PBS Television Program MotorWeek

This post is about my admiration for the PBS television program MotorWeek.

MotorWeek is a locally produced in-house production of the PBS station in Maryland and is networked nationally by PBS. John Davis had originally come to Maryland Public Television to co-host Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser because of John holding a degree in Finances from North Carolina State University, but; just as John Davis was about to begin co-hosting Wall Street Week, John had heard about this new automotive magazine television show that was to be produced locally in-house and networked nationally; and so John had quickly jumped on the idea of hosting MotorWeek and had signed on as the host (the rest, they say; is history).

It is unknown as to how Patrick Goss; then just an owner of a Gulf Oil gas station somewhere in the Baltimore area, was tapped to become the television program’s resident mechanic and auto maintenance expert (the rest, they say; is history on Patrick Goss’s part) and the Goss’s Garage segments during the early years of the television program having been filmed on the front tarmac of Pat’s Gulf Oil gas station near where the gas pumps were mounted and outside the shop area/convenience store.

The television program should remain the same as it was from the 1980’s all the way until the late 1990’s. (And it does in “Early Life And Continuous Livelihood”).

Examples of how the show continues to remain the same as it does in “Early Life And Continuous Livelihood”:

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The show’s original disco-like opening & closing music that had been composed by Baltimore native Don Barto Sr. (who is of Portuguese descent) that had been used until 1989 and had later been used as the opening music on The Frugal Gourmet (which, along with Rick Steves’s shows all along; had been produced by KCTS-TV in Seattle) and the show’s opening theme from its inception on October 15, 1981 was definitely not bad, and nor was the show’s original opening from its inception on October 15, 1981 until 1989 that had real car designers at work on a drafting board and an animated cutaway of front-wheel drive compact hatchback was not bad either; and I like the fact that this theme music and opening had lasted all the way until 1989. I also like the ID that Maryland Public Television had used with the animated flower during the early 1980’s to indicate that the show was and is a local, in-house production of Maryland Public Television.

Prior to the airing of each MotorWeek episode during the early 1990’s, the show had featured a license plate on the rear bumper of a Mitsubishi 3000GT that read “Viewers Like You” during the teaser that is aired prior to all PBS programs broadcasting the sponsors of a particular television program and an announcer stating “Is Made Possible By Public Television Support From Viewers Like You”

The young hoodlum MotorWeek staffers such as Greg Carloss, Zack Maskell; and Patrick Lucas are not my cup of tea. Instead of the bad music that both Greg Carloss, Zack Maskell; and Patrick Lucas each listen to; they should be forced to listen to music like Seals & Crofts’s “Summer Breeze” and “You’re The Love”; Phil Collins & Genesis’s “No Reply At All”, Benny Mardones’s “Into The Night”, Laura Branigan’s “Self Control”; and Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing”. Or maybe even perhaps Donna Summer’s “On The Radio” and “She Works Hard For The Money”.

Throughout the years, MotorWeek had tested a 1983 A1 GTI, 1984 XJ Cherokee, 1986 MJ Comanche, 1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6, 1988 Chevrolet Full-Size pickup, 1988 Maserati Bi-Turbo, 1989 K5 Blazer of the preceding generation; 1989 Mazda MPV that John himself had bargained a pre-production version from Mazda for after asking them what that van parked in Mazda North America’s parking lot in Irvine, California is, and they respond “What Van”? A Volkswagen Fox in the late 1980’s, the original Ford Taurus SHO in 1989, the C4 Corvette ZR1 in 1990; a Caprice Wagon in 1991, a Lincoln Town Car in 1992, the successive generation of Suburban in 1992, the Volkswagen T4 in 1992, a Crown Vic & a Grand Marquis in 1992, the Corrado in 1992, an 80-Series Toyota Land Cruiser twice-once in 1991 and again in 1993; the A3 Golf/Jetta in November, 1993; my beloved 2-door Yukon of the successive generation with a diesel in 1994, the A3 GTI in 1995; the newly-fangled 4-door Tahoe in 1995, tested an XJ Cherokee again in 1995, did an episode on the near-death of the Japanese sport cars (Z-Car, Supra, Mazda RX-7, Honda/Acura NSX; and the Mitsubishi 3000GT) in 1996; and the TJ Wrangler in 1997. And this is only a shortlist of the 5,000+ vehicle reviews that MotorWeek has conducted to date in the television program’s 35 year history.

A couple more of the 5,000+ vehicle reviews that MotorWeek has conducted to date are, of all things; a Hustler 50 Pace Boat on the water in 1995 and some sort of customized Banks Turbocharged Chevrolet Pickup Truck in 1993.

To date, the television program has had 4 consumer reporters throughout its 35 year history, all female. From the show’s inception in 1981 to 1989, Joyce Braga had served as the program’s original consumer reporter, followed by Lisa Barrow until 1998 when she took the job as the East Communications Relations Manager at Chrysler; followed by Jennifer Khasnabis until 2007, followed by Yolanda Vasquez-who currently holds the position to this day.

Craig Singhaus had left after working for the show for many years since the program’s inception in 1981 to take a job as a Product Trainer at General Physics Corporation.

Video of John Davis being interviewed by a locally produced, in-house television show by the PBS affiliate in Houston, Texas about how he had been tapped to host Wall Street Week and later MotorWeek:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/twjGq9M7UGA“>http://

The unaired pilot episode that John Davis was talking about in his interview:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-x7EmXT-Sf4“>http://

The pilot episode that had aired on October 15, 1981:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dwXM199GKYg“>http://

Videos about the television program’s 30th anniversary:

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Videos about the television program’s 35th anniversary:

John Davis and his wife really deserved the attention they received when walking through the lobby and hallways of Maryland Public Television into the studio that used to be where MotorWeek was filmed but is now just an empty studio; and was where the celebrations took place.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AAK1smDcq_w“>http://

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MotorWeek’s review of the European Ford Escort:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/2UDnEj4x-kI“>http://

MotorWeek’s comparison of the Big 3’s (nowadays commonly referred to as the Detroit 3) heavier-duty dually pickups:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qnu6cITBQ7w“>http://

MotorWeek’s review of the newest generation Crown Vic & Grand Marquis:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/E0vvmb_DHwM“>http://

MotorWeek’s review of the A1 Golf/Rabbit-based Cabriolet:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/mIop_2bggF0“>http://

MotorWeek’s review of the A2 Golf and GTI:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/IX7b8pErO6o“>http://

MotorWeek’s reviews of the A2 Jetta:

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MotorWeek’s review of the 2nd generation Sirocco:

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MotorWeek’s review of the U.S spec Land Rover Series/Defender, after it was briefly sold in the North American market in the early-mid 1990’s after a 20 year hiatus.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/uZcSe-HCQiI“>http://

MotorWeek’s review of the U.S spec Foed Sierra/Merkur XR4TI (XR4TI was just the trim level of the performance variant of the car in Europe, rather than calling the car the ‘Sierra’ here in the North American market).

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xw6zjoJUop4“>http://