Tnn Car-Repair Show Mainly Nuts And Bolts

The Nashville Network has added a second pit stop to its motorsports weekend lineup.

For auto repair enthusiasts, “Shadetree Mechanic” has become required viewing the past four years on TNN. Tune in and see experts Dave Bowman and Sam Memmolo do a valve job or install a turbo charger at the drop of a wrench.

Now the cable network has added “Road Ready,” a 30-minute show hosted by former Motor Trend editor Mike Anson and racer Trisha Hessinger.

It aims for a slightly different audience of men - and women - who’d like to know how to fix a fan belt even if they aren’t going to do it themselves.

TNN publicists refer to “Shadetree” as grease up to the elbows, and “Road Ready” as grease to the wrists.

“It’s pretty basic,” Hessinger, a senior member of the PPG Pace Car Team and first-time TV hostess, says between scenes at Thunder Road studios here.

“It’s geared for the average person that might not know all that much about working on their own car. And yet there are little extra things that we add to interest the person who is a motorhead,” she says.

Adds Anson, a syndicated columnist who also does car critiques on KTLA in Los Angeles: “The good thing about it is, even if you don’t do the work, we show you. When you go to have it done you are a better consumer. You know what they are going to do, and you know what should be done.”

“Road Ready” which airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., is the collaborative creation of TNN and underwriter Pep Boys, the fast-growing Philadelphia-based chain of auto parts stores and automotive supercenters in 33 states.

Michele Meiers, Pep Boys national advertising manager, says the company has been thinking about doing a show like this for about three years, and it specifically wanted a man and a woman as co-hosts.

Automotive demographics pointed the way: The average car on the road today is 8 years old, the average price of a new car has pushed above $20,000, and women are taking a greater role in maintenance.

“The idea is really not to target women, but give every adult enough information so they know when to do things and feel comfortable,” Meiers says.