Biography
Stacey David was born and raised in Idaho. He earned his reputation in the hot rod club driving a 1930 5 Window Coupe to school every day. David has had a fascination for motor vehicles for as long as he can remember.
By installing 440cc snowmobile engines, he was able to make his go-karts lightning fast even before he was a teenager. At the age of twelve, he did his first restoration: his sister's 1963 Volkswagen Beetle. His father's flat fender Willys Jeep started his passion for Four Wheel Drive and off-roading.
During his college days at Boise State University, he spent the time that would have otherwise been spent in a "boring" Biology class learning how to race at the local tracks. While there, he absorbed everything he could about racing legends such as Richard Petty, Don Garlits, and Carroll Shelby. David's desire to own and drive a unique vehicle led him to the best way (in his opinion) to achieve this goal - to build it himself. To fulfill that goal, he became a student of legendary hot-rodders (custom car builders) George Barris, John Buttera and Darryl Starbird.
With those skills now in hand, David went to Nashville and opened his own custom car shop named "Rattletrap." He continued to build his reputation by working on whatever was pushed, pulled, or dragged into his shop. The services that "Rattletrap" offered included engine building, custom paint, fabrication, and more.
David's career took a turn to "TV land" when, in the late 1990s, he was offered a position to host the TV series Trucks! . Eager to seize the opportunity, David joined Mel Fair to host the show beginning in its 1999 season. In 2000, however, Fair left the show and David remained the only host.
During the eight years he hosted Trucks!, the show became one of the highest rated on Spike TV's weekend lineup partially because David both designed and built his own projects, unlike many other shows during the same period. "Trucks!" maintained the highest viewership of any automotive how-to television show throughout the years David hosted it.
David continued to host and produce the show until the end of the 2005 season, when he chose to pursue, in his own words, "other opportunities". On March 31, 2007—and a bit before that for his loyal fan base—the meaning of "other opportunities" was revealed as a new show called Stacey David’s GearZ , airing on ESPN2.
Season two of GearZ moved to the Speed Channel, with the first episode premiering February 23, 2008. [1] GearZ remained on SPEED channel for six seasons.
Season eight of GearZ moved to MavTV, with the first episode premiering March 7, 2014. Season nine was also syndicated on Velocity (TV network) with Season 11 premiering in January 2017. [2]
Stacey David has now been on the air for 20 years sharing his custom hot rods all over the world in places including Canada, Russia, Mexico, England, France, and more. [3]
The Volkswagen Schwimmwagen is a light four-wheel drive amphibious car, used extensively by German ground forces during the Second World War. With over 15,000 units built, the Schwimmwagen is the most-produced amphibious car in history.
Pimp My Ride is an American television series produced by MTV and hosted by rapper Xzibit, which ran for six seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2007. In each episode, a car in poor condition is both restored and customized. The work on the show was done by West Coast Customs until season 5 and was done by Galpin Auto Sports thereafter.
MotorTrend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel drive vehicles feature a longitudinally-mounted engine at the front of the car.
George Barris was an American designer and builder of Hollywood custom cars. Barris designed and built the Hirohata Merc. Barris's company, Barris Kustom Industries, designed and built the Munster Koach and DRAG-U-LA for The Munsters; and the 1966 Batmobile for the Batman TV series and film.
West Coast Customs is an automobile repair shop focusing on the customization of vehicles. It was started by co-founders Ryan Friedlinghaus and Quinton Dodson circa 1994. According to Friedlinghaus, he began the business with a $5,000 loan from his grandfather, but other sources claim that he raised the seed money for the business while working at his father's liquor store. Owing to the patronage of celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal and Sean Combs, along with appearances in the reality television programs Pimp My Ride and Street Customs, the company has gained a high degree of notoriety and has become a multimillion-dollar business.
A rat rod, as usually known today, is a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts. These parts can include non-automotive items that have been repurposed, such as a rifle used as a gear shifter, wrenches as door handles, or hand saws as sun visors. Whether or not so appointed, the rat rod uniquely conveys its builder’s imagination.
Overhaulin' is an American automotive reality television series. The show originally ran for five seasons between 2004 and 2008 on TLC. After a four-year hiatus, sixth season premiered on October 2, 2012 on Velocity and Discovery (Cablevision). In June 2019, it was announced that the show would be returning for a new season on November 16, 2019 on Motor Trend.
A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been altered to improve its performance, change its aesthetics, or combine both. Some automotive enthusiasts in the United States want to push "styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor - to truly craft an automobile of one's own." A custom car in British usage, according to Collins English Dictionary, is built to the buyer's own specifications.
PowerNation is a programming block of automotive how-to enthusiast television programs that began originally as the PowerBlock. It is currently produced by Gray Television, which purchased the assets of PowerNation's former owner Raycom Media in 2019. PowerNation consists of a block of automotive enthusiast shows including Engine Power, XOR , Truck Tech, and Detroit Muscle. PowerNation airs on the History Channel, and also features content on its own through a digital media player app available on the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku platforms.
Motor Trend is an American automotive television network owned by Motor Trend Group, a subsidiary of the TNT Sports division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It primarily broadcasts automotive-themed programming, including motorsports events.
Ford Model AA is a truck from Ford. As the Model T and TT became obsolete and needed to be replaced, Henry Ford began initial designs on the Model A and Model AA in 1926. Basic chassis layout was done rapidly and mechanical development was moved forward quickly. Body design and style was developed and then outsourced to various body manufacturers, including Briggs and Murray. The designs of the Model A shared parts and materials with the Model AA Ford, notably the body, engine and interior. The AA usually received plainer interiors than their car counterparts. The Model AA followed similar design changes to the Model A during the AA's four years in production, often delayed anywhere from three to nine months. The mechanical changes and upgrades were done during production of the vehicles. Body changes that occurred between 1929 and 1930 were also integrated into AA production, but leftover parts were used longer in the heavy commercial trucks.
Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines is a 1985 American animated TV mini-series that aired on the animated half-hour TV series Super Sunday and Super Saturday containing 9 segments that ran for 6 minutes each weekend, along with Jem, Robotix, and Inhumanoids. The segments were combined and turned into a 53-minute feature-length film. The series was based on SST Muscle Machines toy line by Playskool who in turn was owned by Hasbro.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to automobiles:
ESPN2 Garage was a new ninety-minute programming block dedicated to the automotive and motorsports world on ESPN2. Debuted on Saturday, January 6, 2007, the programming aired on ESPN2 from 5 p.m. ET to 6:30 p.m. ET on weekdays, from 10 a.m. ET to 12pm ET on Saturdays and from 10 a.m. ET to 11 a.m. ET on Sundays. This programming block was the predecessor to the new daily automotive news and analysis program, NASCAR Now.
Chris Duke is the TV host of the TV series Motorz TV and a YouTube content creator.
Gene Winfield is an American automotive customizer and fabricator. In the mid-1960s, his designs caught the attention of the film community, resulting in a large body of his work appearing on screen, including in the iconic 1982 film Blade Runner.
Roadkill is an automotive-themed internet show produced by the MotorTrend Group. It is hosted by former Hot Rod Magazine editor David Freiburger and former technical staff editor Mike Finnegan. Roadkill is primarily filmed in Southern California, with other episodes taking place across the United States, Canada and Australia.
Rick Péwé is an American writer, editor, photographer, and broadcast host. He was inducted into the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame (ORMHOF) in 2010. Other notable ORMHOF inductees include Steve McQueen, James Garner, Parnelli Jones, Mickey Thompson, Rod Hall, Ivan Stewart, Bob "Bigfoot" Chandler, Malcolm Smith and Walker Evans.
The Reactor is a custom car built by Gene Winfield. The low slung car featured height adjustable suspension, front wheel drive, and a powerful engine, and appeared in episodes of four TV series: Bewitched, Star Trek, Batman, and Mission: Impossible.
