5 Automotive YouTubers That More People Should Know About

If you are reading this, you are highly likely to be familiar with names like Hoovie, Tavarish and DeMuro, and even your parents likely know who Jay Leno is. All of them produce entertaining content about cars from differing perspectives. However, the internet is vast and YouTube hosts what seems like an endless array of channels covering every topic imaginable. Narrowing the focus on cars still presents innumerable channels, which is why there are plenty you may not know about as the creators plug away, producing videos to help build their following.

You could probably find a new channel posting videos about cars every day of the week, but not all of them are destined to gain a huge following for various reasons. However, there are still many channels with smaller followings that post videos worth watching every day. But if you don't get a recommendation from a friend or happen to click on an organic recommendation in your feed, you will never know about any of them. Therefore, to broaden your automotive video-viewing horizons, here are five YouTubers with fewer than half a million subscribers each you ought to know about.

This channel features content not necessarily created by a single person, but rather documents people working on cars who also do not get much exposure in the Western world. Passy documents some of the most inventive and tenacious auto mechanics you will ever see as they deal with everyday breakdowns in Africa. Working in a place where they have an obvious lack of resources of literally every kind, we can see how they overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles, often with the most basic of tools at hand.

For these intrepid technicians, essential mechanic tools like lifts, hydraulic jacks, and impact wrenches do not appear to be available. Most of them perform complex jobs while wearing sandals, relying on manpower and basic physics to swap engines, repair exhaust pipes, replace timing chains, and more. In place of a lift, you have a few guys tilting a car on two wheels and metal poles to hold it up for work underneath, while an acetylene torch and brazing rod make a questionable substitute for an arc welder.

You really have to stand in awe of the dedication and perseverance on display. The clever solutions they are forced to rely on due to general scarcity show the level of skill and creative intelligence at work, and this channel merits watching some videos. Fair warning though — these videos can quickly waste away an hour before you know it.

Melissa Peterman is The Diesel Queen, and her YouTube channel is the place where she shares her passion for working on all things diesel, big and small. With videos showing her professional work repairing heavy construction equipment as well as boosting the horsepower on her own Cummins-powered pickup, she shows the perils of doing this kind of job, the reality of life in the trades, and the often brutal reality of being female and working in the trades while serving as a mentor and inspiration for other women who might follow in her footsteps. Along the way, she also manages to make her content entertaining.

In scrolling through her videos, you will notice the bulk of them cover a range of repairs performed on diesel equipment. Many, if not most, times, she takes the opportunity to educate the viewer on what she is doing to whatever piece of equipment she is working on. She obviously knows her stuff, and anyone could learn something from her. In another portion of the content, she lets her hair down to show the viewer a few things showing her fun side along with a few elements to show that while she is an experienced and skilled diesel mechanic, she is still very much a woman who embraces it. She says there is no reason someone who wants to work in the trades should not go home and be as feminine as she wants.

In contrast to the more action-oriented channels showing every detail of the auto repair and modification process, the YouTube channel Big Car provides comprehensive dives into the backstory behind the cars we see on the roads from yesterday and today. Written and produced from a British perspective, European models feature heavily, with a huge helping of British sheet metal represented.

Produced by Andy Haslam in what looks like his home office, complete with model cars filling bookshelves behind him, Big Car presents in-depth histories of select models with ample backstory going into the decisions of executives, engineers, and designers that shaped the final product. He also includes details surrounding the subject, such as social pressures affecting production or political interference with management. By the time you finish each of his videos, you will know more than you ever cared to know about the Triumph Stag, BMW Z1, Hillman Imp, or Lancia Delta.

The subject matter can be a bit dry, but Big Car covers it with just enough charisma to keep it engaging. Diving so deep into the story of obscure hatchbacks and sports cars alike may not interest everyone, but for those who appreciate it, Big Car provides a wealth of information with a personal touch that makes it worth watching. And considering the proliferation of automotive videos using uninspired AI narration lately, viewing real human-created content continues to be the superior choice.

Many of us who obsess over anything with an engine and one or more wheels know that we are oddball weirdos with no shame or apology for it. Likewise, we also have a strange and unexplainable obsession with cars that are equally strange and unexplainable. Fortunately, Aging Wheels exists for all the Trabant lovers, Reliant Robin enthusiasts, and defunct microcar aficionados.

Created by Robert Dunn back in 2014, Aging Wheels came into its own a few years later as Dunn documented his own obsession with automobiles deemed undesirable by pretty much everyone else. Not only can you find videos that serve as a kind of review of one of his cars, highlighting what they do and don't do well and offering a general perception of them, you can also keep tabs on his ongoing projects that often repurpose cars that are more often abandoned by their owner rather than driven, such as his fleet of electric Coda sedans, an EV no longer sold in America that failed after just 117 sales.

While electric cars make up a large part of the content, Aging Wheels is not EV-exclusive. Its focus, if you can say it has one, seems to be weirdness and obscurity. Furthermore, Dunn presents everything with a healthy dose of irreverence and a sense that he takes nothing too seriously. And if anyone takes the cars featured on this channel seriously at all, they are missing the point.

Another channel presented with a distinctly British flair is Jay Emm on Cars. James Martin is the personality behind the channel, and while he will dig into the backstory and development of a given model being featured, his hands-on reviews really drive the channel. Using a combination of static presentations and driving reviews, Jay offers insights and commentary with honest opinions and a critical eye on what makes a car brilliant as well as what does not.

Based in the United Kingdom, Jay Emm's videos showcase models available in the country with driving reviews on winding British country roads. Video subjects range from exotic supercars to classic econoboxes that were once a staple of European streets. Jay is also in the enviable position of reviewing plenty of highly desirable cars from the likes of Porsche, Lotus, Ferrari, and boutique makers like Noble, and the playlist includes a helping of car-related stories, including some personal anecdotes regarding some of his own cars.

Jay Emm on Cars provides viewers plenty of information, along with useful critiques that anyone looking to buy a classic car in Britain could benefit from. The rest of us can watch for whatever reason and learn a bit about some truly interesting rides. Meanwhile, with a subscriber count nearing half a million, Jay Emm seems to have found a niche that works, and it might be worth checking out yourself to learn a thing or two about your favorite European ride.