Junkyard Wars: The Next Generation

A reader writes: "The makers of Junkyard Wars are starting up a new series called Ultimate Machine Combat. 30 teams and 30 days each to build "ultimate fighting vehicle" to battle in a "secret arena". This is attracting gear heads of all genres, including my local Jeep Club."

Comments

Pro-Wrasslin' for Geeks

[Bonker]

Although I don't watch them very often... once or twice a month... I really like shows like Battlebots, Robotica, and Junkyard wars because they trigger the same emotional response in children as pro-sports, and even faux-sports like Professional Wrestling.

Rather than be encouraged to spend all their time getting their bodies in peak/steroid-enhanced condition for the sport of their choice and then being completely burned out and unable to pursue any other line of work by the time they're an adult, kids are encouraged to learn mechanics, engineering, coding, and other tech skills that will benifit them later in life in professional or technical careers.

Re:cool..but

[Cutriss]

Just as long as they don't get that asshole from "Robotica" to do it.

Robotica is *okay* on its own merits, but if he hosted Battlebots or Junkyard Wars, that'd totally ruin the show by itself.

ARRGGH!! NOOOO!!! Not ANOTHER one!

[bani]

The LAST thing we need on TV is another faux-WWF show. Gah!!!

Come on, we already have Battlebots, Robotica, etc...

Do we REALLY need ANOTHER?

We need more CONSTRUCTIVE shows like Junkyard Wars / Scrapheap Challenge.

We don't need another idiot 'bang contestants machines against each other till the audience falls asleep from utter boredom'.

I can see it now. A scantily clad cathy rogers draping herself over the contestants machines while robert llewelyn growls and grunts like an idiot white trash WWF announcer.

Re:Dangerous?

[Rogerborg]

• I am assuming, since this is coming from the Junkyard Wars standpoint and not necessarily Battlebots, are these vehicles manned? [...] Unmanned cars, so a huge-scale battlebots thing.... pretty cool, and very expensive... cool to watch I'm sure. But I doubt this is the format.

Doubt ye not. There was a Scrapheap Challenge (the original UK title) battle of the champions event in the UK using exactly this format. Two salvage cars, radio controlled with salvaged motors turning the wheels and pushing the pedals, and just ramming the bejeesus out of each other in an old quarry.

It was splendidly entertaining, with a few flaws that could easily be ironed out (i.e. don't put a high scoring scoring target area on the top of the car then count any old trailing bit of chain that hits it). Both teams tried to put clever weapons on their vehicles, but ended up just smashing lumps out of each other, which is what we really want to see, right?

You're right about the safety aspect though. One of the cars jammed on full throttle, and they had to drive it in circles, then up the quarry wall until it tipped over. A bit scary for the production crew, but top fun for the viewers.