Rock legend Ted Nugent recently spoke out about his experience with a custom vehicle build, addressing serious accusations in a statement shared on YouTube.
He recounted his dealings with Bill Carlton and Texas Metal, the shop featured on Motor Trend’s TV show. Nugent said he brought his 1974 Bronco to the shop for extensive upgrades, with Carlton allegedly assuring him it would be finished within a year. “I took it to Bill Carlton at Texas Metal. He shook my hand and actually said, ‘You know, my dad said, A man’s only as good as his word.’ As he shook my hand on film and said, I said, ‘Can you do it in a year, Bill?’ No problem,” Nugent recalled. “He said, ‘My dad said a man is only as good as his word.’ Well, your dad was right. Except that you just spit in the face of your dad.”
According to Nugent, the Bronco was slated for extensive, modern upgrades, including a new driveline, suspension work, and enhanced off-road performance. However, he claimed the build dragged on far beyond the agreed timeline.
“Six years later, it wouldn’t run. He dropped it off one time and it wouldn’t even go into four-wheel drive. It wouldn’t shift. At first, it wouldn’t even start,” Nugent stated. “Years later, not one year, years later. He said, ‘So, kind of work with us because we’ll get it right. It’s just not running, but we’ll get it running right.’”
Nugent further alleged that despite the Bronco’s poor condition, Carlton pushed him to appear in a televised reveal for the Motor Trend series, even though the vehicle supposedly wasn’t drivable at the time.
“It wouldn’t even drive up the hill on the Texas Metal TV show. It wouldn’t even drive up the hill. And so I took a deep breath and I raved about what I was looking at. And what I was looking at was a scam,” Nugent said. “I wouldn’t dare take my family or my dogs in a drive and my beloved 74 Bronco after Texas Metal ruined it. Bill, you’re a horrible man.” He went on to claim the problems were the result of deliberate actions rather than mistakes and urged Motor Trend to step in.
“What the real Bronco specialists discovered when they had to tear it all down and start over again is that Bill and his team at Texas Metal had to do it on purpose. They can’t possibly be that stupid,” Nugent asserted. “Motor Trend people, call me. You can’t possibly let this guy keep his TV show.”
To put Nugent’s accusations into perspective, it helps to look back at his history with the Texas Metal TV series and the Bronco build itself. HBO Max’s Texas Metal archives show that Nugent appeared in Season 4, Episode 9, titled Rock’n Bronco, which aired on May 18, 2021. In that episode, Bill Carlton and his crew at Ekstensive Metal Works undertook a major rebuild of Nugent’s 1974 Ford Bronco.
IMDb’s listing for Texas Metal outlines a substantial project scope: the team not only rebuilt the Bronco into a fully revamped, all-terrain machine but also created a hand-fabricated, all-tube off-road buggy for Nugent as part of the same project. The episode was framed as a showcase for Carlton’s skills and the shop’s capabilities, with the Bronco and buggy presented as successful custom builds for reality TV audiences.
Nugent’s recent public statements now sharply contrast with the upbeat depiction aired on television. His account points to a serious disconnect between what viewers saw on the show and what he says he actually received. He maintains that the Bronco was not functional at the time of the televised reveal, challenging the typical reality TV narrative in which finished vehicles are presented as fully sorted, impressive transformations.
This dispute also fits into Nugent’s long track record of contentious public moments and media clashes. Coverage from outlets like Texas Monthly notes that Nugent has been involved in multiple controversies tied to his reality TV appearances and outspoken persona. His decision to publicly criticize Carlton and Motor Trend underscores his determination to call out what he sees as a violation of trust and professional integrity.
