MotorWeek creator John Davis remembers Pat Goss

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Pat Goss, known by millions for doling out automotive wisdom during his weekly Goss’ Garage segment on the TV show MotorWeek, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, March 19th, 2022 at his home in West River, Maryland. Goss had been a mainstay of the PBS series since its beginning in 1981, appearing in over 2,000 episodes over the course of 41 seasons.

“Pat was one of the last few remaining technicians that probably knew just about everything about what makes a car tick,” said MotorWeek creator, host, and managing director John Davis during an interview on Sunday. “Most technicians today, they specialize, just like lawyers and doctors … He wasn’t a specialist, but he specialized in everything.”

Davis explained that MotorWeek intends to broadcast the remaining segments featuring Pat Goss that were previously recorded, now with special introductions in his memory.

“He would not want the material he’s already done to not be out there, if it could help somebody.”

Davis also said the the crew at Maryland Public Television, where MotorWeek is produced, have already begun working on a special tribute to their colleague that will air on public TV stations starting Saturday, April 23. (Check your local listings for exact times.)

Pat Goss’ involvement with Maryland Public Television actually started several years before MotorWeek, on a 1970s program called Consumer Survival Kit. Here, he taught viewers how to avoid automotive scams and questionable business practices at repair shops. He didn’t make it into the unaired MotorWeek pilot that was produced in 1978, but shortly after, John Davis reached out to Pat Goss and got him onboard before the show’s official launch in 1981.

“I approached him very quickly, because we had to be on the air in a couple of months,” remembered Davis. “And it was only a few weeks later that we were at his Gulf station in Bladensburg, on the hottest day of the summer, taping the first series … And the rest as they say, is history.”

Goss started with the basics, saying, “The one single thing that is most important as far as the life expectancy of your automobile’s engine, is changing the oil.”

Originally credited as the show’s “Automotive Consultant” and later as “Master Technician,” to viewers he was simply known as “Goss.” Almost every episode of the iconic PBS series featured him in a two to five minute segment, teaching viewers about everything from anti-lock brakes to carburetors, paint protectors to alternators, trailer hitches to EV chargers, and anything else automotive. He often eschewed the title “mechanic” preferring instead to refer to people who worked on cars as “technicians.”

Over 41 years, the segment officially became known as Goss’ Garage, and the content evolved. Originally focusing on maintenance that owners could do at home, he covered both general tips and model-specific problems. (Including this alarming segment on 1980s Oldsmobile diesels.) As cars became increasingly complex, Goss shifted from “do it yourself” to what he called “know it yourself” advice, intended to help viewers understand how to identify problems, how to talk to mechanics, and how to avoid getting ripped off when going to a repair shop.

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