It is a good time to be a gearhead who loves watching automotive content. On YouTube for example, there are plenty of channels to view great stories and topics such as Gas Monkey Garage, AutotopiaLA, VINWiki, and more. For those who love a good TV show, a new one has just hit Netflix. This is Tex Mex Motors, a show that follows a passionate team of classic car restorers who have set up an auto body shop near the US-Mexico border.
It is an ambitious show, and it only launched recently, but it has had mixed reviews thus far, leading us to wonder why it’s not getting talked about as much as it could be, compared to other automotive shows.
The Premise Of The New Tex Mex Motors Show
Popular Automotive TV Shows
- Fast ‘N Loud
- Top Gear
- Car Masters: Rust to Riches
- The Grand Tour
- Counting Cars
- Diesel Brothers
The premise of the new Netflix show is simple enough. A team of car restorers sets up shop near the U.S.-Mexico border. The location might seem odd, but they claim that the U.S. is running out of affordable vintage cars that actually work.
So the Tex Mex crew set up in El Paso, Texas, and scout for old, sought-after vehicles just over the border in Mexico. The team is then tasked with turning whatever vehicle they find into something they can sell for big money after a mammoth restoration.
They only have $250,000 initially over four months to see if the business is viable in El Paso. One of the leading characters in the show is Mike Coy. Coy is the shop boss behind the team and is in charge of the paint jobs that take place on the restored cars. He has a keen eye for unusual color choices and distinct designs, believing that these kinds of colors help to make a car more desirable for classic car lovers.
If you think you’ve seen Coy before, then you’d be right. Coy was a regular on the Discovery show Fast ‘N Loud, which followed the exploits of Richard Rawlings and Gas Monkey Garage.
For those wondering if the show is real, it absolutely is. The team down in El Paso is trying to make a living out of this venture and make it a successful business. It isn’t a drama, but a full-on car TV reality show.
It is similar to Fast ‘N Loud but with perhaps a little more at stake, given that this business has only recently set up shop. The concept is certainly sound, bringing vehicles across the border that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. The show itself launched on June 9th globally on the streaming platform.
What Reviewers Are Saying About Tex Mex Motors
The show has a very promising basis, but it’s fair to say reviewers have mixed feelings about what Netflix has produced. One of the positive aspects of Tex Mex Motors is its focus on the personalities in the show.
Tex Mex Motors gives a lot of screen time for Scooter and Rabbit. The former is a deep-voiced Texan who could sell water to fish. Scooter is a Juarez native who is a top-notch car scout and has plenty of contacts to find just what the team is looking for. The show also stars Wesley, the master fabricator, Jamie, the engine and electric specialist, and Jenicio, a hard-working rookie jack-of-all-trades from El Paso.
The first episode of the show does a good job of showing off Rabbit and Scooter, with them proving to be the most unlikely of partners in the restoration world. In fact, it’s arguable the first episode is almost like a comedy show with these two as its main stars. The two are also seen negotiating sales and attempting to get a car over the border into the United States, giving a good back story to the upcoming restoration.
However, the show then starts to feel a bit less about the cars and more about the people. Reviewers have felt that the restoration portions of the show are pretty standard and not any different from other similar shows.
There are some challenges within Tex Mex Motors, such as an engine that is smoking or a pockmarked body on a classic Opel. But the restoration scenes go by in a flash and leave out quite a few of the details behind each car’s renovation. So it really leaves a lot up to the imagination when it comes to these restorations.
What The Viewing Public Think About Tex Mex Motors
While reviewers have mixed opinions on the show, it seems like the general viewing public has similar feelings towards it. Accusations from some have flown about the show being heavily scripted. With comments on websites like Ready Steady Cut highlighting the general disdain for the show.
Others feel like it is simply a copycat show, but is not to the standard of other car restoration programs. Some of the comments are a little bit…less constructive in their criticism, but the overriding feeling towards the show is a mixed one.
One problem that reviews and viewers have with the show is its vibes. Decider states that Tex Mex Motors has “slightly douchey vibes.” They wonder if the “Americans throwing money around in front of not-that-wealthy Mexicans” feel the show goes for is really a look the Netflix series wants to portray.
Scenes like that are a bit uncomfortable to watch, although there probably isn’t any harm meant by them. Certain things like finding a Mustang right where the federales pull them over also back up the scripted claims.
How You Can Watch Tex Mex Motors
For those who do want to watch the new series, it is available on Netflix right now. Season one has eight episodes, and a decision on another series of the show will depend on the decision by the shop to carry on business down in El Paso.
We won’t give anything away on that though for those who are keen to watch it for themselves. Despite its problems, it does have some personality, and Scooter and Rabbit are perhaps the characters that steal the show more than the others.
If you are a more casual automotive fan then this might be the show for you. It gives you enough insight into the restorations to highlight the key elements and to see how a car gets restored. However, if you want something a bit more in-depth then this perhaps isn’t for you.
You would be best looking at what Gas Monkey Garage gets up to on YouTube, or checking out really in-depth automotive YouTube channels such as Doug DeMuro’s. But we should perhaps not take Tex Mex Motors too seriously, and it is certainly no bad thing to have a new show for gearheads and car lovers to view.
Sources: Netflix, Decider, Ready Steady Cut
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