Jeff Dunham's The Cars That Drove Us

Name: Jeff Dunham's The Cars That Drove Us
Released: 2026

2026SeriesBrian Volk-Weiss / Ian Mallahan

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Automotive history from a collector’s garage

Jeff Dunham's The Cars That Drove Us takes the comedian's collection of 130 cars as a starting point for stories about design, ambition and popular culture. Joined by his puppet characters, Dunham introduces vehicles through engineers, artists and mechanics associated with making them. Comedy sits alongside the documentary history of the machines.

The series is directed by Brian Volk-Weiss and comes from The Nacelle Company. Its subjects include spectacular successes and troubled projects, allowing the garage to become a collection of human stories rather than simply a display of rare objects. The vehicles carry the ambitions and compromises of the people who built them.

Supercar ambitions, screen icons and changes of purpose

The Vector W8 chapter follows designer Jerry Wiegert's effort to compete with European supercars. DeLorean examines John DeLorean and the DMC-12, while Corvette follows the supporters who helped the model survive the threat of cancellation. Trans Am connects a performance car with its later prominence in film and television.

Other listed subjects include the Batmobile and the Hummer, whose story moves from the military Humvee to a civilian status symbol. Together these chapters examine more than engineering specifications: they show how a car can become a fantasy, a brand identity or a piece of screen culture.

Episodes

S01 · E01

Vector W8

The supercar explosion of the 1980s saw next-level performers like the Lamborghini Countach, the Porsche 959, and the Lotus Esprit Turbo peeling out of Europe. But could America compete? That's what Detroit auto designer Jerry Wiegert set out to discover with his jet fighter on wheels -- the Vector W8. Wiegert aimed to beat Europe at its own game, but would he go too far?

S01 · E02

DeLorean

While the DeLorean is best known as the time machine from Back to the Future, the true story behind the futuristic DMC-12 has more twists and turns than any Hollywood movie. This is the tale of John DeLorean and his quest to create a new American car company. To do it, he would need to survive an international scandal, entrapment, and bankruptcy -- not to mention an insurgency.

S01 · E03

Trans Am

The Pontiac Trans Am wasn't just part of the muscle car movement -- it was a statement. From street drags to the track, it was the complete package. A star of film (featured in Smokey and the Bandit) and television (the iconic Knight Rider), the Trans Am pushed muscle cars to the limit. But in the pursuit of greatness, did Pontiac push too far?

S01 · E04

Corvette

Before becoming "America's Sports Car," the Chevrolet Corvette was the bane of General Motors' existence. When the automaker attempted to discontinue the line in 1983, a small team of true believers went rogue, working in secret and funding the project themselves -- resulting in a groundbreaking vehicle and an all-out civil war inside GM.

S01 · E05

Batmobile

Hollywood gave audiences plenty of hero cars they could drive home -- from Knight Rider, to the DeLorean in Back to the Future, even Herbie. But one machine was always out of reach: the Batmobile. And of all its incarnations, none redefined what a movie car could be more than the 1989 Batmobile.

S01 · E06

Hummer

As the American military outgrew the Jeep, it needed something stronger, tougher, more versatile -- and the Humvee was the answer. From Desert Storm to Rodeo Drive, it became America's vehicle of choice, a popularity fueled in part by Arnold Schwarzenegger, its most famous fan. But could an energy crisis mean the end of the party?

S01 · E07

Dune Buggy

A garage-built experiment turned a cultural icon: the Meyers Manx dune buggy, which made car building accessible to the masses. However, its success unleashed a flood of copycats that nearly wiped out the very garage that started it all.

S01 · E08

Wait, That's Factory?

Episode descriptions: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0

Film details

Format: Documentary series
Release year: 2026
Premiere date: 2026-03-31
Director: Brian Volk-Weiss, Ian Mallahan
Language: English
Episode runtime: 30 min

Catalogue information: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0