The Appraisers: Tom Cox (L), Ben Nef (C), and Chris Ritter (R). Photo courtesy Chip Taylor Communications.
Despite its description, “reality television” tends to be about as far from reality as one can get. Events typically unfold in a manner to generate as much tension and conflict as possible per half-hour segment, and in the case of automotive reality shows, occasionally a car gets built minutes before some impossible and self-imposed deadline. A new reality television show, premiering Saturday, December 5, on Velocity, promises less drama and more serious automotive content, and includes the experts to back this claim up. Could The Appraisers be the auto-themed reality television series we’ve waited for?
Each half-hour episode stars Tom Cox, an AACA Senior Master judge and a board member of the AACA, AACA Museum and Virginia Museum of Transportation; Chris Ritter, the head librarian of the AACA Library; and Ben Nef, a former custom motorcycle builder who now pairs exotic and collector cars with the right owners. As described by Chip Taylor, the show’s writer and executive producer, The Appraisers is a “contemporary automotive reality series that follows three automotive appraisers as they cruise America in search of often rare, super inviting, and always interesting automotive finds.”
Once unearthed, the cars are researched and evaluated instead of chopped, cut, slammed, stuffed full of crate engine and resprayed in flashy paint (or wrapped in matte vinyl). Drama, presumably, comes from the disagreements on a vehicle’s value between the hosts, or between the hosts and the car’s owner.
Though centered on classic, muscle and exotic cars, the show promises to cover automobilia and motorcycles as well, albeit on a limited scale. The first episode, entitled “Here We Go,” includes segments on a 1950 Mercury Coupe restomod; a 1941 Cadillac Series Sixty Special; a “one of one” 1960 Imperial limousine, previously owned by Nelson Rockefeller; and an auction-bound 1956 Chevrolet Corvette.
Episode one is scheduled to air at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and again at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. A second episode, focused on late-model exotic cars to expand the show’s appeal, follows at 8:30 p.m. (and at 11:30 p.m.). Remaining episodes will premiere Saturdays at 8:00, with last week’s show slotting into the 8:30 p.m. time slot. It’s too early to predict if more episodes will be produced, but viewership numbers for the initial eight episodes will likely play a major role in the show’s future.
Future shows will feature vehicles as diverse as a 1922 Pierce-Arrow; a 1957 Chrysler 300C; a 1934 Lancia Augusta March Special Tourer; a 1930 Cadillac V16 roadster; a 1970 AAR ’Cuda and a 1973 Mohs Safarikar, familiar to attendees of the 2015 Hemmings Concours d’Elegance. For more information on upcoming episodes, visit AppraisersTV.com.
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