Of all the automotive-themed reality television series that debuted in the early 2000s, it was only “Overhaulin,” that was canceled and rebooted thrice in the span of 16 years. There was a time when it was one of the most-viewed TV shows on cable television, and its main star, Chip Foose, became one of the most recognized men in the automobile designing and construction industry. The TV networks couldn’t help but give it a reboot after it went into hibernation for a few years. It was first aired on the TLC network in 2004 until 2006; Discovery Channel’s Velocity then rebooted it in 2008, but canceled it again after a season. It was back on TV in 2012 and had four seasons before it was terminated in 2015, then The TV show was then given another life in 2019 but it officially ended in 2020 after it aired 12 episodes.

Chip Foose, the man behind the success of “Overhaulin’”

Only a few men in automotive designing have been given the opportunity to show their prowess through reality-TV, and become legendary icons – automobile designer Chip Foose was one of them.

What should @chipfoose draw next? https://t.co/NB67cCDDpg

— Hagerty (@Hagerty) March 17, 2021

Some of his iconic car designs were featured in box-office hit movies such as Pixar’s “Cars,” “Blade Runner,” and “Gone in 60 Seconds.”

Got the car bug from his father

His interest in cars developed because of his father’s business, Project Design. His parents had four children, but being the only son, he would constantly tag along with his father, Sam Foose, during the weekends when he was still a toddler. At the young age of seven, he was already moving around his father’s shop trying to learn things, doing paint jobs, and running errands. He met several important people in the automobile industry, and was encouraged by some of them including Alex Tremulis, a former Ford and Tucker designer, to pursue a career in design.

Education – Art Center College for Design

Chip graduated from Art Center College for Design in Pasadena, California, but not without encountering several hardships, including dropping out because it was too expensive for him to continue.

He worked with his father, and also accepted freelance jobs from Stehrenberger-Clenet Design, which was later rebranded as AHSA Corp. Later on, he realized the value of completing his education, so he went back to school, persuaded partly by his girlfriend motivating him as she wouldn’t marry him until he earned his degree.

His years with Boyd Coddington

After he graduated from college, he planned a different career path and bought out his remaining contract with AHSA Corp. Chip started working for Boyd Coddington, a known hot rod designer and owner of the Boyd Coddington Hot Rod Shop. After two years, he went for an interview with two automobile giants, Ford and VW; he preferred working for Ford and was about to pack his bags to leave for Dearborn when Boyd made an offer he couldn’t refuse, so he stayed with the company and found himself designing and building hot rods. It wasn’t really the career that he planned for himself but since he was still young then, he felt he had more time to explore the opportunities open to him.

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Boyd expanded his business, but some of it didn’t work out so he filed for bankruptcy. At that time, Chip was spending his own money on the parts he needed to complete a project, so he realised that it was about time he left the company and established his own brand.

Built his own company, Foose Design in 1984

Foose Design was created in Santa Barbara, California in 1984, but Chip also worked for various people at the same time, to gain experience learning from the experts, as well as earning an income. He built an impeccable reputation for designing and building great hot rods in the automotive industry, but when he finally pursued his ultimate dream of having his own company, it still wasn’t without any controversies. He had a falling out with his former employer, because some of the people working for Boyd also resigned and then joined Chip at his new company – Boyd didn’t take it well, and held a grudge. Chip said that the only reason that their personal and business relationship ended was that Boyd didn’t want anything to do with him.

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In 1997 at the age of 31, he was the youngest member to be inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame at the 50^th anniversary of Peterson’s Publishing. It was held at the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association or SEMA in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1999, Chip relocated to Huntington Beach to widen his prospects; his company offered several automobile services such as creating graphics, illustrations, model making, and surfacing along with automobile construction and other related products.

“Overhaulin,” the reality-TV show

In total, the reality-TV show aired close to 140 episodes, including the specials spread throughout its 10 seasons aired on TLC, Velocity, and Discovery Channel networks.

The origins of the show

With his new company, he created the 0032 Roadster, inspired by the popular hot rod that he designed for Boyd Coddington called Boydster I and II, and won the top prize for America’s Most Beautiful Car Award in 2000.

People were starting to recognize his name and three years after that, he was featured in an automotive documentary aired on the TLC network. The main focus of the documentary was one of his unique creations, the modified 2002 Ford Thunderbird. The next thing the gearheads knew was that a new reality-TV series made its debut on 13 April 2004, called “Overhaulin.”

Chip’s Co-hosts and A-Team members

The “Overhaulin” series had a number of hosts who helped Chip present the show each episode over the years, including Chris Jacobs, who was with the show from the first season, and would always return each time the show was rebooted. Other co-hosts were Courtney Hansen (2004-05), Adrienne Janic (2005-08 along with the reboots), Jessie Combs (2012-13), and Arianny Celeste (2013-15).

Chip was also supported by other people whom he fondly called his A-Team such as Andreas Somogyi, Ian Van Scoyk, Mark Oja, and Richard Waitas along with Skratch and Andy Stapp who were both with him from the start of the show.

Overhaulin

The mark, the insiders, the prank, and a newly overhauled car

The premise of the show was a stroke of genius, as viewers were easily hooked from the get-go. The TV producers, Bud W. Brutsman and Susan B. Flanagan from the production company called BCI Communications, would review thousands of submissions from which they chose someone’s car to be overhauled by Chip and his A-Team. They staged scenarios in which the “insiders” would prank the selected car owner whom they called the “mark”, to ensure that the car would be secretly worked on for a week without interruption. There were times when they told the car owner that it was stolen, lost, or impounded by the police, but culminating when all of them would reveal a newly restored or customized car to the owner after a week.

The big question: Was the car customization free of charge?

Work on the car including parts and labor were given freely except, for the taxes associated with having a newly restored car.

The set-up with “Overhaulin” in which the producers have to choose winners out of the submitted applications was likened to the mechanics of popular game shows such as “The Price Is Right” or “Jeopardy.” Unless otherwise indicated, all local and state taxes associated with the prizes would be automatically paid by the selected contestants.

From the beginning, the producers would inform the “insiders” that after the restoration was completed on the car, the owners would be responsible for the increased value of the car under the rules of Internal Revenue Services (IRS). To ensure that the TV show wasn’t financially suffocated with the restoration costs of each car, sponsors and advertisers paid for all parts.

If one was to look at it from another perspective, at the end of the day, it’s the viewers who paid for all the restoration done to each car, as shows with high viewership ratings could command a higher rate for brand advertising or promotions.

Cancelations and Reboots from 2004 to 2020

In the history of reality-TV shows, fans were constantly shocked that “Overhaulin” was canceled but then rebooted several times. This was truly unheard of, since most TV executives would rather produce a spin-off series instead of rebooting the same show all over again. However, for some reason, producers couldn’t totally give up on the original premise and structure of “Overhaulin’”, quite possibly because Chip Foose along with his team changed the landscape of how automotive-themed shows were presented on TV, evidenced by many other shows that were later produced, inspired by their success and ingenuity.

People were left wondering why the TV show would just stop airing, and then come back after two years only to air one season, to be repeated again and again but with longer intervals, until it officially ended on 21 July 2020. Here’s a list of the possible reasons why this kept happening:

The “marks” or car owners need to pay hefty taxes

After Chip Foose and his team restored the car into its pristine condition, and in some cases added upgrades, the value of the finished product dramatically increased.

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Initially, the car owners were most grateful as they couldn’t afford to have them renovated and customized, however, when taxes are calculated, the owners would often pay thousands of dollars, since a newly restored car in “Overhaulin” could be valued at the very least around $50,000. While the family or friends of the owners were informed about it beforehand, it had become a burden to some of them. In the end, instead of enjoying their newly restored cars, they ended up selling them to pay the taxes, although then profit from them as well.

Unsatisfied car owners

There were allegations that some of the parts used in restoring the cars were of low quality, as they came in exchange for advertising deals. Chip had a great reputation for designing as well as building cars, so this allegation should be taken with a grain of salt. Nobody had officially come forward to complain about, it but some rumors went around online community forums and social media. There were also stories about having to bring the cars to the shop to be fixed again. Other fans believed that these rumors only started when the viewers found out about the exchange deals with the suppliers.

Overhaulin

Some people said that it wasn’t the parts that had a problem, but due to the eight-day deadline that they had in the show, some of the cars were not finely tuned. Whether these stories were accurate or not, the bottom line was that not all car owners were totally happy with their restored cars.

The same scripted drama gets old and repetitive

While the premise of the show was quite original for automobile-related reality-TV shows, as they pranked the car owners just to get the car from them, the whole staged scenario can wear out – it was initially great, but to use the same tricks over again, it came to a point that it wasn’t as entertaining as it had been. It didn’t help that some of the scripted drama was quite cringe-worthy.

The Chip Foose-Boyd Coddington conflict

It was common knowledge that Chip worked for Boyd Coddington for some time, which resulted in Chip designing some of the great cars in Boyd’s company. They had a great working relationship and had mutual respect for each other back then, so when Chip left Boyd’s company as it was having financial difficulties, Boyd took it in his stride, as Chip needed to look out for himself.

However, it became an issue when some of Boyd’s employees also left the company. It wouldn’t have been a huge deal as it was understandable, but when they left together and joined Chip’s company, Boyd didn’t like it at all. The old man felt that they’d conspired together and left him when he needed them the most. Boyd avoided any communication with Chip. However, when Boyd suffered from complications of diabetes, they were fortunately, able to resolve their differences before the old man died in 2008.

Chip’s legal troubles

In 2007, Foose Design released an announcement that effective immediately, they had ‘terminated all licensing and all business activities with Texas-based Unique Performance, Unique Performance Concepts, and related companies.’ Apparently, when Chip inked a deal with them, Unique had already accepted deposit money for the cars from the clients, expecting to receive Chip’s exclusive design such as the Foose Mustang Stallion. When the clients failed to receive them, they filed lawsuits not only against Unique Performance but also against Foose Design.

The money he earned from appearing in “Overhaulin” was spent mostly on legal fees from the lawsuits. His company tried to work something out with Unique Performance for eight months, but it proved to be a shady company. The Mustang Ranch owned by Unique was raided by law enforcement, as there were tips that most of the Mustangs there had fake VIN plates, and some even had the numbers scraped off. They found 61 vintage cars in different stages of construction and restoration. It was also reported that around $7 million was collected as deposits from the customers.

Low TV ratings

The common and most popular reason why a TV show was canceled was because of low ratings. It didn’t matter that the show had given the network a record-breaking viewership rating in the past, the moment it lost its audience and the numbers dipped to an uncomfortable percentage, expect it to be canceled. Most TV networks wouldn’t release any official explanation as to why a certain TV series would not be back for another season, and “Overhaulin” was no exception.

https://www.facebook.com/overhaulin/photos/3550478754966927

Television was run not just by creative people, but also by shrewd businessmen. Low viewership would mean low revenues, and the best solution was to simply eliminate the production costs. TV executives didn’t have a choice but to remove the TV show from its regular programming.

When Discovery Channel decided to reboot “Overhaulin’” again in 2019, it was promoted as the show’s final season before it would officially close its doors. Some TV insiders said that it was a great strategy to market another season after being gone for four years. Chip and his team wouldn’t feel as if it was a failure on their part if they couldn’t get a decent viewership percentage, since it was marketed as a goodbye season. However, if they suddenly hit the jackpot, they could easily just add another season. While there was no announcement of another season, whether it was due to the filming restrictions brought by the Covid-19 pandemic or it was truly the final season of the TV show, their loyal fans were happy that they were given the perfect closure, and that Chip Foose was able to properly say his farewell to his audience.

“Wheeler Dealer” has been one of the most-watched auto-restoration shows for the longest time, since it premiered on 7 October 2003. It initially aired on Discovery Real Time for a British audience, and then on the Discovery Channel beginning in 2011, once it was realized that Edd China and Mike Brewer had gained a huge fan base among car enthusiasts in the United States. Edd’s departure from the series after 13 seasons shocked many of their loyal viewers, more so when it became apparent that there was animosity between the two main stars, and those death threats aimed at Mike and his family. In 2021, with Mike still part of the 17^th season of the series while Edd already has his own show, “Workshop Diaries” on YouTube, people are still curious as to what went wrong between the two.

Meet the original cast

Mike Brewer

Mike’s gift of the gab had led him to become the host of “Wheeler Dealers.”

Hunting the next batch of #wheelerdealer cars .. already have some belters lined up! ?? pic.twitter.com/wM2IF22WB8

— Mike Brewer (@mikebrewer) December 14, 2021

It all started back when he was running a snooker hall, and a local car dealer impressed by the way he talked to people, approached him and wanted to hire him. It didn’t take much to convince him as he was interested in cars, having been influenced by his father who was into customizing vehicles. He soon found himself selling cars and making a lot of money in his first week, as he easily sold 15 cars. He believed he’d found his niche, and would be doing this for the rest of his life.

After many years of being successful at his job, he received a ‘phone call from a producer at Channel 4 who talked to him about cars, and then was interested in casting him for a show about them. Being on TV was something he didn’t want or envision, but after six months, the producer finally convinced him to do a screen test for the presenter role. Mike made his TV debut on the British reality series “Deal on Wheels” in 1997, and it was well-received by the viewing public.

After just three weeks on the show, he was invited by a rival network to be on “Top Gear”, so his bosses included him in the show called “Driven,” which did great on the ratings’ game as well.

Edd China

Edward John China’s expertise as a mechanic led him to assume that role in “Wheeler Dealers.”  He grew up fascinated with how everything around him worked, so liked taking things apart to learn their secrets. However, he also learned how to put things back together so as not to earn his mother’s ire. He was good at building or constructing things, beginning with Lego; he never read the instructions, but just looked at the picture and figured out how the pieces went together.

He learned to drive in his mother’s Nissan Bluebird, but his first car was a 1303 yellow VW Beetle, which he bought on a whim. Since he didn’t know anything about cars, he didn’t realize that the beetle had major issues. However, he said that it was what set him on the path of learning to fix VWs, and then all types of vehicles.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO3C6TaDLoJ/

With his passion for all things mechanical, and a degree in Engineering Product Design, he soon made a name for himself with his creations that made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. The first was for the fastest sofa with a speed of 140km/h (87mph) in 1998, which he later broke in 2007 at 148km/h (92mph). Casual Lofa, the two-seater, leopard-print sofa with an A-series Mini engine made news, and he was featured in various shows driving this wacky creation. It was something he did just to see if he could build a car that looked nothing like a car, but was still road-legal. He also holds the Guinness’ records for the largest motorized trolley (2005), the fastest office called “Hot Desk” at 140km/h (2006), fastest motorized bathroom called “Bog Standard” at 68km/h (2011), and fastest electric ice cream van at 118km/h (2020).

About the show

How did it start?

When Mike’s contract with Channel 4 expired, he received several offers, but it was the one from Discovery Channel that got him interested, as the network would give him more creative control.

The show was supposed to be entitled “Grand Autos” as the concept was to buy a car and fix it for a grand, and then sell it. At that time, he had a company called Wheeler Dealer Limited, and the network preferred that name for the show.

“Wheeler Dealers” was created by the founders of Attaboy TV, starting as a small production. Mike was in charge of buying and selling cars while Edd was the mechanic, with each of them explaining how they go about their work in detail. After each season, their budget increased but the final cost after restoring the car didn’t include the cost of labor, so the profit or loss wasn’t realistic, even if it was their resident mechanic who was doing the work. Also, at the end credits, they usually had an assistant mechanic listed. Some said that the general idea was for people to do the work themselves, which might be the reason they later included the man-hours that they had put in it. Those who bought cars from the show definitely got the deal of a lifetime.

The biggest ‘profit’ made was around $33,000 (£20,220) with 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray C2 as the previous owner had all the replacement parts, but hadn’t pushed through with the restoration project. Earning this much was quite rare, as they usually only made a small profit, and they also sold cars at a loss, or sometimes donated it for a good cause.

Their most expensive project was the 1916 Cadillac Type 53 Roadster V8, the first of the production V8s. Edd described it as the ‘bucket list car to own and work on,’ so he bought it for $58,000. They had about three months to fix it, as Edd planned to join the Peking to Paris motor rally in commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the V8. As crazy as it might sound, they bought a 1918 Cadillac Type 57 for $38,000 to use its parts for the one they were restoring. The final cost was $133,908 and it took 271 man-hours to finish. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to make it rally-ready in time, and they didn’t say if they were able to sell it. Incidentally, this was featured in an episode that marked Edd’s last appearance in the series.

Mike Brewer and Edd China

Both realized the extent of their popularity when they were invited by the Discovery Channel to be the hosts of a premier trade show called SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) in Las Vegas. They were overwhelmed by the warm reception of the 10,000 attendees upon seeing them on stage. That was when the bosses of the network realised that they could film the show in the US.

Mike attributed the success of the show to sincerity, as he said, ‘We’ve always kept the show honest, we’ve kept it real. It’s not fake in any way – I really do buy a car, we really do fix it up, I really do sell it.’

What happened between Edd China and Mike Brewer?

On 17 March 2017, the network released a statement: ‘After 13 memorable seasons, Edd China has decided to depart from the Wheeler Dealers series in order to pursue other projects.’  By that time, the show had around ‘several hundred million viewers’ as it was being broadcast in about 220 territories around the world.

After everyone aired their side of the story, the relationship between Edd and Mike deteriorated. The fans were naturally disappointed by this development, and wondered what really happened between the two main stars of the show.

Edd’s side of the story

The events on the last day of filming for season 13 should have clued Edd on what was about to happen to his future on the show, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. He recalled that Mike was driving a red 1973 Chevy Camaro, and after he pulled over, he turned to Edd and said, ‘This is the last Wheeler De…’ only to correct himself and continued with, ‘This could be the last Wheeler Dealers episode we film together.’ It was an odd turn of phrase, but then he observed that Mike had been in a strange mood that day. For whatever reason, Edd didn’t ask Mike what the latter meant. He also learned from a friend that the production company had been screen testing a guy named Ant, but thought nothing of it.

However, when he heard nothing about filming for the next season, he requested a meeting.

He and his wife Imogen, had a conference call with the new production company’s boss Bob Scanlon, the production management, and their lawyer. They informed him about the changes they wanted to make, such as reducing the number of episodes per year by half as the show was ‘too difficult to make at the current level.’ Ultimately, what this meant was that they would halve his yearly fee. Edd was naturally at a loss for words and then it dawned on him that it would render his contract null and void. When he pointed it out, they said he would just have to sign a new contract with them, but if he didn’t agree to it, they already had a potential replacement in mind. He didn’t hesitate, and took this opportunity to be free from his contract.

Edd addressed several issues that came out regarding his exit from the show through a video he posted online. He apologized for leaving “Wheeler Dealers”, explaining that he was uncomfortable with the direction that the new producers, Velocity, wanted to take the show, such as limiting the detailed coverage of the repair or restoration process of the car.

Mike Brewer and Edd China

Edd also said that being asked to cut corners would compromise the quality of his work. ‘Leaving the show at the height of its success has been a really tough decision to make, but I believe the time is right for me to spread my wings,’ he admitted.

Many wondered if the relationship between Mike and Edd was beyond repair. In 2017, Edd was positive that they were going to continue to be friends in the future but said, ‘Is he my favorite person right now? Probably not, and I know for sure that I’m not his, but that’s okay,’ and added, ‘We’re both adults. We’ll get over ourselves. We’ll get past this and then we’ll be fine.’

Mike’s side of the story

Mike’s initial statement revealed how upset he was that Edd left the show, saying that they had formed a close bond but that he respected his co-star’s decision to move on to other things, and even admired him for that. However, after Edd’s video statement was released, some fans directed their anger at Mike via social media, and he and his family even received death threats.

For Edd’s part, he addressed this issue and said. ‘That really is not cool. We’ve just had a slight disagreement on how the show should be made. Nobody needs to die over this.’ He added that part of the reason why the show was a success was due to their on-screen chemistry. Having very different backgrounds and different ways of doing things created tension, but it worked well for the show.

Mike couldn’t help himself as he answered some of the fans’ accusations as he tweeted. ‘Edd left, didn’t say, just abandoned the show and then trashed it after 13 years…who’s the traitor?’ but deleted it afterward. He countered Edd’s claims and said that no one including Discovery Channel had ever suggested reducing the filming of the workshop aspect of the series. He also didn’t know that Edd would be leaving, as the latter never told him, and it was five months later when Ant did a screen test.

In a later interview, Mike described working with Edd through the years as ‘bouncing along quite happily’ but that it all changed during the final season he had with his co-star.

He observed that during the filming of the 13^th season, Edd had become angrier and more frustrated with how the show was being produced, and would take it out on the crew. He said that Edd was a brilliant mechanic but that what the latter wanted was to work less; it didn’t help that they were filming in California, and the temptation to spend more time at the beach rather than in the workshop had been strong. However, “Wheeler Dealers” required working long hours, six days a week.

He revealed that ‘There was no arguing, we never shouted, we never rowed, he wasn’t sacked, he wasn’t pushed, he wasn’t tricked, he wasn’t cheated – none of that stuff.’ It was just a case of Edd having had enough of the show. Years passed and Mike still found social media to be a toxic environment, as some fans hadn’t moved on and continued to post disgusting and rude comments directed at him –  seemingly they wanted him to leave the show as well.

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What became of Edd and Mike?

Edd joined YouTube back in 2010 but he would post sporadically as he was busy with “Wheeler Dealers” at that time. He did an “Ask Edd” series in 2017, and then “Edd China’s Garage Revival” the following year, but it didn’t get past the pilot episode. In April 2021, he launched “Edd China’s Workshop Diaries”, featuring himself and his team of mechanics as they worked on various cars at his workshop in Buckinghamshire. ‘I’m really excited to finally be able to bring this project to our fans, as it’s something they repeatedly have been asking for,’ he said. He has nearly 880,000 subscribers, and his videos accumulated more than 38 million views. Edd has also become an author, with his autobiography, “Grease Junkie: A Book of Moving Parts,” originally published in May 2019.

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Mike starred in the 2013 spin-off series, “Wheeler Dealers – Trading Up,” as he traveled across the globe buying and selling cars with the ultimate goal of being the owner of a supercar. In another spin-off series called “Wheeler Dealers: Dream Car,” which premiered in January 2020, he and an ex-Formula One mechanic named Marc “Elvis” Priestly teamed up to help people get their dream car with a maximum of five car trades.

He continued to be the presenter of the original show, with Ant Anstead as the mechanic. When the show moved back to the UK, Ant decided to stay in the US, and the producers cast Marc to be his replacement starting in season 17, which finished airing in November 2021.

In his Instagram post, Mike wrote, ‘I am very proud of Wheeler Dealers and how far we’ve come. 18 years continuous programming is a real milestone,’ and added, ‘Full respect to those who came before, but utter respect to those that came after.’