Why Did Monster Trucks Stop Crushing Cars???
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2024
- Monster Docs: Episode Three
For nearly half a century, monster trucks have been crushing and smashing junk vehicles to entertain their fans. Over the past decade however, crushing cars has become less and less common in favor of a new generation of obstacles and maneuvers. Let's talk about why monster trucks are moving away from the destruction and carnage they're so well known for and evolving into machines known for their skilled stunts and balancing acts.
California Monster Trucks' video: • Where Did Monster Jam'...
The real reason trucks have taken over U.S. roadways: www.washingtonpost.com/busine...
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The other eleven contacted tours did not respond to the opportunity to comment. This video is not sponsored by any promoter.
00:00 - Intro
00:45 - History of Crushing Cars
3:55 - Methods
4:16 - Issues with Crushing Cars
13:03 - Solving the Issues
15:25 - Monster Truck Evolution
19:55 - Conclusion - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I can understand the crush cars going away but its a massive shame that i wont be seeing Blue Thunder completely desintegrate an entire caravan again.
The good old days XD
You need a profit motive to make it work.
I would suggest giving away free tickets to anyone who can donate a crushable car.
Lots of people got really good junkers in the back 40.
You offer to tow the cars off their property and give them free tickets it's a win win.
Those people are going to get all their friends to go watch their car get crushed. Those friends are going to buy tickets.
Win win win situation.
Womp womp
@@jtjames79 the transportation and logistics is the expensive part. there is no heart in monster trucks anymore. its lame as fuck corporate bullshit
Blue thunder? Big foot is the original
Shoutout to the promoter who gave a phone interview! His insight was great.
Monster truck guys are usually happy to talk to anyone who wants to talk about monster trucks.
Yeah, it great hearing random garbled noises every once in a while in the video.
Subtitles for those parts would have been great.
I mean its literally his job
@@BoleDaPole I mean...not really.
Seeing that stadium packed to the brim with people screaming their heads off for nothing but Bigfoot driving over a couple cars is hilarious. Man just thought to himself "maybe I'll drive over this old Buick for a commercial" and everybody within 100 miles said "and where do I get a ticket?"
It's like, The Crush at Crash, if you aren't familiar with that I heavily recommend looking into it.
In anything, there is nothing like you're first time.
So impressive that they have been able to keep monster trucks popular for this many decades. Most extreme sports flame out within 20 years.
Eh, I think as there is children there will be monster trucks at this point.
They might become Monster RC trucks. But it’ll still be amazing 😂
they have slowly lost the extreme part of the extreme sports. They have got pretty boring from the lack of cars, the shutdowns for just tipping or smoking and just any chaos. They are just giant trucks that play around slowly on speed bumps.
@@brandonbrown3600 honestly they just seemed to find a way to keep asses in stands longer. Spending more money on concessions. Have you been to a monster jam show recently? I’m 32 with an 8yo boy. There is nothing more extreme than freestyle monster trucks live. They’re just insane. And we watch all kinds of Motorsport live frequently lol
Yeah I agree
I’m glad it is as big as it is still
But it has lost some of the excitement
Mostly towards the racing part of it
I’m a super gear head and I love it I was going every year for about 10 years straight and I noticed half of the fans would show up once freestyle started
But the evolution of freestyle is what’s keeping it going
I stoped going about 5 years ago because they would come to my area which is the Oakland coliseum and to the main drivers it’s just a little venue so they would always let the backup driver do the show
And since they don’t own the truck they are always scared to go crazy and when they would they didn’t have the skills or awareness to throttle or steer out of a roll over
So it was starting to always be a let down to me
@@brandonbrown3600 Giant? Have you ever seen one up close? They really aren't very big. A lot of rock crawlers run tires just as tall (not as wide). On TV the trucks look huge, but up close they aren't really any bigger than a modern diesel pickup truck.
Another thing is that the 80s cars are somewhat becoming collector cars and are ending up in junkyards less.
That too I remember seeing few 70s models during mid 00s
Cash for clunkers and other programs ate up alot of cars.
@@coryerneweincars also last forever now.
@@jeepmanxjthat's the biggest lie I've heard
@@AK-sx4zp well you're allowed to be wrong. Vehicles today are so far more reliable than older vehicles it's hard to believe they share anything in common.
Just because you see a few remaining examples of millions and billions of older vehicles doesn't mean they were reliable. The other 99.99999999% hit the scrap yard.
It's interesting to see that, while newer cars are terrible at holding up to small collisions and fall apart quite easily, especially in the context of car crushing, their ability to protect occupants in one massive crash is incredible.
Compare this to older cars which were able to take small hits all day and were easier to repair, but left much to be desired in a big collision.
Really neat documentary showing the role cars played in the monster truck arenas, and how they practically evolved their way out of the industry
1959 Chevrolet Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu IIHS crash test is great example of that
Yep the ability of modern vehicles to crumple so easily is what makes them so safe; that crumpling takes energy out of a collision which means less energy transmits to the occupants. Frustrating for smaller everyday fender benders or dents but extremely important in the life or death situations that arise from large collisions. There's a happy medium car manufacturers go for where you want every part of the car to crumple except the passenger compartment. Some vehicles/manufacturers don't quite hit that mark and I've seen some nasty wrecks where the passenger compartment should have held up better and the fact it didn't caused more serious injury or death.
@@joshuadoll9000 Ironically, the insurance industry forced an idiotic 5 mph bumper standard on us back in 1973, adding substantial weight to all cars in the US at the very time the government was also demanding higher fuel economy. And those bumpers did nothing for the safety of the driver, they just lowered repair costs for parking lot bump ups.
I used to ride motorcycles and was once rear ended by a lady in a brand new white SUV. It looked like she had wrapped a telephone pole, while my bike just had a tyrn signal pop off. I don't remember if I even had to re-tension the chain. If she had hit me with a car from the 60s we both would have shrugged it off, instead she had a nasty insurance bill and repair.
It wasn't easier to repair a car back then it you are talking about small collisions. Today you can just un do a few bolts or clips and the piece is off in less than 5 mins. Before everything was either welded or riveted on. I'm talking hundreds of rivets for a single panel.
You did miss a tour on the shows that still crush cars, the monster truck malicious tour still crushes to this day
And Hotwheels Monster Trucks
@@MichaelCorbeiljr he put Hotwheels monster trucks in. It says glow party but I think he meant both lol
Malicious is a great tour
@@blake813they used cars at orange county fair speedway in Middletown NY for the longest time and when they come back they will always use cars as they would have the monster trucks come in the week before they have a demolition derby or there eve of destruction over even after the events and they would use the crushed cars
"and section 116 of Sam Boyd Stadium"
that made me chuckle haha, great video!! :D
I was actually right in front of that wreck when it happened XD
World finals 10 made history
I find it interesting when that race was shown on tv, they completely glossed over the crash. On the replay you can see the truck flip over in the background but they never showed the full thing.
Same, I cracked up at that 😂
😂
This was an incredible mini documentary… Thorough and high quality. Just the amount of time and effort that went into the research and information sourcing was obviously substantial. A prime example of _passion over profit_ labor of love project.
I’m if anything the most casual of Monster Truck fans and am surprised this landed in my suggestion feed… but I’m damn glad it did. These kind of videos are the subtle passion projects that are the hidden backbone of TH-cam, and is ultimately why I always end up coming back to the platform for entertainment over modern television.
I have never had the slightest interest in monster trucks. Never seen a show. Never seen more than a 5 second clip in passing. Yet for some reason I found this video really interesting. Good work.
Yeah, I didn't expect to sit through the whole thing.
Thorough, in-depth information presented well by a person who obviously cares about the subject is almost always a good watch, no matter the topic.
Same here lol
hay, found Waldo ^_^
Summary: You are numb to the spectacle, fans get injured, and venues get destroyed.
Conclusion: They can't find venues, insurance, or enough hillbillies.
This is why I try to go to monster nitro tour everytime they come through. They always have crush cars and have adopted new style setups for trucks. Replaced donut with skill competition. It’s a blend of new and old. I love it.
It does appear to be a little cheap however.
@@88racerjosh it’s definitely on the cheap side. From what I gathered talking to the drivers is they’re barely scrapping by but make sure they can be on the road when an issue comes up. They need sponsorship badly.
@@JJfan48I feel like an energy drink company like Red Bull or some sh1t wouldn't mind sponsoring them
@@Your-Local-RX-Guy for the amount of west coast they run I’m surprised 5150 energy hasn’t.
Tbh now that I'm an adult, I have been liking classic trucks from the 80's through the very early 90's. Just leaf springs and shocks, slower speeds, and the cool schemes from that era I've gone back to plus Monster Jam from the late 2000s.
Should have a classic series that has crush cars and slower speeds, would be amazing to see!
that would be awesome, unfortunately it would be pandering to small crowd and wouldn't be a financially sound. have you checked out RC monster truck racing? Most groups are now doing a oldschool outlaw class that is small wheelbase oldschool style some even with leaf springs. it is awesome.
@@ryanbrockmiller1648might start looking at those, did have a Midnight Pumpkin kit back in the day and would love to do that again. Thank ya ^^
Back when they looked like real trucks and actually raced.
Remember Tuff Trax as a kid?
th-cam.com/video/KYidmFdKzj8/w-d-xo.html
There is a show that did this. It was Monster Trucks vs Mega Trucks. The mega trucks were the oldschool Monster Trucks.
I daily drive a '92 Dodge diesel truck. She isn't comfortable, fast or safe by modern standards.
As a kid i remember loving monster trucks, but hating seeing all the cool cars being junked.
Seems like it’s the best of both world nowadays, isn’t it?
Its funny when people hate seeing something, but can't do anything about it.
@@automation7295ok?
I used to go to Monster Jam every year when it came to Atlanta. I'd always watch the course for anything cool, but thankfully never saw anything TOO valuable get crushed. The coolest thing I ever saw was a 74-76 Camaro, but it was a V6.
@@hemiwarrior6226 Went to the one at the newer Coliseum in Charlotte. The track was the right size for the dirt bikes. Was like watching Giant ants in a jewelry box. They never really ever got 1st gear wound out before almost hitting the wall on the other side of the track.
I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed this documentary. As an old-school monster truck fan who loves crushed cars, I understand why they are doing away with them but it still stinks because the shows that don't have them for the most part tend to be boring. The trucks are lighter and faster compared to the USHRA days. I would love to see an old-school monster truck series form that uses crushed cars that don't have ramps similar to how it was done in the 80s.
if you enjoy documentarys like this, check out emp lemon
seconding this@@RX3RD-mx2vk
I definitely agree with your comment,
I used to go see monster truck events back in the late 80's when I was a Kid with family before Monster jam was even heard off, I will Never forget the first time I seen Bob Chandler's
"BIG FOOT" the Roar of the crowd, the Polaroid camera flash's, the smell of diesel fumes lingering around, the sound of the badass trucks, and best of all dude
CAR CRUSHING TIME. That's mainly the whole reason why everyone in the 80s went to go see the Monster Trucks
Is for "CAR CRUSHING" BECAUSE THEY WOULD CATCH AIR REGARDLESS BUT AT THE SAME TIME LAND ON CARS.
It would be a dream to see. There could definitely be old school monster trucks built in this day and age..
@@OceanStateSwAmPpeR104
And mud drags
And truck pulls
80s were the best
Another issue with crushing cars is that they are harder to crush fully due to rollover protection leading to stronger roofs.
Starting in 2009 the IIHS started testing roof strength and a vehicle’s roof needed to support 4 times the vehicle’s weight to pass. By now many of these early IIHS roofs are old enough to crush and they won’t do so nearly as easily as a roof from 20 years earlier.
Jump higher and thwy will crush.
That makes the debris problem much worse, though. The harder the truck has to hit the cars the farther debris will get launched off of them.
@@ThoolooExpress then soon enough you will have junk cars all from past 2000s, which will become a bigger problem
first of all you must take the airbag off all of them otherwise shrapnel will fly all over when the airbag goes off, which is more labor
second of all, lots of later cars have the drivers compartment built so strong to the point that monster trucks are simply not heavy enough to crush them anymore, sure you can crush the front and back of it, but most of passenger compartment just wont yield even after repeated impacts. eventually turning the car into a really sturdy cube shaped object that will flip the monster truck on its side any moment
this is why i thought the "new cars just aren't built to the same quality as they used to be" comment was a little disingenuous. cars aren't poorer quality today, they are just different (and ALOT safer lmao)
@@blanchimont5587I thought them same thing when the promoter said that. The real reason is money. It’s always money.
Seeing the trucks dance around like giant RC cars made me want to see them compete in some sort of monster truck X-games, or something like that. Crushing cars is cool, but it seems they’ve mostly become more of a hassle than they’re worth at this point. Watching a 5-ton truck flipping around and dancing in such a controlled manner, like it was a toy, is impressive in a whole new way.
Impressive yes but it's not a real motorsport. I want to see actual racing
Some events have scoring for the dancing and stuff to provide plot.
@@lassikinnunen Scoring a truck's performance is too prone to bias and debate. One may find a particular run very impressive while another isn't quite as impressed. When you are racing legit there no dispute who the winner is after they cross the finish line and the times are revealed!
@@thenickhelms84but that depends on who's scoring the racing right? Look at Nascar rules have ruined the stock car aspect. It's all subjective all the time.
@@robbrobb5543 In NASCAR the car that completes the number of laps and crosses the line and checkered flag first wins that's the jest of it. Stipulations and technicalities are there but that's a reality with so many vehicles. There are no judges, no points for driving finesse. The goal is to be the first! I don't see any subjectivism in that at all!
"Plastic parts are cheaper to produce..." Yeah tell that to my insurance.
That's just until they put a brand stamp on it lol.
I once had to replace fuel line on my Harley Davidson.
Regular universal fuel line....
Couple pounds, Harley official part hundred.....
I came here to comment that very same thing 😅😅😂
I grew up watching Monster jam in the early 2000s and always enjoyed seeing the different and unique tracks. I've been to several different tours and independent shows that I see what works and what doesn't. The last time I went to a Monster Jam arena event was in 2013 in Greenville, SC which included crush cars and recently I went to my first Monster Jam arena in 2024 since 2013 and ill say that the pod is a genius move. It allows the drivers to do moves that once weren't believable in an arena. I think crush cars still have a time and place, even with Monster Jam using standing crush cars at their recent Super Star Challege.
Cool I'm from there and was at that event ❤
It's because the Fast and Furious franchise took all the monster truck scrap cars for their 37 movie installments.
Don't forget the matrix
I've only ever been to one monster truck show, and it was when I was a young kid. It was a really cool indoor colosseum show that focused alot on crush cars, and there was an old RV. I remember Grave Digger putting on a good show. Then some dumbass in a jetbike (yes jet engine mounted on the back of a motorcycle, no joke) came out and did a couple laps around the stadium. Everyone loved it, lots of cheering and clapping and stomping, all drowned out by that loud ass jet engine. Then the dude driving the jet bike backed up to the line of crush cars that contained the RV and hit his brakes while he revved the jet, blasting the crush cars. It was cool for about 15 seconds till the upholstery in the RV and minivans surrounding it caught flames. The flames kept growing higher and higher while the jetbike stoked them further, and it wasn't long before they were lapping at the metal roof of the stadium, which began to groan. I'll never forget that sound. That's when Dad grabbed me, my little brother, and my stepmom and rushed us to the nearest exit, squeezing passed people who were mostly still planted on the bleachers, just staring in awe at the fire show. I remember the the embers raining down on us and my Dad picking me up and carrying me because the smoke was already choking me up. It was when we were descending the stairs that led out of the colosseum that the announcer finally told people to get out of there, practically screaming "Evacuate!! Evacuate!! Everybody out NOW!!" That of course led to the mass panic and stampede that my dad had foreseen minutes ago, and which we managed to narrowly avoid. People got trampled that day, but I don't think anybody burned to death. Lots of injuries related to the smoke and the poor evacuation execution though. I learned later on from an inside track with the people hosting the show that the coliseum was so badly damaged they decided the best idea would be to tear it down. Now there's a casino resort in it's place. The Choctaw Nation hasn't hosted a monster truck show since, and I don't think they ever will.
Found the local new article about it so I could pull the names of the people that Choctaw hired for the show.
"Casino sued Shawn Ives dba SWI Productions, of Georgia; Paul Stender dba Maximum Marketing, of Indiana; and Tom Craze, residency unknown.
Casino claims that Ives "instructed defendant driver 'Tom Craze' to 'Light Up' the junk cars in the middle of the arena with flames from his Jet Bike" during the Oct. 20, 2007 event"
Bikers fault
Even though they got rid of crushing cars,
It's still a show about trucks with big Tires, and I am all there for it.
It does get a little repetitive with pure dirt, ramps. Crush cars were an alternative on the track
Big, soft, MORE EXPENSIVE tires.
This is a very well made video. I never actually thought about the width of cars being so important, but that is very true; especially with how much wider some top-tier indie housings are now. I'm excited for more videos like this.
"I think car quality declined" I'll disagree with that. I think car manufacture priorities changed.
Cars are much safer for the occupants now than they used to be, in part because of crush zones meticulously engineered to meet safety standards while reducing mass. Just look at the 2009 Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air crash test; I know which car I consider higher quality. Also, shedding parts from around the passenger compartment helps dissipate the energy of a collision.
Basically, modern, safer, more efficient cars probably just don't function as ramps as well as older designs. And that's a good thing.
You're conflating quality with safety with efficiency with technological complexity.
Last time I went to a monster truck show we sat 2nd row. A truck was doing donuts in front of us and it shot a 3" bolt into my face like a bullet. It hit about a half inch below my eye...
So ya... even without cars it's still dangerous as hell.
I will never go again.
This is why I watch more independent monster truck shows they still use cars as of now because I grew up with lots of cars and in monster jam they being mostly gone and the independent shows haven’t so I watch them
This video was DEEPLY informative; thank you for taking so much time to make this.
Hopefully people will understand why cars are not in Monster Jam anymore.
I remember a while ago seeing a monster truck show for the first time in real life. My disappointment was immeasurable when they just did laps around the track and jumps and didn't crush anything.
The safety issue is always going to be brought up even though it's not the case. I just saw a monster jam truck flip into the stands off of a dirt pile. From what I've heard, junk yards have gone way up on prices for these shows to get cars.
Thanks for the research! I had heard the tire puncture issue before, but the safety aspect is a whole different level- and your video clips clearly showed it. Great work!
As a car guy, it HURTS me to see all these perfect junk cars go to waste. some of them I know every engine and part and what its compatible with. but at the same time MONSTER TRUCKS GONNA EAT! GIVE THEM THE CRAPPY CARS!!!!
Cool.
Unfortunately, I think the removal of vehicle crushing and obstacles has kinda killed the sport. I miss the golden era in the 2000’s when regular Monster Jam events were regularly televised in massive arenas from around North America and elaborate courses with jumps, cars, trucks, buses and shipping containers. The head to head races and freestyle were all amazing!
Yeah, it was a real sport of skill and engineering to make those beasts do what they did. It still is no doubt, just not the same kind of sport.
Kinda like hunting and target shooting. Isn't the same.
This is the perfect TH-cam video essay. It’s about a phenomenon that I didn’t know was happening, in something I’ve only been vaguely aware of, and yet it’s such an interesting premise, researched with a lot of care and attention, and produced so professionally, that I found myself invested throughout the video’s runtime.
19:15 I disagree. With the 2-wheel skills challenge at every event, I'd say it's exactly where the 3PT shot is in the NBA. It IS an integral part of the industry now, and even independent shows have been featuring more and more of these moves.
I do agree with what you said just prior. I grew up with crush cars, and it always seems like something is missing whenever watching a show, even to this day.
This was a fantastic documentary. Thank you for the information!
best random recommendation on YT in years . very well put together
Moster Jam from the late 90s and the early 2000s was the best.
I haven't been to a monster truck show since they got rid of the car crushing events.
6:46 holy. That attention span thing he mentioned is so true lol
What video? I've just been in here reading the comments..
@@BrendonGreenNZL what? What do you mean "what video"
@@lowkeydiegoduran4724 We were watching a video?
really shows you how interconnected everything is
i would not have guessed many of these reasons for crush cars going away
After seeing Tom Meents' career ending injury earlier this year, I just have to wonder: if he landed on crush cars instead of a dirt mound, would he have still gotten as badly hurt? Those cars eat up a lot of the impact and basically act as an exterior crumple zone for these giant roll cages with wheels. I wish we could get them back for both driver safety and nostalgia purposes
It would have been softer, cars are softer to land on then dirt since they mold to the impact, dirt doesn’t
@@Thunder103093 yeah crazy as it sounds it would’ve been better for him to land on cars
I remember growing up and seeing old videos where guys like meents, anderson and Kohler land on their roofs during crush car days. Though they were younger than they are now they got right out after the crash with no injuries. So if meents landed on cars like he did in past chances are he'd been fine or just minor injury
@@johnathanmelton7408 yeah instead of dirt just dirt the promoters think it’s safer but it’s actually not
@@oscarlemus8153It's safer for the audience, but not so much the drivers. Though, I'd rather have the risk of debris flying at me to see junk cars get demolished.
Thank you so much!
I grew up in the 90s with the crush cars as the center of the show. I'll never forget El Toro Loco making a headlong charge into an RV trailer and just pulverizing it!
But I can understand the various reasons for the changes. I've had the good fortune of attending the MJ World Finals a couple times in the past few years, and the skill of the drivers in freestyle is absolutely incredible. And with the stability offered by dirt ramps, the trucks can fly high and still stick the landing. I got to see Todd LeDuc's death-defying leap at World Finals XX in-person!
Thanks again for your thorough and entertaining documentary. I'm definitely going to watch more of your stuff!
Man the good old monster truck drag strip was so dope I use to go with those with my dad in the late 80s when they were still an actual pickup
8:37 that save was amazing 🔥🔥
monster trucks have amazing turn radius
@@sakesaurus1706 Ya cause both axles can turn
I remember going to a Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live and we were in the 1st row cut off (or as I call them, tarp seats). Seeing the amount of parts that fell off the cars after every hit & how quickly the disintegrated, the more I understood the change to starting going away from them. As an old school fan from the 80s, crush cars will have a soft spot in my heart, but like you said a few times, the sport of monster trucks has evolved.
I was born in 1974 and literally watched the growth of monster truck racing and events. I liked the transition from car crushing to motocross style side by side racing over dirt mounds. The freestyle events have gotten insane with some of the things the drivers can do with a monster truck. But, like other motorsports, when iconic drivers start retiring, and the lack of TV coverage, I have not seen an event in probably at least a decade.
When I was 5 years old, I dressed up as Grave Digger for halloween. Absolutely loved the thing, even though I hadn’t even heard of it before. I’ve been completely in love with monster trucks ever since.
I think a way to keep crush cars, busses, and campers would be using them at bigger shows and keeping them out of arenas. Places like Charlotte and other speedway shows. Maybe monster jam can use them at only their big shows. Aka world finals and all-star challenge. They did have some in anaheim for the superstar challenge. Maybe that's the way ut will have to be from now on. These new cars can just hold up to these trucks' demands.
This is extremely comprehensive and i appreciate the research you did rather than going mainly based off speculation. Thank you for making this video
Great documentary, and props to the promoters for being so open. For me, I think the sport can still be very entertaining. The only issue i ever had with it is when they go to small arenas where there is barely enough room to turn and they can't get up to speed. May as well watch them idle around the course at that point.
as an old school monster truck fan i 100% miss the car crushing, remember as a kid going to the tractor pull competitions and afterwords they have two monster trucks come out and totally destroy a line of cars and sometimes even a truck or a bus, now monster jam is just all racing not a single car to be found I find it totally boring and I do not watch anymore. I really wish they would bring back the cars and the buses and things like that for them to destroy especially during the freestyle, even the championship that they hold in Las Vegas is boring without the cars in my opinion really wish they’d bring it back
Monster jam is hardly even racing. It's more a big freestyle event with racing as an afterthought. =
I was born in 1984, monster trucks have been one of my favorite things my whole life. Personally for my I don't miss the cars and really could care less about them, my favorite things are courses that allow for wide open throttle straights, corners to slide, and ramps to get huge air. plus all the stoppies, moon walks, back flips, and my favorite slap wheelies are all so much cooler then crushing cars. Plus for me I am a lover of old weird sedans, wagons, and vans. So even though nothing is sacred it bummed me out a little watching some of my favorite weird sedans and wagons being crushed. especially when I used to see G-bodies being crushed.
This was a really well done video, I had really only clicked on it to see the reason and instead watched the whole thing. Thank you!
How much less could you care about them?
I was born in 1984 too and you aren't a true monster truck aficionado trust me! I've watched monster truck from their beginning as exhibition spectator acts with car crushing and it's evolution from the casual side by side racing to be the first to cross the finish line atop a row of cars to it's legitimization into a real competitive motorsport from the TNT era all the way up to the Penda Points Series (the best era in my opinion) only to have it devolve back into nothing but a spectacle, a stunt show not that much different from motor vehicle daredevils like Evel Knievel who with all respect while an outstanding performer isn't a racer in a motorsport. He is a performer and a showman and to me that's exactly what monster trucks have become! Nothing but a spectacle!
I watched the whole video, but @1:04 I genuinely cried seeing that footage again. I grew up watching a cassette tape of that event.
The video no one asked for, but we all wanted! Good job!
1:00 I was in the audience here. 😃 Seeing Bigfoot crushing cars was excellent.
Years later I watched one where the cars were already crushed and the trucks jumped over them. 😒
Never went back, lost interest. ☹️
Maybe they can make fake cars that are designed to be crushed?
Parts pressed out of aluminum that can be recycled, filled with dirt friendly filler?
Older cars were built with more quality metal parts but also didn't last as long on the road. They rusted out and had poor engine design. It's a funny combination that probably helped there be more access to crush cars. Nowadays car engines last much longer than they did in the 60s and 70s. People don't need to buy a new car every 40,000 miles anymore and cars are so expensive new, that people opt to repair them rather than buy another one. Your average brand new car in the 60s was only $2500. It also doesn't help that half of the cars we crushed 20 years ago are considered collectors items now since many cars from the 80s and 90s are very desirable and reliable and actually do last a long time.
Add to that growing income inequality and stagnating wages with inflating prices, and the fact that cars keeping their occupants alive is more important than how well they crush in a monster truck arena.
I love the ACTUAL contradiction. More quality metal and rusted out. Modern cars are made of high quality metal. They are just not made of durable metal, and designed to crumble.
@@SioxerNikita Quality parts doesn't mean well engineered to last. And yes the metals and steel were definitely worse made but you got more of it. Parts like bumpers which are plastic and foam now were made of solid steel. I'd say that's a more quality part. Doesn't mean it lasts longer or is safer.
@@DulcetNuance Frankly, in general, today the quality of parts far exceed the past. Today's plastic parts and foam are also quite high quality. Solid steel != higher quality. Solid Steel == Design Choice of the time. The idea that the car should be able to take a beating.
We found that it is EXTREMELY unsafe to do so, so now we make different parts. Just because it is made of plastic does not make it of "lesser quality" if the parts meet the design goals to a tee... which they do...
Having more metal also doesn't mean quality either. You have a real weird definition of quality.
Car Manufacturers would kill to have the general quality of parts of the average car today. They'd kill to have the precision engineering...
A general definition: the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something.
"an improvement in product quality"
Nothing here talking about having more solid steel or plastic... Modern parts are in general far better...by a massive degree. Designed to a higher precision, which means less tolerances in mistakes...
Did not think this video would go this deep and be this grounded and logical. Well done sir!
Excellent video! I'm a fan of the old school.... steel leaf sprung trucks running over cars, but this is a great video explaining where things are going and why. You really did your homework.
Keep up these documentaries 🙌
when i was a kid i used to think the cars in the show were cars from the parking lot and i was afraid my car would be brought out
I remember as a kid going to Ascot RaceWay with my dad and watching crash up derbies. One time a cars tire blew out and his rim dug into the dirt flinging huge chunks as he turned. The lady sitting next to me took a football size chunk to the face.
Seeing cars crushed in the same era was amazing. I am glad to have grown up in that time when monster trucks were still kind of an exposition and not full on racing with big sponsors who wanted to win. Your video and the promotors make lots of good points as to why there are no more cars.
I haven't heard about monster trucks since the early 2000s. My friend told me his parents were taking him to something called monster jam. I didn't realize it was still going on after all this time! Great video
I like crush cars and other crush vehicles because they can make a track look more whole and complete. However, the moves that you can do off of them can vary at any time and the pieces usually scatter.
Thank you for another great video!
If they could do what they did for TNT Unfinished Business and what they do for Outlaw monster truck tour that would be great.
great editing. i allways love finding videos like this. stuff i dont *really* care about. but its told in passion enough that it becomes interesting.
I think people love pure talent in many of the same ways they love crushing cars. I feel like in any sport, virtuosity is as exciting as the big plays.
How many promoters other than Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live is still using crush cars? Probably a few if that.
He mentions the ones that still do at the end, even Monster jam still uses them but very sparingly.
Oddly quiet a bit so still. Think it's about 50/50 at moment.
I guess the question comes down to this: if there are no cars to crush, what's the point of having monster trucks? You can jump anything with enough speed and power, so they aren't unique in that aspect. There's literally nothing else a monster truck can do that other vehicles can't.
What a great informative video! Reminds me of the style of CNBC videos on TH-cam. Great stuff! Props for reaching out to the promoters too, and I'm glad most of them reached out and even gave you interviews.
Awesome video man! I like that instead of just voicing your opinion, you got people who know why this is happening. I feel I long as cars are still incorporated (like embedded in the dirt, so at least their roofs can be crushed), people will still enjoy monster truck shows. Also, 10/10 Captain’s Curse joke!
I'm gonna guess more, consistent air time and less cleanup.
Those are two of the factors mentioned in the video, yes.
I was in Tacoma dome sitting behind the young man who passed from flying debris. I was in therapy for two years from it. Needless to say I can never be a steward of this power sport again.
Your monster doc video series is wonderful, binged all of them and wish there were more. Thank you for taking the time to make them!
This just unlocked a good old memory I had totally forgotten I ever even had lol. I was born in '98, and my dad took me to a Monster Jam show at some point in the mid to late 2000s. At least I'm pretty sure that's what it was, I'll have to ask him about it!
This was why I stopped watching Monster Jam and lost interest in monster trucks
Not because you grew up lol
Just want to say that the guy on the phone saying car quality is down is just wrong. Quality isn't down, safety is up. To save your life in a car crash, the energy from your car crashing needs to be dissipated before it hits your body. In the 60s through 80s with the more rigid cars, you simply died as al that car crash energy went through your body and shattered you inside. These days cars are engineered to crumple, the materials they utilize are designed to break and shatter. Every crumple, break, or shattered piece is a bit of energy that isn't being transferred to you. So it isn't that car quality went down, it's that as a society we have decided that its more important to have safe cars which suck at monster truck shows than it is to have entertainingly rigid cars that kill 10x more people day to day.
I think the guy on the phone knows this
What a great documentary! So many individual aspects of it that i had thought about were addressed.
I think their best course of action (in regards to Monster Jams' shows) would be to have a few certain special event's with the old fashioned cars and destruction in arenas that allow space for the spectators to remain safe.
Almost like how they run tours now, but with one being a classic destruction tour. I'm sure they'd be able to tell immediately if demand was there after a few shows.
9:29 wow, 5 is the last truck I’d expect to be used as an example in this video 😂
My dad took me to a monster truck derby in the 90s, and I loved it. Until I saw a few versions of my car getting crushed. I was like 10, and I LOVED our family car, and I have a bunch of them to this day. It truly made me sad that I saw Hyundai Ponys (and even Stellars) getting crushed underwheel. I still remember how I felt about it now, 30 some odd years later.
It was at the flying high over the cars era.
2:38 💀
This was a very informative video on a subject I have literally never thought about and I'm happy I watched it.
This is an excellent analysis of the sport as it is now- great work!
I haven't watched Monster Jam in years with one of the big reasons being no crush cars
They still crush cars
Damn bro…
Damn, never expected a monster truck video to be one of the best made and informative videos I’ve seen in the past year.
I'm just a very casual fan of monster trucks but I think you did a very good job of explaining the change. I'd still prefer to see stuff get crushed, but the new nose-stands etc are pretty damn cool too.
I'm glad they don't crush cars anymore, and I wish they never crushed cars.
Whats the point of monster trucks now everthing is becoming poncey
Really well put together video. I remember as a kid getting to walk the track, and got in trouble actually walking on the cars.
You know I see a business opportunity, someone who can recreate the vehicle shells for Monster Truck shows. It would be just a few variants of the cars, but could be built to specs needed by the industry (and could work up a model to transport the supplies)
Great video as always! Can’t wait for more documentaries. Worth the waits!
God, current Monster Jam sucks so much ass.
Do monster trucks still crushing cars now?
Yep hot wheels monster trucks
@Carson-Szelkowski oh yeah I remember now hot wheels monster trucks do crush cars nowadays
A lot of Independent promotions still do it.
That was a well-done piece. Lots of history and background, along with supporting arguments and evidence.
I grew up going to our local Monster Jam show for several years as a child. Car-crushing was always part of the excitement.
Then, years later, my wife and I went back and I was appalled there were no cars. I did a quick search right there in the stadium and found the same press piece put out by Monster Jam. I was sad, but I understand why they do it. I think safety is the biggest part; all it takes is a piece of two of debris to hit sue-happy spectators and Monster Jam goes away.
You brought up two other points I had not considered: clean-up and fairness for the competitors.
County fairs and other ag shows could be harmed if debris is left in the dirt. And the "obstacles" changing so much with each hit is a valid point.
I do miss seeing Grave Digger crash through a camper trailer, though!
A really interesting, well presented and researched video! I don't know much at all about Monster Trucks, only really seen them at motorbike and truck shows here in the UK, but even I had noticed the lack of car crushing over the last 10 or so years. You've really nailed down why that is the case, and it all makes sense now.
Of course, here in Europe subcompact cars have been a much bigger factor in our car industry for a lot longer than in the US. I'd never really considered, however, the effects of the debris caused by the sheer amount of plastics in modern vehicles. There's a lot more to it than I'd ever considered!
Im so angry 😡💢 that monster jam has water down the show and now it's way less fun and got boring and they lost a lot of people and noticed almost all monster jam shows are not full of people anymore it used to be a full house and I noticed the crowds have been acting Dry lately
Unpopular opinion, i don't miss crushing cars despite growing up with it...😅
I will always have that memory
Awesome video. As someone who grew up in the 80s, I absolutely loved monster trucks as a kid. I was hooked on lots of motorsports as a kid, but monster trucks were always my favorite, and I don't know how many dozens of times I watched Return of the Monster Trucks on tape. Crushing cars and other obstacles was just cool, and Bigfoot was my favorite. For quite a while though, I kind of forgot about monster trucks. Then about five years ago, I really started getting back into them again and have been following Monster jam ever since. I admit I don't find racing near as interesting but love the technical events and especially the freestyle. The stunts and saves of freestyle is definitely my favorite these days, but I did wonder why there were no cars anymore. Thanks for such a great overview of this topic. And by the way, I miss the old car Blue Thunder, not the truck.
Man O' Man This video brings back some great memories, especially "Bob Chandler's Bigfoot".
Before
Monster jam was even heard of!!!
The Roar of these iconic machines combined with the smell of diesel fumes and best of all "CAR CRUSHING"those were the days!
BKT tires suck! U Crane is better!
Thank you!
I so agree. Many people driving in MJ are not happy because Monster Jam has a contract with BKT until 2026 and it means no one can use anything outside of that
The safety busy bodies ruin all the fun
Great breakdown, the answer was far more complex than I originally assumed. Predictability was certainly a factor, but it went a lot deeper than that. Great video!
Born in 81 and I've watched monster trucks evolve almost from the start. The new drivers have skills that the old school drivers probably never even thought of! The tricks they do now is way more impressive than smashing cars. That being said I do miss it!
Yeah, the technology and skills have grown hand in hand and it's absolutely amazing what drivers are doing now. I do miss the satisfaction of seeing a row of uncrushed cars get demolished by a big monster truck... but also remember that it was only the first time over them that was really good. Also my appreciation of destruction for destruction's sake has declined as I've gotten older.
I’m glad this showed up in my feed. It was fun to listen to and think about.