For the final video of 2012
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:13 I think favorite memories for me from 2012, I mean,
00:18 obviously, me and Justin doing the Corvette ZR1 from Munich
00:23 down to Marinello.
00:24 That was a great drive, a lot of fun.
00:26 Justin's a good guy to travel with.
00:28 I think from a technical point of view,
00:30 I thought Best Driver's Car Week this year
00:32 was absolutely outstanding.
00:35 In fact, we nearly came number one in the top 100 channels
00:38 with views that week.
00:39 Over 9 million people watched the Motortek channel
00:42 that week.
00:43 So for me personally, that was a huge highlight
00:46 because it was such a team effort, a lot of people
00:48 involved to put that on.
00:50 And it turned out really well.
00:52 The very first one that we shot, I think, was probably the best.
00:56 And the first one that we shot was actually
00:58 the second one that aired, which was the so-called Alaska
01:01 trip, which turned into the Grand Canyon trip.
01:03 Which we didn't want to air because we didn't want anyone
01:05 to see us fail immediately.
01:06 Right.
01:07 Yeah.
01:08 That's actually what happened.
01:08 A little behind-the-scenes action there for you
01:10 is that we shot that story.
01:12 We were going to drive the Ranchero to Alaska,
01:14 and we didn't make it.
01:15 And we ended up going to the Grand Canyon.
01:16 And we were just tearing our hair out, going,
01:18 we're utter failures.
01:19 We can't air this first.
01:20 And so we did the other episode, driving the Pontiac
01:23 from El Paso home and aired that one first.
01:25 Subsequently, we've realized that we just
01:27 fail on every episode.
01:28 So it really doesn't matter.
01:29 You guys are entertained anyway.
01:31 So my favorite memory-- I mean, there's a lot,
01:33 because we did a lot of things this year.
01:35 One was off-camera.
01:36 And that was when we were doing the epic drive
01:38 through Scotland with the Bentleys.
01:40 And we're driving the car back and forth around Loch Ness.
01:42 It's beautiful.
01:43 So I said, you know, I should just go down there,
01:44 look at Loch Ness, take five minutes.
01:46 Long day of shooting.
01:48 And it's great.
01:49 But I noticed there's a big flat rock about two feet offshore.
01:52 This big.
01:53 I go, you know what?
01:54 I'm going to jump on this rock.
01:55 I'm going to stand on it.
01:56 And I'll be the king of the lake.
01:57 Or I don't know what I was thinking.
01:58 But anyway, I jump on the rock.
02:00 And it turns out it's covered in slime.
02:01 And as soon as my feet hit, I go flying.
02:04 And I wind up more than waist deep
02:06 in frigid 33-degree water.
02:08 So I feel like an idiot.
02:09 And I'm freezing.
02:10 And I walk back up.
02:11 And I notice that my wedding ring has-- well,
02:16 it's no longer on my finger.
02:17 Because my hand shrank when I hit the water.
02:19 It popped off.
02:20 And all I could think of is my wife killing me.
02:23 So I run down.
02:25 And I'm freaking out.
02:26 I'm everywhere.
02:27 I'm looking.
02:27 Where's the ring?
02:28 Where's the ring?
02:29 Graham calmly walks down.
02:31 Very Scottish.
02:34 Notices a glinty gold object about five feet out
02:37 in the crystal clear water.
02:39 Crystal clear 33-degree water.
02:41 And there's your ring.
02:43 So I have to go back into Loch Ness to retrieve the ring.
02:48 And as I'm walking back up the hill,
02:49 I step in a pile of vomit.
02:51 All right, my favorite moments from this year.
02:54 In the Lamborghini Aventador with Scott Mortara
02:56 at the world's greatest drag race.
02:58 We're just testing out the Lambo.
03:00 And we had the car lined up on a paint line, which, as we all
03:03 know, really compromises your traction.
03:05 It was really slippery.
03:06 And as we went to burn out and do a drag race test,
03:11 our wheels spun.
03:12 And we began fishtailing.
03:13 And it was just this awesome moment
03:15 of absolute lack of control, where
03:17 you're at the mercy of this incredible machine.
03:20 And you remember just how small and fragile you are.
03:24 So my favorite moments from season one,
03:26 definitely the MB5 escapades.
03:28 That was just loads of fun and a proper adventure.
03:32 And I got to exercise my mechanical skills
03:34 and get out of the office for a long time.
03:36 And that was a ton of fun.
03:38 Let's see, my favorite memory from season one
03:41 was going over to Germany and shooting
03:43 a video of the Conti Jump.
03:45 Not only because we were going to Germany
03:47 and shooting the video from a castle,
03:50 but also because Ari, myself, and Sean all got to go
03:53 and all got to do the video together.
03:54 So it was a really good experience.
03:56 And it was a lot of fun to do that with those guys.
03:58 Hitting that crazy steep banking of the oval on a ZX6R top gear
04:03 was completely mind-blowing and an experience
04:06 I'm not going to forget.
04:07 Favorite memory?
04:08 Probably bringing together the BMW S1000RR
04:12 and the Ducati 1199 Panigale, because it
04:15 was a clash of technologies that's really coming
04:19 to the sport bike world now.
04:21 There are far too many.
04:22 There's the Morgan three-wheeler,
04:24 which was positively the most unique motoring
04:27 experience I've had.
04:28 Going to Fiorano and driving the most powerful production
04:31 Ferrari ever around the test track, that was incredible.
04:34 And then driving also the RX7, which
04:37 was a car I've always dreamed over when I was a kid.
04:39 The most interesting unlimited video we shot this year for me
04:42 was probably the boat drag video.
04:45 Because although the trophy truck was awesome,
04:48 big horsepower, jumping, that sort of thing, I don't race them.
04:52 I don't drive them.
04:53 So I'm not quite as passionate as I am about the boat thing.
04:57 But it was also challenging, because we were trying
04:59 to go racing and compete.
05:01 But you've got cameras everywhere,
05:03 and they're stuck to the boat screwing up the driver.
05:06 And they're in my ear, and you've got guys talking to me.
05:09 So that makes racing competitively extra hard.
05:14 What would I do differently?
05:16 Not a lot.
05:16 I think for a launch, for a first time,
05:21 I think we did a pretty OK job.
05:23 We made some mistakes.
05:24 But I always believe that the person who's never
05:26 made a mistake has never made anything, number one.
05:28 And that you should learn from your mistakes
05:30 and try and make it better next time around.
05:32 So we're continually trying to improve.
05:34 And I think that's a good way to approach this.
05:37 And I'm looking forward to taking that ethos further
05:40 into 2013.
05:42 What would I do differently?
05:45 I'm not sure what I would do differently.
05:47 But I do know that I would do it all again.
05:50 You know what I would change for sure?
05:52 It is the Lamborghini episode.
05:54 Not that I would take back anything that I said,
05:58 but that show was scrambled so quickly.
06:01 I mean, we shot that show literally in 12 hours total.
06:05 And there's just more that we could have done, I think.
06:09 It's the one video we've got that's
06:11 got almost 18 million views now.
06:14 And it's got the controversy, but it could have been sharper.
06:17 Yeah, that's probably my least favorite episode,
06:21 only because we were saddled with a car.
06:24 We really didn't get to drive much.
06:26 We had the car, but we had to bring the tires back
06:29 in the same shape they left.
06:30 We couldn't leave the state.
06:32 Couldn't eat in it.
06:32 We couldn't go on a racetrack.
06:33 We couldn't go on a racetrack, yeah.
06:35 So it was like, you've got this car,
06:37 and short of me hauling ass on the freeway
06:39 and nearly getting pulled over for it,
06:41 that was all the fun I had in it.
06:43 So that kind of sucked.
06:44 What would you do differently?
06:46 More drifting.
06:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:50 More burnouts.
07:04 More drifting.
07:06 What would I do differently?
07:07 I don't know.
07:08 I guess focus more on not necessarily
07:10 hour rate comparisons, but more like lifestyle fun stuff that
07:13 has to do with motorcycling.
07:14 I found that we certainly enjoyed that more,
07:17 and it seemed like the viewers really
07:18 responded to that better than the straightforward bike
07:22 comparisons.
07:23 Actually, I would do probably less in front
07:26 of the camera commentary and more the onboard commentary.
07:28 I think that was definitely a step in the right direction.
07:30 And my hope is that since this track is almost all corners,
07:33 just one corner after another, is
07:35 that I'll just be able to carry more corner speed.
07:37 And we didn't learn that until later in the season,
07:40 but I think more of that definitely
07:41 would have been good.
07:42 The Pontiac trip where we flew to El Paso
07:45 after throwing a dart and then bought that Pontiac
07:47 and tried to drive it home for $1,500 total.
07:50 Yeah, that one, I had the flu the entire time we filmed.
07:53 Broken tooth.
07:54 And I had a broken front tooth, and that tooth
07:56 was broken from another road trip
07:58 when I had my head laying on the floor of a car
08:00 and you smacked the floor with a hammer.
08:03 And my head bounced off the floor.
08:04 Was that the Buick?
08:05 Yeah, that was the Buick trip.
08:06 That's right.
08:07 I forgot about that.
08:09 I think the biggest challenge was
08:11 getting all the back end infrastructure in place
08:14 to make the Motor Trend channel a reality.
08:16 I mean, we had lots of experience
08:19 with video, creating product, but never on this scale.
08:23 And it required a big investment,
08:24 not just in equipment, but people.
08:28 And then here in the office, we didn't really
08:30 have anywhere to put them.
08:32 So for most of the year, the video team's
08:34 been down in a couple of dingy offices
08:36 down in the back of the shop here.
08:39 That was a bit difficult. Fortunately for 2013,
08:43 we've moved into a brand new facility.
08:45 And that's going to be a lot easier.
08:48 We can be a lot more creative and get a lot more done.
08:51 The most challenging part of this whole On Two Wheels gig
08:53 has been becoming comfortable in front of the camera.
08:56 Because as relaxed a person as you might be,
09:00 as soon as they turn that camera in your face,
09:01 you just turn into a robot.
09:03 So getting comfortable and relaxed
09:06 and letting the personalities come through
09:08 in front of the camera and trying
09:10 to convey who we actually are has been the biggest challenge.
09:14 The most challenging head-to-head episode we did
09:16 was the three-car one.
09:18 It was the Cadillac ATS, the BMW 335i, and the Mercedes C350
09:24 Sport.
09:25 Because for the first time, instead of having 12 minutes
09:27 to talk about two cars, I had 12 minutes
09:30 to talk about three cars.
09:32 And a lot got cut out, and a lot got left out.
09:36 And I just hadn't done it before on video, so it was difficult.
09:39 And then there was also the little matter of a forest fire,
09:42 and we had to move locations midway
09:44 through the day, which kind of screwed everything up.
09:46 But so that was pretty challenging.
09:49 The most challenging thing is for sure the time out
09:51 of the office, by a long shot.
09:53 We take-- I would say between filming, working on cars,
09:58 and reshooting, it's six days gone every month.
10:01 Yeah, the interesting thing is when
10:02 we first started talking about doing this,
10:04 we were like, this is the greatest job ever.
10:06 Because as soon as the camera's off, we walk away from it,
10:09 and we're done.
10:09 Wrong.
10:10 And it's completely opposite of that,
10:11 because look where we're sitting right now, instead of typing.
10:14 Shipping a magazine to the press, exactly.
10:16 Yeah, the time thing is a killer,
10:18 because you're constantly apologizing
10:19 to your wife and family about why you're not home again.
10:23 But inside, you're going, yeah, driving a Lamborghini.
10:27 Well, that's the most challenging thing,
10:28 and the most rewarding thing about it,
10:30 really, is that we're out doing the stuff
10:32 that we wish we could do.
10:33 But if we were actually working like we're
10:35 supposed to be working on the magazine, we could never do it.
10:38 But since it's our job to do this, we just find a way.
10:41 Yeah.
10:41 I think one of the most rewarding things
10:43 has been seeing how everyone on the team has developed.
10:46 And it's not just the guys behind the cameras
10:48 or in the edit booths, but also the people
10:51 who appear on camera.
10:52 You know, the YouTube world can be pretty tough.
10:54 There's some people that make some nasty comments
10:57 from time to time.
10:58 What do I think about the comments and feedback
11:00 I've received this year?
11:03 They've been far too concerned with hand movements, foot
11:06 placement, and beards.
11:08 All right, what do I think of the comments?
11:10 Well, you guys have a lot to say about my hair.
11:13 And frankly, I don't give a shit.
11:15 Yeah, there was that one comment in the episode
11:17 where we went zip lining where some guy's like,
11:19 I wish when Arie fell down, his dreads had fallen off.
11:22 And I was just like, that is the stupidest thing
11:24 I've ever heard, honestly.
11:26 Comments and feedback on YouTube videos.
11:29 I mean, there was a wonderful article
11:31 that sort of described YouTube comments as the toxic atomic
11:36 waste of the internet.
11:37 And sometimes I agree with that, because a lot of horrible things
11:42 are said.
11:43 But at the same time, some people make really great points
11:45 and give really nice compliments.
11:47 And you know, whenever I read like, hey, great video.
11:49 Thanks for doing that.
11:50 It does make me feel good.
11:52 Never shaving the goatee, thanks to the comments
11:54 on the internet.
11:55 Never.
11:56 YouTube is a crazy social media.
12:00 I've never-- I thought forums were
12:01 bad with people going at each other's throats.
12:03 But it's amazing on YouTube how no matter
12:05 what the episode is about, it turns
12:07 into America versus Europe.
12:09 Have you noticed that?
12:10 Yeah.
12:11 How is that?
12:13 I don't know.
12:13 Give me something to fight over.
12:15 I'm blown away with how positive it is.
12:17 I can't believe how no matter what video Motor Trend posts,
12:21 within the first 10 comments is somebody going,
12:23 where's roadkill?
12:24 More roadkill.
12:24 Let's do roadkill.
12:25 Who's the guy with the R-O-A-D-K-I-L-L?
12:28 I just assumed that was you, to be honest with you.
12:32 Nope, not me.
12:33 I know it's not our wives.
12:35 I think we've seen a lot of positive and encouraging
12:39 comments.
12:39 It's really great when we hit one out of the park
12:42 and people respond.
12:43 It makes us feel good.
12:45 When we stuff up and do something wrong
12:47 or it doesn't work, we take note.
12:49 Constructive criticism is always good.
12:51 We're not precious.
12:52 We want to know what you want to see
12:54 and what really interests you.
12:58 A lot is happening in season two.
13:00 Wide Open Throttle is going to return to its original news
13:02 roots.
13:02 And we're going to have roundtables with journalists
13:04 like Angus McKenzie and Johnny Lieberman discussing what's
13:07 going on in the auto industry.
13:09 Then my show is going to turn into the J-Turn.
13:11 And it's going to carry on this bucket list style theme, where
13:14 I'm going to be heading out and doing some of the coolest, most
13:17 interesting things in the automotive industry.
13:20 It's going to be amazing.
13:22 What I'm actually looking forward to
13:24 is new places I get to go.
13:27 Last year, I got to go to Russia.
13:28 I got to go to Scotland, just specifically for video.
13:32 And so this year, I know I'm going to Sweden.
13:34 And we'll find out why.
13:36 And maybe somewhere in the southern hemisphere,
13:39 which is going to be pretty cool.
13:41 What's going to be the best part about season two?
13:43 More drifting.
13:45 We'll be able to drift whatever new 911 variant comes out.
13:48 We'll be able to drift the new Corvette.
13:49 We'll be able to drift all manner of cars.
13:51 What else is there?
13:52 There's going to be a lot of cars that need
13:54 to be drifted in the second year.
13:57 And I will take on that task.
13:59 And I will drift them for your entertainment.
14:01 Mostly my entertainment, but your entertainment too.
14:04 I'm looking forward to just more adventure, more fun stuff
14:06 on motorcycles.
14:07 I mean, we're kind of just coming up with crazier ideas,
14:10 going further, doing stuff that's more outlandish.
14:13 You know, just having fun with it, basically.
14:15 That's what I'm looking forward to.
14:17 I'm looking forward to--
14:19 We don't know what we're going to do.
14:21 A budget that's measured in thousands instead of hundreds
14:24 for next season so that we can leave California,
14:27 go other places, much further away, much cooler.
14:29 But do those work?
14:31 Should we just go to the throwing the dart every single
14:33 time and just driving some clapped out junk from there
14:36 to home?
14:37 We're actually so bad at throwing the dart,
14:39 we don't need the blindfold.
14:41 We can just aim and not get there.
14:42 Do it over our back.
14:43 Yeah.
14:44 Or have 10 beers.
14:45 That'll do it.
14:46 What I'm really looking forward to in season two
14:48 is being able to bring more programming.
14:50 We're really going to ramp it up in 2013.
14:54 Can't say too much yet, but what I can tell you
14:56 is we're hoping to almost double the number of hours
15:00 of original content we're going to be putting on the channel
15:02 in 2013.
15:03 So it's going to be a big, big task,
15:05 but I think the team here is up for it.
15:07 We're going to give it our best shot,
15:09 and hopefully you'll come along for the ride.
15:11 Happy holidays, everybody.
15:13 And as always, thank you for watching.
15:15 We'll see you next year.
15:16 So from all of us at Roadkill, thanks
15:18 very much for watching season one.
15:19 And we hope you'll stick around for season two.
15:21 Happy New Year's.
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