Customer Reviews

The American MuscleCar: Season One

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

American Muscle Car (AMC) is very different to other automotive shows being aired at the moment, and depending on how you feel about certain things, you'll either like AMC or not. I'd never seen AMC in Australia as we don't have the Speed Channel here. It's not a `how-to' show at all, more of a documentary style series, with each episode dedicated to a particular car. One of the other reviewer's description of the series as a video book is an excellent way of thinking of the series.

I'll start with the things I consider to be negatives. The sound recording and visuals are not to the same standard as the other productions available on DVD, and because most of the hosting is a voice over, the show isn't as engaging as Overhaulin' for example. But, you may not like a host in your face, so this could be an advantage for you. There are also slim pickings as far as special features are concerned.

The good bits? Well, the episodes are compact; around 22-25 minutes, which is good because you don't have to set aside a whole hour like you would with the other shows. The content of each episode is edited and produced well - it all ties together, and I've found even people that are not all that interested in cars/motor sport in general will sit down and watch an episode because of the good combination of archival footage, interviews and informative voice over.

All that said, it's a worthwhile purchase if you're looking for some detail on specific muscle cars and not a `build-up' style program. I haven't seen the subsequent seasons of AMC, so I'm not sure if things have improved yet, but I hope so, as some good quality digital audio of muscle car engines would certainly lift my rating a star. If you're the sort of person that doesn't get hung up on audio quality, and have an interest in the muscle car era, then this would probably be a five star production.

A friend of mine told me about this show. Thought I would try the DVD, rather than tv, and avoid the commercials. I purchased this set as they included the Camaro's and Chevelle's (my two personal favorite musclecars). I had no expectations when purchasing this DVD set, and for the amount of time given for each episode, found it very informative. This only covers the basics (does not include any parts numbers, merely some options and power ratings). Also, is does not cover the Z/28 Camaron (although I wasn't looking for this specifically). But it does show a little on the COPO Camaro. If you're already a musclecar fan, and know features inside and out, it might be a little disappointing. For me, I've never seen the cars from the Musclecar era on the dragstrip, and it was interesting to watch those video clips.

Like other reviewer, I had not heard of this series because it wasn't shown in Australia, but I'm glad I bought this (and series 2 and 3, which I am yet to watch).

If you love American muscle cars then this is a must, with excellent historical information and footage, good new video on restored and original cars, and good (but not great) sound quality. I thought I knew a lot about Muscle Cars but this gave me a whole stack of new information to increase my appreciation of this great era in automotive history.

I don't mind the narration interspersed with interviews with owners and experts, however there is just a little too much of re-showing the same footage a couple of times in each episode.

I recommend this series strongly to anyone with an interest in cars.

Nice thorough overview of each American muscle car. Packed with some little known history to most. Brings back a lot of memories of what we used to have on the roads. Classic beautiful cars. A joy to watch. Good commentary. Good quality DVD.

My only complaint is it does'nt last long enough.

Hurry up with Series 2 will you??

The Video is good quality and is a collection of shows that were on SPEED Chanel over the past few years with the commercials removed. However, the Amazon price of $26.99 is way out of line. The exact video is available on line at MPI home Video for $14.95.