As a been there, done that, I'd have to disagree with you on Chip getting all of the credit for the build. Yes, it is his talent and vision in the design of the car, but he does get in there and work on the cars, sometimes just as long and hard as his team. He also makes it very clear that the talented group of guys working on the cars are the reason they turn out so great. He knows he couldn't do it without them, and so do the "marks"...
"You guys do all the work...he gets all the credit (and cash $$$ from sponsors)...sure seems like a no-brainer to me...!!! Congrats anyway..." My sentiments exactly. The guy's been a one-trick pony for years now. Let me see Chip stand up and bring his "team" out and introduce them on national TV then. Or give each of the members a percentage of his profits from "his" designs.
As someone who has been on a couple of episodes, I can tell you that for all the work I did, Foose did three times as much. He's gotta be one of the hardest working yet most laid back guys on the planet. I'd estimate that the man sleeps no more than 12 hours a week on a build week and definately gets his hands dirty... all the while running his shop, his wheel business, and raising his two kids; but never once loses his cool. As for not getting paid, knowledge is payment, and Foose et. al. dish out plenty. The quality of the cars is not going to win the Riddler, but let's see what you can do in 7 days.......
I dunno man....I really figured the premise of the show sucked...THEN I started dating someone with cable TV and actually saw it (talk about living the 50s lol) Last nite I saw them do a 56 Nomad...I would be willing to bet that 90% of us (DEFINATELY myself included) havent had anything that nice in our garage with our names on the title. 7 day build....really now...
The previous "girl" Courtney Hansen is more of a carnut than the new one, AJ, will ever be. Not to mention way cuter.
I like Overhaulin' .......... sure beats that other Hot rod show. I watched one last night about a Tahoe, not my kinda car to customize, but eh, whatever, nothing else on worth watching. So this guy that supposedly watches it EVERY Tuesday, doesnt even recognize the host, that Chris guy. Still doesn't get it when they say he's on Overhaulin' until they go and show him the camera. It was pretty funny how many times the mark said "dude" too. And I got a kick out of him referring to his Tahoe as rare. Maybe the two doors are not as common.... but rare? Don't think so.
A buddy of mine from here in Montana had his own shop, but packed it up to move to Cali and now he works for Chip, his name is Dennis Graph. He came home for a visit last year and we had an hour or so to BS about the whole operation down there. Nothing but high praise for Chip. The hours were wearin Dennis thin, but he loves what he does, and he gets paid pretty well. He says Chip will work ridiculous hours and just keep going like he never needs sleep, he's unreal. Another cool story. My buddy couldn't make it back home for Christmas because of a tight schedule on a car. So Chip insisted he spend Christmas with the Foose family, and they treated him like one of their own. Did you guys see that Riddler winner that Foose and crew built? A silver roadster that they made completely from scratch? WTF? Dennis built the fenders and the door jambs for it, he gave me the whole lowdown, it's just amazing what they did. Ridiculous hours and money sunk in to that thing..... http://www.chipfoose.com/press1.aspx Gary
I tell ya, Chip is a trouper. Sitting all weekend at 50's and signing autographs with a smile on his face and not complaining at all. You won't see too many other guys do that. Most of them may for an hour or two and go back to the hotel. He is top notch in my book. Line was only about 20 or 30 long when I walked past on Sat at about noon.
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