5 Minutes With…Mike Cotten – Cool Car Guy and Co-Host of Faster with Newbern and Cotten
You’d be hard pressed to find someone happier about hanging out with car-guy friends and working in the industry than Mike Cotten. You may recognize Mike as half of the Motortrend TV Show “Faster with Newbern and Cotten,” perhaps from “Roadkill,” or maybe elsewhere on YouTube. If you’ve been to the Street Machine Nationals in Du Quoin, chances are you’ve seen him ogling over all the pro street cars.
Mike came of age when pro street was king and ended up starting his own shop, Midwest Images Paint and Metal, to build and paint cars. Through a wild custom ’80 C10 that he built (back before the term squarebody was thrown around) combined with hanging around at shows like Power Tour and SEMA, his upbeat disposition and fun-with-cars attitude made him many hot rod industry friends, which eventually led to the world of hot rod TV shows and streaming series. We caught up with Mike Cotten to see what’s new and coming around the bend.
Goodguys: When you started Midwest Images, did you ever think it would lead to being a TV personality?
Mike Cotten: Never in my life would I have thought I’d have anything to do with a television show. It still doesn’t make sense! I just wanted to build cars and be in the industry. TV was never in my plan, not even in my dreams. It’s icing on the cake, for sure.
GG: Was there a single event that put you on the trajectory to TV host?
Cotten: I can’t say there was a single thing, it just kind of happened. I met Mike Finnegan when he was an editor for Sport Truck magazine; he was shooting my ’80 C10 for a feature back before C10s were cool. I had that truck at SEMA, other titles shot it, and I got to know a bunch of the media and manufacturers.
When Finnegan moved to Atlanta, I would go down and help him work on his cars and hang out. Dave Newbern was also there so it was just three car guys in the garage having a good time. At some point, the network pitched doing “Faster with Finnegan” and Dave and I were going to be the mechanics that helped. All of a sudden, we’re on camera and eventually Mike bowed out of the show, and it turned into “Faster with Newbern and Cotton.” Pretty random when you think about it!
GG: We understand there’s one more season coming this year?
Cotten: Yes. As most people have heard, the show was cancelled at the end of last year, but we had already shot six new episodes which will be on sometime this year. I think it’s a great season of shows. We got to do some really fun stuff. It was a lot of work – we truly build these cars in 2-5 days then go out and race them. You’ll have to wait and watch, but these were fun shows to create!
GG: What are some favorite projects or memories from the show?
Cotten: At the risk of sounding like a cliché’, there were no bad times or builds. That said, I absolutely love my ’80 Dodge Mirada pro street ride in cotton candy pink with graphics and a blower. It was a Roadkill purchase for an episode, a true pro street survivor plucked from a garage in Michigan. I was able to buy the car and it’s been a blast to drive on Power Tour.
Another project I enjoyed was turning a stock Model A sedan into a street rod. Newbern dreamed up the project and it was a blast because I learned more about hot rods. We basically rolled out the original chassis and rolled in a new Speedway Motors chassis, upgraded the brakes, the stance, and added a small-block Ford. The car drove into the garage as a stocker and rolled out a few days later as a street rod.
GG: What’s your take on the state of hot rodding? How are things looking and what’s ahead?
Cotten: That’s a tough question. Social media plays a huge role in what’s cool and not, unfortunately. I know what I like and build what I like, but things progress like pro street to pro touring. There are so many high-end, high-dollar cars out there that it would be good to see things get back to simpler times with more people driving their stuff. As a painter, I’ve never been a huge patina guy. I understand it and being able to use your car before it’s finished but to me, it needs to look good and drive; there’s a difference between being “done” and “finished.” You can get it done so the car drives and is reliable…but that doesn’t mean it’s finished.
GG: What’s the plan for your new YouTube channel?
Cotten: I never thought I’d have my own YouTube channel, but here I am. My goal is to keep it as real world as possible, with jack stands and cheap tools. Do the job right and, in general, have fun and help friends and manufacturers. I have a ’60 Biscayne I recently blew the engine in, plus my ’67 Econoline as a project, not to mention getting the Mirada dialed in and road ready.
GG: Are you still working on customer projects, too?
Cotten: After six solid seasons of building cars and traveling for the shows, I haven’t been able to do any customer cars, and it doesn’t look like that will happen due to my energy going toward the YouTube channel. The show has morphed into my career and life, but it’s still all about playing with cars.
GG: Do you have a favorite project car, or one you want to do?
Cotten: I’ve had a C4 in the background for a couple years that I am stoked to work on again. It goes back to my pro street roots and is back-halved with a cantilever four-link and giant tires. I moved the engine back and raised the front suspension points go get the thing low! I have the complete picture in my head with a monochrome white finish with blood red interior and highlights. It’ll be bitchin’!
