Best Car TV Shows That Any Gearhead Will Surely Love

We’ve got a rare opportunity to talk to an actual car TV show host and a rally driver Dainius Leonavičius, who has kindly shared his insights about hosting automotive series and gave us plenty of valuable advice for keen and everyday drivers. 

Dainius has worked with several automotive shows during his career. First, he was a creator and a host for a show called ‘Ekipažas’ (Auto Crew), later on - ‘Ne Vienas Kelyje’ (Not Alone On The Road), which was based on road safety. Dainius also said that being a host wasn’t really his favorite part of the job, but he took the position following the network’s advice. Nevertheless, he has gained plenty of experience during his years as a host and has kindly agreed to share it with us.

For starters, let’s talk a bit more about being a TV host - we’ve asked Dainius to share his favorite parts about the job and introduce us more to the world of television. “As I’ve mentioned before, being a host wasn’t an aspiration of mine, but rather a duty. However, many things depend on the host - the show’s scenario, plot, the intrigue of each segment, and adding it all up into one coherent episode. I did enjoy the preparations for my stand-up portion as the audience’s reaction greatly depended on my ability to deliver the information at hand.” 

“It’s all about creating intrigue or attracting the viewer’s attention in any possible way - if you do it right, they’ll watch with gusto; if not - they will switch the channel. So, despite standing in front of the camera not being my favorite part, the stand-up preparations were really enjoyable. All in all, being behind the scenes - editing the video, coming up with new ideas, and directing - is the part that I thrived doing. Not so much with the on-screen work.”

“Creating the ‘Ekipažas’ series, we had the chance to film various autotests, but with ‘Ne Vienas Kelyje’, we couldn’t do it - it wasn’t really in agreeance with our road safety topic, and we also got caught in the bureaucratism of advertising laws. Advertising competitiveness officers saw advertising in us showing those autotests - even in us making comparisons of several makers’ cars. Of course, you had to come up with a definite winner in those tests, and it could look like trying to make one vehicle superior to another, thus unobtrusively promoting it. After a while, we stopped doing these challenges, even with old vehicles.”

Now, for the part that should be very interesting to anyone owning a car - an expert’s word on choosing a vehicle and maintaining it to its full potential. “It’s quite hard to come up with definitive advice about choosing a car. First of all, every driver has a prejudice of their own and has heard various myths that aren’t exactly true or talk about factual information. In my opinion, just as every person has a character, so does every car model. It’s very important that they match. After all, a car isn’t just a mode of transportation - it’s both a utilitarian tool and a source of pleasure, a guarantee for comfort, or a cause for conflicts. After a while, your car either becomes your ‘friend’ or an ‘enemy.’ It’s also no surprise that a car can be a status symbol in your society or community.”    

As you can see, choosing a car is both a science and a feeling, but Dainius did have some guidance for buying a new vehicle. “First of all - budget. Be fair to yourself and decide what kind of car you can truly afford. If you lease it, bear in mind the size of the initial payment and the amount that you’ll be paying monthly. Often, people looking for cars have to settle for a ‘lesser’ vehicle than they first imagined. Insurance prices are also something to keep in mind; as for premium cars, you will most likely be paying a lot more.”

“Second - find out your needs. What kind of roads do you use most often, how many miles per year do you drive, will it be a family vehicle, and even where will you keep it. That’s a starting point for basic criteria like size, body- and engine type.” 

“Though advertisements like ‘this vehicle price starts from X’ might sound good and tempting, my advice is to skip it. A starting price often means a fundamental configuration, lacking even the most basic things that everyday drivers might need. And that could be a culprit of disappointment sometime later.” 

“Talking about basic configurations, my advice is never to compare prices of two ‘basics’ of different makers, as the actual configurations might vary a great deal. With one basic, you’ll get almost anything that you need, with another - probably just the body of the car and almost nothing else. So study the descriptions very carefully.”

“When buying a used vehicle, you’re most likely to choose it with your eyes; a car’s design is as important as what’s inside. If you don’t appreciate the way it looks, you’re most likely to feel (even subconsciously) irritated upon seeing it each morning, which will likely make your trip less enjoyable. And, once you’re irritated behind the wheel, everyone around you turns into an enemy rather than a fellow traffic participant.” 

“Once you find a car whose outside pleases your inside, it’s time to check the driving comfort. Test it on the roads that you drive on the most, not the ones the seller suggests. Also, bring it to an independent car mechanic that you trust to evaluate its actual state of repairs.” 

“There’s also one seemingly minor thing that I often notice - drivers choosing the wrong size car. For instance, owning a large SUV if you’re living in an apartment building with very limited parking space might turn out to be a real pain in the rear. There’s really no need for a huge vehicle if you’re mostly driving it alone, in the city, with just a few shopping bags at best. Unless, of course, those were the circumstances, and this kind of car was your best choice.”