The first promo video of The Car Show revealed a set clearly borrowed from Merv Griffin. Jalopnik readers made fun of it and now, as this exclusive photo shows, they've dropped the desk and replaced it with a bowling alley and, wait, wait, is that a sponsor's logo on the wall? I can't quite make it out. Something-something-dot-com. Wait, I know... Enhance. Enhance. Enhance.
UPDATE: Ezra Dyer, writer for The Car Show, just dropped a new set photo on Facebook showing that the desk still lives. This, despite receiving the following quote from Erik Arneson, VP of Media Relations for Speed TV:
"not sure if it changes anything, but the set for The Car Show that you didn't like was just the set for the pilot shoot … it will not be the set for the actual show…"
Yes, it looks like Erik was right — they didn't ditch the desk, just added the big TireRack logo. Sorry folks, your prayers have not been heard. It looks to us like The Car Show is turning into yet another Speed TV enterprise.
Ezra's photo, below.
We kid. Of course. And that headline up top doesn't mean we're implying they changed it because you, our wonderfully intelligent readers, all complained. It's just that they happened one after each other. See, y'all complained. They changed it. And, curiously, no one could get us a photo of the set for the last week since our post went up and they started filming again yesterday. We're not saying they spent the entire week changing the set. Nope. Not us.
Whatever. However it happened we think the bowling alley-meets-Discount Tire look's an improvement. Although, anything would be an improvement over the desk at this point.
The conspicuous placement of a logo for a sponsor so large that it makes even Matt Farrah's head look small is a bit of a detriment, but someone's gotta pay to keep Dan Neil in his fancy pocket squares.
This set also reveals what shoes the hosts have chosen, which reveals a lot about them. From right-to-left it's loafers, sneakers, expensive Italian loafers from a brand you're not even cool enough to pronounce, and sneakers.