WhistlinDiesel shows who’s boss.

AUTOMOTIVE YouTube channel creators are often bigger-than-life personalities parroting everything a manufacturer’s PR department throws at them to achieve brand appeasement, perks and subscriber growth.

All of which is fine for entertainment, but they often lack the objective balance that comes with accredited automotive journalism.

One content creator who gives the middle finger to the status quo and almost everything else is Cody Detwiler and his ‘WhistlinDiesel’ YouTube channel.

Unashamedly targeted towards a younger audience, the American national has undoubtedly captivated the minds of millions of subscribers with a thirst for mindless destruction and automotive anarchy. Think BBC Top Gear on a budget, albeit with a hillbilly twist.

Filmed on a rural Indiana farm, Detwiler’s antics have seen a Dodge Challenger Hellcat converted into Amish-esque transport with wheels from a horse-drawn buggy, a 90s' Hilux helicopter dropped from 3000 metres and, more recently, durability-testing a Tesla Cybertruck … to point the rear frame snapped.

Online reaction to the latter has been at concert pitch, with truck traditionalists at war with the Tesla faithful over what constitutes ‘tough’.

In fairness, the stainless steel-clad electric was pitted against Ford’s body-on-frame F-150, with both subjected to door-slamming, explosives and off-road towing – with the headline-grabbing moment being when the aluminium-cast backend shear entirely away from the Tesla.

For the enraged Teslarati, it’s essential to view the episode in context to Detwiler’s other content, which focuses more on humour and outright shock tactics to keep you hooked. It’s not meant to be a serious show, so there’s more authenticity and lack of bias compared to other YouTube productions.

You’ve got to hand it to the camera crew for capturing the show’s wild stunts and dangerous near misses in high visual fidelity and audio clarity. Those wanting more regular content may lament the monthly uploads, but the wait is worth it.

Ultimately, WhistlinDiesel isn't a show for the serious. Its schoolyard humour and mindless destruction will appeal to those who still enjoy a dose of chaos. Tesla’s faithful may want to look elsewhere, though.

The WhistlinDiesel YouTube homepage: https://www.youtube.com/@whistlindiesel