Edd China Speaks out about leaving Wheeler Dealers

"Tareim - V8 powered" (tareimgaml) 03/21/2017 at 14:12 • Filed to: Wheeler Dealers

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Just saw the post below about Edd leaving WD and then a tweet popped up with a link to this youtube video, I must say I think he showed integrity and was probably the best decision

In case you can’t watch the video here is a synopsis

Velocity wanted to cut down the coverage of the detailed work that Edd did because they found it too difficult to make the show in it’s current format and he wasn’t happy with that so he left

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 14:14

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for someone who cant watch videos at work, whats the explanation?

Jerry Harding > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/21/2017 at 14:18

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The further dumbing down of automotive programming. His scenes were hard to shoot and very detailed. Edd didn’t want to compromise them but the new production company wanted to make those scenes less detailed.

Tareim - V8 powered > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/21/2017 at 14:18

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Velocity wanted to cut down the coverage of the detailed work that Edd did because they found it too difficult to make the show in it’s current format and he wasn’t happy with that so he left

Party-vi > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/21/2017 at 14:22

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Discovery/Velocity took over, kicked out the original production company and tried reducing focus on the garage work portion of the show to cut costs. Edd wasn’t having it.

Die-Trying > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/21/2017 at 14:23

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they wanted to tone down the in depth detailed quality fixes that ed does, and cut production costs, and ed said to do that without him....... get crackin bro.....

ttyymmnn > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/21/2017 at 14:24

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Velocity took over the production of the show, and minimized the portions of the show that covered the actual wrenching on the cars. (Which, for me, was by far the best part. I learned a ton watching Edd fix and explain things.) But Edd felt that cutting down those parts of the show “compromise the quality of my work and would erode my integrity as well as that of the show.” So he has taken the difficult decision of letting Velocity “get on with it” without him. The rest of it is Edd saying wonderful things about the show in general, and giving credit where it is due—to the original producers and the fans. He also had good things to say about his replacement. And he’s going to start putting stuff on his Edd China YouTube site.

Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud > Jerry Harding 03/21/2017 at 14:25

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i hardly watch velocity as it is, its turning into “murican muscle restoration channel.”

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > ttyymmnn 03/21/2017 at 14:26

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so he left for almost the same reason Aaron left gas monkey garage, the tv started to overtake the wrenching too much basically

CalzoneGolem > Party-vi 03/21/2017 at 14:27

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I’m confused as to how they think this would reduce costs.

Party-vi > CalzoneGolem 03/21/2017 at 14:30

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The garage work was very detail oriented (my favorite part of the show) and probably took a lot of camera work and time to film. It’s not like Edd would pull an engine and then have a new one already rebuilt for TV sitting next to it; they would need to film him tearing the old one down, getting parts, and reassembling it. That’s a lot to film edit and process for the show, not to mention the actual time it would take to rebuild an engine.

McMike > Party-vi 03/21/2017 at 14:31

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If they are cutting down on the garage footage, what are we going to be left with? Mike sitting surfing the internet for parts and more cracking motors?

Sounds like a 30 minute program. Pimp My Ride was 30 minutes.

Jerry Harding > Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud 03/21/2017 at 14:31

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It does seem to be trending that way. I loved Edd’s segments. I thought they were truly some of the best automotive clips on TV. I’ve got some episodes of Legendary Motorcar on the DVR from this season that I have yet to watch. That show has some good moments. And Chasing Classic Cars still remains a good show, in my opinion. But overall, Velocity and Discovery’s automotive programming has trended to more “reality” TV and less wrenching.

Party-vi > McMike 03/21/2017 at 14:32

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I’m thinking Pimp My Ride repairs without the stereos and goldfish tanks.

ttyymmnn > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/21/2017 at 14:33

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It would seem so. My guess sis that Discovery/Velocity are trying to make the show more interesting to a wider range of audience. But they are forgetting their core audience in the process.

CalzoneGolem > Party-vi 03/21/2017 at 14:33

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I didn’t think about it that way. This makes sense to me now.

Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud > Jerry Harding 03/21/2017 at 14:34

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yea, im hating the new car shows popping up across the board

ttyymmnn > CalzoneGolem 03/21/2017 at 14:36

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I imagine that they spent many hours in the garage, while paying the cameraman, sound man, grips, etc. for what amounted to a proportionally small amount of actual screen time. The stuff with Mike could be done in one, maybe two takes while Edd’s work took hours and hours to film. But that’s just a guess.

duurtlang > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 14:37

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Good for Edd. Maybe he should’ve bailed earlier, but that’s in hindsight. The first series where the best, the quality dropped when the budget (both for the show and for the cars) went up. It got dumbed down. When they went to the US I lost interest (not because of the US).

McMike > Party-vi 03/21/2017 at 14:39

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For all we know, Mike Brewer has been pushing for those things and Edd was the only thing stopping it.

CalzoneGolem > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 14:40

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TIL Edd has a Youtube channel. A very sad Youtube channel

someassemblyrequired > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 14:45

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Best part of Wheeler Dealers was Edd’s segments, as he had lots of tips for those of us who sometimes swing a wrench. Hope he’ll be out there making something new, don’t think he’ll be sitting around for long.

Tareim - V8 powered > CalzoneGolem 03/21/2017 at 14:45

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hopefully it will get better now that he will have extra time to dedicate to other projects

Tareim - V8 powered > someassemblyrequired 03/21/2017 at 14:47

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yeah, I didn’t really care for Mike’s parts, always liked Edd’s parts as he would cover the usual issues on some cars

someassemblyrequired > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 14:52

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Mike obviously knows how to track down a car, but yeah, Edd was great at explaining things and pointing out typical issues. I’m hoping he does a similar show (kinda like TG vs. Grand Tour). A project car rescue show with Ed would be amazing, as long as the talk with the owner was like 60seconds of a 60 minute show.

CalzoneGolem > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 15:04

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Yeah he says as much in the video. I’d love to watch more of Edd’s mad science.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 15:17

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Nooooooooo

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 15:20

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Edd WAS wheeler dealers, I could more easily stomach mike leaving than him. I loved the show (and I mean I really did I’ve been watching it for ten years) because I learned from it. Without that show I’d genuinely know less about cars. I like the new presenter and his work, but if they are cutting down the technical knowledge, I wont be watching. I mean what else is there to it? Mike buying stuff and the drive. Those are fun but only in the context of the hard work it took to get there.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Party-vi 03/21/2017 at 15:21

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So. Basically we americans took something awesome and we ruined it. Great.

Seriously, WD was too good to be true. It couldn’t last.

Takuro Spirit > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 15:27

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Man, America ruins EVERY great car show >:(

Tareim - V8 powered > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/21/2017 at 15:33

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yeah without the technical stuff that Edd did then there really isn’t much to the show at all

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 15:33

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I loved Edd’s segments. It was so grounded to reality. Screw Mike.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 15:36

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I like the new presenter and he has the ability to do a fantastic job. For the love of cars was really watchable. However if what edd says is true, he wont really be given a chance to succeed by the production company.

Tareim - V8 powered > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/21/2017 at 15:39

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I’ve not seen much of his work but would agree that he would do a good job but doubt he will be given the opportunity

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 16:39

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Well deleting that off the DVR. Edd was all I watched on the show.

Scott > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 16:50

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What a stupid decision. Other than Top Gear and now The Grand Tour, Wheeler Dealer was one of the most watched and successful car shows. It ’ s so often cited as the show that other car shows should look to for what works. If they really needed it in a half hour format, they should go back to the original 2 30 min episode format. For some of their bigger jobs I ’ ve often felt 2 1 hour episodes would be better. You can often see that huge amounts of Edd ’ s work did not make the cut. While I won ’ t be so bold as to say no one will complain if it reverted back to 2, 30min episodes, I think most people would take it as a sign of understanding the following the show has. To edit out the parts of the show that are the largest reason people tune in clearly means the management at Velocity is clueless about what makes Wheeler Dealers successful.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/21/2017 at 16:56

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Pretty much Discovery is looking at how they can get coporate money from the show. Same thing they did with American Chopper, Fast and Loud and Overhauling. They cancelled Overhauling the 1st time when Chip said during Speed’s coverage of Barret Jackson that the car he was selling “Wasn’t we we cut corners on and slapped together in a Week”

orca17 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 03/21/2017 at 17:09

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As an American who is both a huge fan of the show and who prefers the UK-made episodes, this really saddens me. There was no need for them to come Stateside, as there are enough shows here that show auto restorations. I enjoyed seeing cars that I don’t see very often, or that weren’t sold here at all. Wheeler Dealers got it right when they cut out the self-indulgent section from the early shows when Mike would meet up with someone who owned a pristine example of whatever they were restoring, so he could thrash it around on a runway and yell. Edd’s parts of the show were the only reason that I watched. Even my wife, who is by no means car savvy, began watching the shows because Edd’s explanations made technical things understandable for those of us who aren’t automotive engineers.

The new guy (who I don’t know, but Brits apparently do) is apparently very capable. Given the circumstances of Edd’s departure, however, I hold out little hope that WD will ever be more than a mere shell of its former self.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 17:48

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WTF? First it was the Clarkson/Hammond/May version of Top Gear, followed by the decline of the manual transmission and minivans in the US (and manual transmission minivans...), then Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car and now this? Dare I ask what automotive pleasure of mine is going to be destroyed next?

Gerry197 > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 17:49

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Makes sense, I noticed Edd wasn’t looking too happy this season, and so many technical sections seemed really brief compared to past episodes.

I also think the show got a little too “Big”, going for more complete and pricey cars instead of your regular “future/modern classic” type cars and helping to keep them on the road. It was the little repairs and DIY stuff that the show originally focused on that I enjoyed.

xyzabc > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 18:37

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Edd China and James May need to share a tool box and make a show.

xyzabc > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 18:44

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Steps 1: Mike goes and picks-up a vehicle that’s already been identified and price negotiated. Drives it around a bit and complains.

Step 2: Edd takes time to show how things work, how problems are diagnosed and then repaired. He His staff work their tail(s) off.

Step 3: Mike reinforces everything folks hate about a used car salesman with someone who the Staff has already pre-negotiated a purchase price.

Velocity wants to remove Step 2.

So I’ve removed the entire show from my viewing list.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > orca17 03/21/2017 at 18:59

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I did notice some major changes when the show moved full time to the states. I didnt mind the idea as ive watched them do UK cars for over a decade, but it was clear they were messing with the formula.

But as you say the major issue is the circumstances. The new guy genuinely is good and knowledgable, before I saw Edds video I actually had hopes it would still be a good show. But if they’re neutering the technical aspects, it doesn’t give the new guy a chance to make it a real success.

Tareim - V8 powered > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 03/21/2017 at 19:00

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I dare not make any suggestions of what is next for fear it might become true

Tareim - V8 powered > xyzabc 03/21/2017 at 19:02

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that would be incredible to watch

Tareim - V8 powered > Gerry197 03/21/2017 at 19:05

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thing is, if they were to stick to the future/modern classic they would run out of episodes very quickly

Gerry197 > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 20:16

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That could be true. But when dealing with classics, especially pricey hot rods and muscle cars, it takes it to a price point that takes away the charm of the original show. Once in a while is cool, but those cars in the $5000 - $10,000 price point that regular folks could actually be working on is what I miss.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Tareim - V8 powered 03/21/2017 at 22:54

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pip bip - choose Corrour > Tareim - V8 powered 03/22/2017 at 02:45

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never watched the show.

RT > Tareim - V8 powered 03/22/2017 at 03:51

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Edd was the unsung hero of the show.

He would do ridiculous amounts of work each episode, costing thousands in labour, so I’d say his reason for leaving makes sense.

Tareim - V8 powered > RT 03/22/2017 at 04:31

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if they actually factored in his labour costs then a lot of their cars would’ve sold at a loss on that show

Tareim - V8 powered > pip bip - choose Corrour 03/22/2017 at 04:31

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:O

Tareim - V8 powered > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/22/2017 at 04:31

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that’s one of many on my list that I watch

RT > Tareim - V8 powered 03/22/2017 at 12:09

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Yep, that’s why I always found the show kinda amusing.

Still nice to see people working on and appreciating these cars though.

Tina Belcher > Tareim - V8 powered 03/22/2017 at 14:50

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I’m gutted. Why does Velocity want to take away the element that made this show different from the other billion car shows?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Party-vi 03/28/2017 at 09:06

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There’s going to be a minimum of like six people there for that work. Camera, sound, producer and/or director, and a PA or two. They all need to be paid a dayrate, the equipment needs to be rented and insured for that time, the crew are largely traveling so need to be put up in hotels and fed, and over the course of the day they’re going to be shooting at least a couple of hours of mostly useless shots that may become an insert shot or two in the final cut. All of that needs to be catalogued, stored, backed up, and earmarked for the editor by one or two assistant editors. All of that adds up to quite alot.