I like CarWow too, there are really only a few I really just don't like, Raitis Rides is one of those.

 

I wanted to like Raitis Rides but just couldn't get into it. My wife and I tried watching him review the new refreshed Civic (which looks pretty nice) she bailed out after a couple of minutes and I did too. Normally she isn't interested in watching any car reviews so it was a breakthrough to get her to agree to watch one. Too bad it was a dud.

 

Who says he stepped on necks? Conan O'Brien fans? Is there proof he is not a nice guy, examples, or is this just what you hear from likely jealous people?

I heard bad things about many Late Night guys including legends like Carson and Letterman. Many people turned on Leno with the whole Conan, Tonight Show deal and thought that was Leno's fault or he was a bad guy but I don't see it that way at all, Leno was fired because the clueless execs wanted a younger audience for advertising, Conan was not working hosting the Tonight Show and it just kept getting worse, Leno's Show was not working, the clueless execs offered Leno the Tonight Show back which Leno never wanted to leave, he was number 1 and he took the opportunity and the Tonight Show went back to and stayed number 1 until Leno left. I am not a huge fan of Leno, preferred Letterman but with the current cast of awful unfunny activist hacks hosting Late Night shows like Colbert, Meyers, Fallon, and Kimmel I appreciate Letterman, Leno, Carson, Conan so much more because they were funny and knew how to put on a entertaining show that people actually watched and enjoyed. Leno being a car enthusiast and sharing his cars, impressions, is nice too, there aren't too many other decent car shows out there aside from Top Gear.

 

Car Wow is pretty good, I like Doug Demuro even though I disagree with some things he says/likes, I like Matt Farrah's channel though I think he should spend more time on the car instead of just driving through Canyons. Hoovies garage in entertaining. Fifth Gear is a pretty good show, Top Gear/The Grand Tour are my favorites, I still watch Motorweek if they review something I like. I really liked the old Wheeler Dealers, very informative on the cars they fix up.

 

There is a long list of people in the Comedy world who have very unflattering opinions of Jay Leno. It goes back way before Conan. Read some of what Howard Stern and David Letterman have to say about Leno for example. Jimmy Kimmel also. Theres a long list of people.

 

i don't know if judge sw17ls considers those 'reviewers' or 'presenters'. i'll wait for the verdict.

so do you consider raiti a reviewer or a presenter? if a presenter then you're totally conflating style and content. just because you don't like it doesn't mean they're not a reviewer. raiti's rides guy comes across as very amateurish and loud for sure, but he DOES review vehicles in the drive and the detailed walk around (his negatives he calls 'zonks' i think).

far as i can tell you've decided a reviewer must a) be critical, and b) compare a vehicle to other vehicles... do i have the criteria correct?

apparently doug demuro's not a reviewer.

 

I'm not sure why you are harping on me for this. As you see above, plenty of people agree with me. If you don't, thats fine. Doesn't mean I'm wrong. I think snidely calling me "Judge SW17LS" is out of line.

Lets look at the definition of a review:

So, according to the dictionary, a review is a "critical appraisal" of a thing. So, if there is no critical appraisal its not a review. An overview of a vehicle's features and design is not a review. Comparing and contrasting those features and design with competitors or a critical assessment of a vehicle's attributes is a review.

I would consider Raiti both a presenter and a reviewer, he does offer some opinions. Largely his videos are just presenting design elements of a vehicle though, describing the design of a vehicle from the outside "and you have this bumper that melds into the fender here and headlights" particularly annoying. I have eyes lol. What I want to know is what a reviewer thinks about aspects of a vehicle and how they compare to other vehicles in that segment, That to me is a review.

You can call things whatever you want, but every car video is not a "review" IMO, lots of videos on YouTube including Jay Lenos aren't reviews.

 

Letterman was angry because Leno got the Tonight Show which Letterman wanted, though Letterman can't say anything really shady that happened with Leno and I think Letterman was way better in NYC anyway with his show. It is rumored/was portrayed Leno hid in a closet to listen to what execs were saying about the Tonight Show deal, not sure if that was even true. Kimmel just goes along with Letterman/Stern say/feel, he has no real beef, he is a follower. Stern got mad at Leno because Leno got/"took" Stuttering John to come to the Tonight Show as a announcer and claimed Leno stole some of his shows bits which I didn't see. Stern never lets anything go, creates drama often when there is none, and is a giant hypocrite especially now, I still listen to him though, who else is there. Before the Stuttering John thing Stern would kiss Leno's rear and even would say Leno was better then Letterman at times. It is mainly all a bunch of childish played up drama/beefs for audiences, I don't think Leno is any worse then Carson who Stern also attacks, Letterman, Kimmel, Stern etc from all the bad stories you get from different people and there are several for each of them.

I don't really take sides, I still think the Letterman, Leno, Killborn, Stern, Carson were all far better/more entertaining then the current crop of unwatchable, unfunny, one sided, activist bores on late night who really belong on cnn/msnbc.

 

You have to look into what Leno did to get the job away from Letterman. There are several books written on the subject that you should read if you have interest. Sometimes in life people do things to others to benefit themselves that are underhanded, and that gives you a window into the caliber of person that they are. Both Stern and Letterman have such experiences with Leno, as do a lot of other people and they understandably have a negative viewpoint of him after those experiences. Leno's just a weasel, lots of weasels in the world...and you don't have to be a weasel to get ahead in life.

I'll watch his car videos because they're entertaining, but he wouldn't be on my list of people in Hollywood I think are decent people. There are a bunch of very negative happenstances where Leno is the common denominator.

 

When it comes to recent cars, Leno is a promoter/presenter and not a reviewer. Classic cars is where his true passion lies.

I'm aware of his unsavory character in the studio, but that doesn't change the fact that the dude can present a classic car like nobody else. Hell, Jeremy Clarkson got a pass for punching his producer.

 

They both went after each other, the show was up for grabs, most evidence points to Leno's manager being the real villain in that situation. I think Leno was a better fit for the Tonight Show, Letterman was way better in NYC and having his own show doing it his way. Either way nobody knows exactly what happened, just what some writers/actors say, it was pretty much a given most were going to side with Letterman because Letterman was seen as more edgy, more funny, the guy many comedians looked up to which I don't disagree with, I thought Letterman was funnier, liked his show more but I still liked Leno on the tonight show too even though I did not watch it nearly as much. Aside from mainly Stern and Letterman I don't hear of many attacking Leno, again Kimmel is just a follower because Stern/Letterman had a issue with Leno, Conan is upset he lost the Tonight Show but it simply didn't work with him on it. Considering things you hear/read about Stern, he is the last person to be making any accusations or judging people.

As far as being a weasel, in many cases you have to be a weasel to get ahead in Hollywood, do shady things, back stab, etc, to get ahead in that industry. At least that is what I hear and have read about. There are so many stories of famous actors/actresses that are just terrible but who knows if they are true or not, who knows if it is just others trying to destroy their image/credibility like what some have done to Leno. That is why I don't put much in the couple of people who hate Jay Leno, say he is so bad as I have heard just as bad things about those people making the accusations, some worse aside from Conan, I have not heard anything bad about Conan. I kind of assume they are all some pretty shallow, vapid, greedy, selfish hypocritical people that I would not want to meet or spend much time with.

 

You should read the books. I don't hate Jay Leno, I just don't think he's a good person. Hating someone involves more mental space than I would assign to any celebrity or person I don't know personally.

One thing I can't stand is people who act nice and friendly and caring...and aren't. I think thats why Leno bugs me specifically.

 

Totally agree, like I said I enjoy watching him present cars because you can just tell what they mean to him and how much he enjoys them. Doesn't mean he's not a jerk. Clarkson is a great example, I love watching Jeremy Clarkson. But from many many accounts he is a total A-Hole.

 

I watched the movie, The Late Shift, don't think it was fully accurate, I don't think any of those books are written completely objectively and likely have a side, take Letterman's side so I won't bother. It won't change my mind anyway, I have already listened to enough of the stories/rants by the few who don't like Leno and the majority telling those stories are the last people who should be attacking anyone based on things you read/hear about against them. I guess we can agree, don't hate any of them, I really can't stand most of the current crop of horrid late night hosts that have ruined late night comedy

 

I actually think a lot of the current late night hosts are very entertaining, they're just different from what you traditionally had in that slot. Their shows are edgier and more political (except for Fallon), but thats just a sign of the times.

If everything seems to take Lettermans side...you have to ask yourself why that is lol. Like I said, Leno's a snake, I don't believe Letterman or Conan are. I don't think Howard Stern is either. Or Jimmy Kimmel. Where there's smoke theres fire.