Co-Host China Shifts Gears, Leaves 'Wheeler Dealers'
By PickupTrucks Staff
October 13, 2017
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In the rough-and-tumble world of low-budget automotive television shows, there aren’t many choices. OK, there are plenty of bad shows — share the ones you dislike in the comments section below — and very few good ones.
Among our favorites are “Diesel Brothers” and “Wheeler Dealers.” So, imagine our dismay when we heard “Wheeler Dealers” frontman (actually, underneath man, since he’s always underneath one of his subjects) Edd China, the tall one, will be leaving the show after 13 seasons. In our opinion, he was the best part of the show.
“Wheeler Dealers” started in England where co-host Mike Brewer would find a dilapidated vehicle — potentially a diamond in the rough — purchase it for a relatively good price and then turn it over to China. China would diagnose, repair and resurrect the vehicle, turning a lump of coal into a shining jewel to be sold for a hefty profit. We enjoyed the problem-solving and expert diagnosis unfolding one step at a time; the mundane became as exciting as a life-and-death detective novel with a shiny vehicle at the end.
China is the show’s heavy lifter. His confident presence, and his clear and concise narration will be sorely missed. No doubt he’ll show up somewhere and be just fine. We already know he’s making changes to his YouTube channel. Thankfully, “Wheeler Dealers” will continue.
As near as we can tell, only three pickup trucks have been restored on “Wheeler Dealers” — a 1954 Chevrolet 3100 Stepside (eighth season, eighth episode), a 1951 Ford F-1 (12th season, second episode) and a 1980 Chevrolet LUV (13th season, fourth episode) — but the show featured many other interesting vehicles such as Ford Broncos, Hummers, Chevrolet Camaros and DeLoreans.