felt it might not be entirely safe to drive. Their original plan was to buy a new chassis, which is a common way that people restore MGBs (you can buy an entire new monocoque chassis for just £1000) and build on top of that. But wanting to stick with used parts, they bought another car and used the chassis from that, transferring much of the first MGB, right down to door-handles, and windows. The cost of the second car was included in the figures mentioned and the end result was a combination of the two.
The programme aims to show how Bernie Fineman and Mario Pacione cope with restoration jobs with a “tight deadline and an even tighter budget” in an entertaining fashion while also giving some background into why each selected model is held in the high regard that it is. It is not intended to, and does not claim to, demonstrate the detailed effort and finance that can go into the high end restoration of classic cars.
Nevertheless, this does not diminish the validity of your opinions and we are grateful to you for taking the time to make us aware of your concerns. Your comments have been logged in our Viewer Enquiries Report. This is circulated throughout the company and seen by all relevant personnel.
Thank you for your interest in Channel 5.
Yours sincerely
Ian
VIEWER ADVISOR
Proves the point but raises more questions as well.
davamer23
27 posts
16 months
[report] [news] 15:07
Update on the MBG being 2 or even 3 different cars, I sent channel 5 questions which I don't have a copy of but along the lines of confirming if indeed the car was the same as the wreck "rescued " from the barn and about the validity of the 2 week restoration claim. This was the reply I recieved:
Dear David
Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding Classic Car Rescue.
While the production team were filming in Canada, the mechanics in London discovered some serious problems with the MGB, midway through the restoration, which meant they felt it might not be entirely safe to drive. Their original plan was to buy a new chassis, which is a common way that people restore MGBs (you can buy an entire new monocoque chassis for just £1000) and build on top of that. But wanting to stick with used parts, they bought another car and used the chassis from that, transferring much of the first MGB, right down to door-handles, and windows. The cost of the second car was included in the figures mentioned and the end result was a combination of the two.
The programme aims to show how Bernie Fineman and Mario Pacione cope with restoration jobs with a “tight deadline and an even tighter budget” in an entertaining fashion while also giving some background into why each selected model is held in the high regard that it is. It is not intended to, and does not claim to, demonstrate the detailed effort and finance that can go into the high end restoration of classic cars.
Nevertheless, this does not diminish the validity of your opinions and we are grateful to you for taking the time to make us aware of your concerns. Your comments have been logged in our Viewer Enquiries Report. This is circulated throughout the company and seen by all relevant personnel.
Thank you for your interest in Channel 5.
Yours sincerely
Ian
VIEWER ADVISOR
quiraing said:
Imagine being on seat next to Bernie Squawk on a plane all the way to Canada? Think he'd be found at the end of the flight to have suffocated on account of someone having stuffed his shoes daaaaahn his throat.
worse still a desert island;Not to be undertaken without a tall tree and a short rope.
This is my first ever post on PH, and I mean the following seriously. Channel 5 are guilty of deception and deliberate financial misrepresentation in the programme. In any other activity, this would be the subject of legal proceedings, and I see no reason why they should not be treated the same. They should be charged and prosecuted for this deliberate deception of a programme.
The bona fide classic car industry (restoration, sales, valuataions, auctions) employs thousands of people in the UK, and has a turn over of many millions annually. Proper car restoration is neither cheap not easy, and this industry has worked long and hard to build up a credible image to support the prices that it charges. Those of us in the know well realise that this programme is utter tosh, but sadly to the vast majority it will be swallowed as fact, and has the potential do do considerable harm to the reputations of proper restoration businesses. It is only tolerated as the whole motor industry still suffers under that "geezer" reputaion, which the major brands have tried so long and hard to eradicate.
Can you imagine the reaction if they had made the same sort of programme about, say, property conveyancing? "Nah mate, don't need no fancy lawyer. Just take a picture of the 'ouse, sign a few receipts and send a letter to the council, jobs a good un, innit! £20'll do it mate!" The legal profession would have swatted them like flies and sued them for defamation, and rightly so. Why shouldn't the motor trade react the same?
The real irony is that the same people who are churning out this dross like nothing better than the "trial by television" of dodgy builders and garages, in stuff like "Watchdog" and "Cowboy Builders". Double standards or what?
The bona fide classic car industry (restoration, sales, valuataions, auctions) employs thousands of people in the UK, and has a turn over of many millions annually. Proper car restoration is neither cheap not easy, and this industry has worked long and hard to build up a credible image to support the prices that it charges. Those of us in the know well realise that this programme is utter tosh, but sadly to the vast majority it will be swallowed as fact, and has the potential do do considerable harm to the reputations of proper restoration businesses. It is only tolerated as the whole motor industry still suffers under that "geezer" reputaion, which the major brands have tried so long and hard to eradicate.
Can you imagine the reaction if they had made the same sort of programme about, say, property conveyancing? "Nah mate, don't need no fancy lawyer. Just take a picture of the 'ouse, sign a few receipts and send a letter to the council, jobs a good un, innit! £20'll do it mate!" The legal profession would have swatted them like flies and sued them for defamation, and rightly so. Why shouldn't the motor trade react the same?
The real irony is that the same people who are churning out this dross like nothing better than the "trial by television" of dodgy builders and garages, in stuff like "Watchdog" and "Cowboy Builders". Double standards or what?
Johnny Cayman said:
This is my first ever post on PH, and I mean the following seriously. Channel 5 are guilty of deception and deliberate financial misrepresentation in the programme. In any other activity, this would be the subject of legal proceedings, and I see no reason why they should not be treated the same. They should be charged and prosecuted for this deliberate deception of a programme.
The bona fide classic car industry (restoration, sales, valuataions, auctions) employs thousands of people in the UK, and has a turn over of many millions annually. Proper car restoration is neither cheap not easy, and this industry has worked long and hard to build up a credible image to support the prices that it charges. Those of us in the know well realise that this programme is utter tosh, but sadly to the vast majority it will be swallowed as fact, and has the potential do do considerable harm to the reputations of proper restoration businesses. It is only tolerated as the whole motor industry still suffers under that "geezer" reputaion, which the major brands have tried so long and hard to eradicate.
Can you imagine the reaction if they had made the same sort of programme about, say, property conveyancing? "Nah mate, don't need no fancy lawyer. Just take a picture of the 'ouse, sign a few receipts and send a letter to the council, jobs a good un, innit! £20'll do it mate!" The legal profession would have swatted them like flies and sued them for defamation, and rightly so. Why shouldn't the motor trade react the same?
The real irony is that the same people who are churning out this dross like nothing better than the "trial by television" of dodgy builders and garages, in stuff like "Watchdog" and "Cowboy Builders". Double standards or what?
Agree with you 100%. Most of my friends in the classic car community see this program as total dross that undermines the industry.The bona fide classic car industry (restoration, sales, valuataions, auctions) employs thousands of people in the UK, and has a turn over of many millions annually. Proper car restoration is neither cheap not easy, and this industry has worked long and hard to build up a credible image to support the prices that it charges. Those of us in the know well realise that this programme is utter tosh, but sadly to the vast majority it will be swallowed as fact, and has the potential do do considerable harm to the reputations of proper restoration businesses. It is only tolerated as the whole motor industry still suffers under that "geezer" reputaion, which the major brands have tried so long and hard to eradicate.
Can you imagine the reaction if they had made the same sort of programme about, say, property conveyancing? "Nah mate, don't need no fancy lawyer. Just take a picture of the 'ouse, sign a few receipts and send a letter to the council, jobs a good un, innit! £20'll do it mate!" The legal profession would have swatted them like flies and sued them for defamation, and rightly so. Why shouldn't the motor trade react the same?
The real irony is that the same people who are churning out this dross like nothing better than the "trial by television" of dodgy builders and garages, in stuff like "Watchdog" and "Cowboy Builders". Double standards or what?
Perhaps if they just did their botched up "restorations" without resorting to falsifying the vehicles and the cost it could be tolerated as "entertainment" for those that like that sort of thing.
Johnny Cayman said:
This is my first ever post on PH, and I mean the following seriously. Channel 5 are guilty of deception and deliberate financial misrepresentation in the programme. In any other activity, this would be the subject of legal proceedings, and I see no reason why they should not be treated the same. They should be charged and prosecuted for this deliberate deception of a programme.
The bona fide classic car industry (restoration, sales, valuataions, auctions) employs thousands of people in the UK, and has a turn over of many millions annually. Proper car restoration is neither cheap not easy, and this industry has worked long and hard to build up a credible image to support the prices that it charges. Those of us in the know well realise that this programme is utter tosh, but sadly to the vast majority it will be swallowed as fact, and has the potential do do considerable harm to the reputations of proper restoration businesses. It is only tolerated as the whole motor industry still suffers under that "geezer" reputaion, which the major brands have tried so long and hard to eradicate.
Can you imagine the reaction if they had made the same sort of programme about, say, property conveyancing? "Nah mate, don't need no fancy lawyer. Just take a picture of the 'ouse, sign a few receipts and send a letter to the council, jobs a good un, innit! £20'll do it mate!" The legal profession would have swatted them like flies and sued them for defamation, and rightly so. Why shouldn't the motor trade react the same?
The real irony is that the same people who are churning out this dross like nothing better than the "trial by television" of dodgy builders and garages, in stuff like "Watchdog" and "Cowboy Builders". Double standards or what?
See my post of Wednesday. Professional restoration companies should take out a class action.The bona fide classic car industry (restoration, sales, valuataions, auctions) employs thousands of people in the UK, and has a turn over of many millions annually. Proper car restoration is neither cheap not easy, and this industry has worked long and hard to build up a credible image to support the prices that it charges. Those of us in the know well realise that this programme is utter tosh, but sadly to the vast majority it will be swallowed as fact, and has the potential do do considerable harm to the reputations of proper restoration businesses. It is only tolerated as the whole motor industry still suffers under that "geezer" reputaion, which the major brands have tried so long and hard to eradicate.
Can you imagine the reaction if they had made the same sort of programme about, say, property conveyancing? "Nah mate, don't need no fancy lawyer. Just take a picture of the 'ouse, sign a few receipts and send a letter to the council, jobs a good un, innit! £20'll do it mate!" The legal profession would have swatted them like flies and sued them for defamation, and rightly so. Why shouldn't the motor trade react the same?
The real irony is that the same people who are churning out this dross like nothing better than the "trial by television" of dodgy builders and garages, in stuff like "Watchdog" and "Cowboy Builders". Double standards or what?
Has anyone contacted Ofcom yet?
Nothing will be done unless enough people write to them about how this programme could be harming those in the classic car industry.
There was over 1000 complaints to Ofcom when a 'producer' was seen talking to Louis Walsh minutes before making a controversial decision.
This however could be seen as 'defamation' of an industry as Johnny states. I would think if there was a serious enough case/letter put together an inquiry would ensue.
http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/
Nothing will be done unless enough people write to them about how this programme could be harming those in the classic car industry.
There was over 1000 complaints to Ofcom when a 'producer' was seen talking to Louis Walsh minutes before making a controversial decision.
This however could be seen as 'defamation' of an industry as Johnny states. I would think if there was a serious enough case/letter put together an inquiry would ensue.
http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/
PiloteHuitNeuf said:
Has anyone contacted Ofcom yet?
Nothing will be done unless enough people write to them about how this programme could be harming those in the classic car industry.
There was over 1000 complaints to Ofcom when a 'producer' was seen talking to Louis Walsh minutes before making a controversial decision.
This however could be seen as 'defamation' of an industry as Johnny states. I would think if there was a serious enough case/letter put together an inquiry would ensue.
http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/
How?Nothing will be done unless enough people write to them about how this programme could be harming those in the classic car industry.
There was over 1000 complaints to Ofcom when a 'producer' was seen talking to Louis Walsh minutes before making a controversial decision.
This however could be seen as 'defamation' of an industry as Johnny states. I would think if there was a serious enough case/letter put together an inquiry would ensue.
http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/
At which point do they state that this is how all of the restoration industry operates?
At which point do they state that what you see them doing is the correct method?
Are they claiming to be expert classic car restorers at the top of their profession?
It's blatantly obvious that this is a show based around classic cars that has been made purely for entertainment reasons, not as an in-depth course on the correct method of restoring classic cars.
It's also obvious that you only see certain portions of how the cars were repaired/"restored" that were deemed to be entertaining. We don't actually get to see any of the mundane repairs or preparations that really goes into these cars, so you're all judging the cars on face value!
How many of you have actually examined these cars in person before deciding that they are only worthy for the crusher?
I'm sure you'd all love to have your classic cars judged in a similar manner! - "I saw that car on telly and trust me- it's crap!, should go to the crusher!"
(BTW, how many classic car owners can guarantee that the paint on their car has never been removed with a grinder at sometime in the past either?
)Did you all complain to Ofcom about programmes such as "DIY SOS" because it gave the impression you could renovate a property in 48 hours?, or complain that they took short-cuts?
Do you all complain to Ofcom about "Cowboy Builders" because it gives all builders a bad name and also gives the impression that you can simply go to a DIY store and get goods for free?
Do you all complain to Ofcom because "Big Brother" isn't really a true experiment into human behaviour?
How about complaining that "EastEnders" and "Coronation Street" do not truly represent life in their respective locations?
Do you all complain to Ofcom because you were misled by a Top Gear review? (Actually, this one is quite likely thinking about it!)
As I say, the whole show is purely for entertainment purposes, nothing more nothing less!, stop getting your knickers in such a twist by taking it so seriously!, if it fails to entertain you, there are plenty of other channels available, simply stop watching!
(Thinking about it, Why don't some of you guys write in to the TV companies and offer to make your own show about restoring cars? - It would be fun to see just how entertaining your programmes would be and how many viewers you'd pull in!)
If people keep telling us to 'watch another channel if you don't like it' etc, there will be f
k all left to watch !
We pay enough in Cable and licence fees not to have to put up with a constant stream of dumbed down trash.
No wonder our country is getting left behind by others if 'entertainment' fit only for Chimpanzees is thought to be our required staple TV diet and anything remotely intelligent and educational is considered only of interest to minorities...including our children, the country's future academics, entrepreneurs and captains of industry.
...Not asking for the world, just a SLIGHT effort from the producers.
k all left to watch !We pay enough in Cable and licence fees not to have to put up with a constant stream of dumbed down trash.
No wonder our country is getting left behind by others if 'entertainment' fit only for Chimpanzees is thought to be our required staple TV diet and anything remotely intelligent and educational is considered only of interest to minorities...including our children, the country's future academics, entrepreneurs and captains of industry.
...Not asking for the world, just a SLIGHT effort from the producers.
4rephill said:
How?
At which point do they state that this is how all of the restoration industry operates?
At which point do they state that what you see them doing is the correct method?
Are they claiming to be expert classic car restorers at the top of their profession?
It's blatantly obvious that this is a show based around classic cars that has been made purely for entertainment reasons, not as an in-depth course on the correct method of restoring classic cars.
It's also obvious that you only see certain portions of how the cars were repaired/"restored" that were deemed to be entertaining. We don't actually get to see any of the mundane repairs or preparations that really goes into these cars, so you're all judging the cars on face value!
How many of you have actually examined these cars in person before deciding that they are only worthy for the crusher?
I'm sure you'd all love to have your classic cars judged in a similar manner! - "I saw that car on telly and trust me- it's crap!, should go to the crusher!"
(BTW, how many classic car owners can guarantee that the paint on their car has never been removed with a grinder at sometime in the past either? )
Did you all complain to Ofcom about programmes such as "DIY SOS" because it gave the impression you could renovate a property in 48 hours?, or complain that they took short-cuts?
Do you all complain to Ofcom about "Cowboy Builders" because it gives all builders a bad name and also gives the impression that you can simply go to a DIY store and get goods for free?
Do you all complain to Ofcom because "Big Brother" isn't really a true experiment into human behaviour?
How about complaining that "EastEnders" and "Coronation Street" do not truly represent life in their respective locations?
Do you all complain to Ofcom because you were misled by a Top Gear review? (Actually, this one is quite likely thinking about it!)
As I say, the whole show is purely for entertainment purposes, nothing more nothing less!, stop getting your knickers in such a twist by taking it so seriously!, if it fails to entertain you, there are plenty of other channels available, simply stop watching!
(Thinking about it, Why don't some of you guys write in to the TV companies and offer to make your own show about restoring cars? - It would be fun to see just how entertaining your programmes would be and how many viewers you'd pull in!)
to put it simply, this is a CAR forum.. not a house renovation etc forum, so you are likely to get complaints about an alledged CAR orientated programme.At which point do they state that this is how all of the restoration industry operates?
At which point do they state that what you see them doing is the correct method?
Are they claiming to be expert classic car restorers at the top of their profession?
It's blatantly obvious that this is a show based around classic cars that has been made purely for entertainment reasons, not as an in-depth course on the correct method of restoring classic cars.
It's also obvious that you only see certain portions of how the cars were repaired/"restored" that were deemed to be entertaining. We don't actually get to see any of the mundane repairs or preparations that really goes into these cars, so you're all judging the cars on face value!
How many of you have actually examined these cars in person before deciding that they are only worthy for the crusher?
I'm sure you'd all love to have your classic cars judged in a similar manner! - "I saw that car on telly and trust me- it's crap!, should go to the crusher!"
(BTW, how many classic car owners can guarantee that the paint on their car has never been removed with a grinder at sometime in the past either?
)Did you all complain to Ofcom about programmes such as "DIY SOS" because it gave the impression you could renovate a property in 48 hours?, or complain that they took short-cuts?
Do you all complain to Ofcom about "Cowboy Builders" because it gives all builders a bad name and also gives the impression that you can simply go to a DIY store and get goods for free?
Do you all complain to Ofcom because "Big Brother" isn't really a true experiment into human behaviour?
How about complaining that "EastEnders" and "Coronation Street" do not truly represent life in their respective locations?
Do you all complain to Ofcom because you were misled by a Top Gear review? (Actually, this one is quite likely thinking about it!)
As I say, the whole show is purely for entertainment purposes, nothing more nothing less!, stop getting your knickers in such a twist by taking it so seriously!, if it fails to entertain you, there are plenty of other channels available, simply stop watching!
(Thinking about it, Why don't some of you guys write in to the TV companies and offer to make your own show about restoring cars? - It would be fun to see just how entertaining your programmes would be and how many viewers you'd pull in!)
Dumbing down programming to this level is unforgivable and if no one complains more will be made.
I do love this "holier than thou" approach to the classic car industry. You mean, all the restorers are 100% honest and truthful, and always do the job to the n'th degree? C'mon, get real. I've seen a series of bills where someone paid for 60lbs of filler during a restoration (added bit by bit every month so he didn't notice), I've seen an XK140 bootlid so heavy with lead the stay couldn't hold it upright and I needed both hands to even lift it - and those are the minor items. Chicken wire and filler, sawdust in the rear axle to quieten it, and even today dangerous repairs such as Nylocs being used instead of Steelocs on brakes. I've seen deposits taken to build a replica and a week later the proprietor of said garage had disappeared with the £15,000 deposit.
This programme is a heap of merde, we all agree on that, but talk of a "class action" is crass stupidity. There are good and there are the awful, but do you want to go into licencing and "qualified restorers" and all that? It won't work, just like the Guild of Master Craftsmen; they take your money, you display the badge so people will have confidence in you, and they rip you off. None of these so-called "governing bodies" make the slightest difference - just look at the trouble the Financial Services Authority have got us into.
This programme is a heap of merde, we all agree on that, but talk of a "class action" is crass stupidity. There are good and there are the awful, but do you want to go into licencing and "qualified restorers" and all that? It won't work, just like the Guild of Master Craftsmen; they take your money, you display the badge so people will have confidence in you, and they rip you off. None of these so-called "governing bodies" make the slightest difference - just look at the trouble the Financial Services Authority have got us into.
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff