If you were an avid watcher of Netflix’s Car Masters: Rust To Riches, you’ll likely be well acquainted with the name Mark Towle. As the founder, owner, and boss of Gotham Garage, he and his team have made more than one scene on and off-screen.
Aside from providing some gearheaded entertainment for many of us, the real purpose of Gotham Garage, which is the custom garage featured on the show, is to take dilapidated classic cars and vehicles, fix them up, and turn a profit on them. Sounds simple, right? Well, it could be made a lot simpler if owner Mark Towle and the show didn’t have so many controversies and unknowns surrounding them.
In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including IMDb, Forbes, and Gotham Garage.
The Batmobile Lawsuit That Put Towle on the Map
For many of us, being sued by a huge company like DC Comics would be quite an ordeal, but for Mark Towle, it actually helped him get his foot in the door. In the early 2010s, Mark Towle had already carved out a bit of a reputation for creating replicas of famous movie and TV cars, with two of his most prolific being the Batmobiles from the 1966 Batman series and Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film.
While Gotham Garage built these models for collectors who were prepared to pay a lot of money for them, it unsurprisingly drew the attention of DC Comics, which sued him for copyright and trademark infringement.
Towle argued that he shouldn’t be sued because the models were built as functional models and not copyrightable. In 2015, though, the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of DC Comics, saying that the Batmobile could be viewed as a character, and Towle was ordered to pay $20,000 in court costs and was hit with a permanent injunction against him selling any more Batmobile replicas. The Batmobiles he created reportedly sold for around $90K each, though, so even with the fines, they made some money.
While the whole thing was slightly damaging to both Gotham Garage’s and his own reputation when the case became public, in the end, it helped put him on the main stage and showed the world how good he was at creating replica models. This argument with DC Comics is even before mentioning the name of his garage…
Is Car Masters: Rust To Riches Real Or Scripted?
We all know that reality TV has a lot of scripting and added drama in it, but just how much of Car Masters: Rust To Riches is actually real? Ever since the series started back in 2018, fans have questioned the reality of how much money Gotham Garage is actually making and if everything that goes on is legit.
It is pretty much industry standard to fluff some lines, but one of the biggest claims of a big money-maker was the Gotham Garage Concept Car and matching motorcycle, which had a target price of $250K. It was revealed later that neither was sold, while another $200,000 Ferrari was floated on the show. Like with any popular TV show, viewers turn into sleuths and have pointed out that buyers seem to show up at just the right moment, negotiations seem too scripted, and real-world custom cars rarely sell for such huge prices. It would have to be something exceptional to reach the prices the GG team can reportedly get for their creations.
What makes this worse for fans is that Mark Towle has never addressed any of the scripted claims. Of course, this could be because he has a contract to fulfill with Netflix, but by not engaging with people about the subject, it leaves a lot of people wondering if anything of the show is actually based in reality.
Are Gotham Garage Builds More Show Than Substance?
There is no doubt that some of the vehicles that the Gotham Garage team turns out are awesome, with some of their coolest models including the Frank’N’Bus, the Hot Wheels-inspired Splittin’Image, the Munster Koach, and the Fuzzmobile, but are they actually any good as vehicles or just for show?
If we look at the Lincoln Futura-inspired concept car that sits on a modern chassis, it has the exotic vintage looks but not a lot of anything else, essentially being a kit car dressed up. There is also the Volkswagen Beetle Rat Rod, which boasts a wild styling, chopped proportions, and a flame-spitting tailpipe, all very cool stuff, but it offers very little in the way of safety or, more importantly, drivability.
On the other hand, supporters of Towle may say that, as an artist, he creates vehicles meant to inspire others. For those of us who love their engineering and mechanics, though, his roots as a film and TV car replicator can be quite clear to see when he and his team produce something that looks the business, but has not a lot else to it.
Gotham Garage And The Drama Inside
If you’ve ever worked in a garage or a place surrounded by mechanics and engineers, you’ll know that it is not always the easiest place to be, but how much drama can really happen with a bunch of seasoned pros in almost every episode?
Budget arguments, disagreements over build times, and what way to design a vehicle are always going to be part of working in a mod-shop or any garage, but a lot of us feel that these arguments and blow-ups overshadow the actual reason some car fans may watch it: for car and truck mods. Regardless if the bickering is real or not, it certainly does add to the drama and keeps people talking about the show and Gotham Garage. So if that is what you are into watching, then it is good for that side of things.
Crew dynamics are also up for debate here as much as the vehicles they chop up. When Constance Nunes stepped back, and it came out that Shawn Pilot is actually an actor, it made us question whether these changes were actually needed and were real, or were just added for the drama of reality TV.
Replica Builder Or True Innovator?
Following on from the theme of style over substance, we all know that Mark Towle’s career is tied very closely to pop-culture replicas.
While some of his creations have been pretty epic, like the Corvette-based Speed Racer Mach 5 models and Plymouth XNR replica, which both ended up going on tours to different museums, some would suggest that it is not particularly innovative to create a replica without any engineering prowess to back it up. Especially if some of the replicas don’t even have the highest finish to them.
Viewers of Rust To Riches have commented a lot about the scruffy finishes, uneven paint jobs, gaps in body panels, and all-round untidiness of some of their creations. Many may ask if it is enough to rely on a few good replicas (like the Batmobiles and the Speed Racer) just to then turn out some heavily debatable recreations on TV without adding any more substance, or arguably any more creativity.
Mark Towle’s Net Worth: How Rich Is He, Really?
While it is not our business, it would still be nice to know an estimate of how much Mark Towle is really worth, because there have been some wildly different figures thrown around.
- $250,000—$500,000. Taking into consideration the non-sales of some of the highest “valued” models on the show, MEAWW has given Mark Towle quite a conservative figure.
- $2 Million. CarTVShows.com’s estimate.
- $5 Million. Surprise Sports estimate that from his TV appearances, the money that Gotham Garage makes, and from Netflix, $5 million is a more suitable figure.
- $7 Million. The Cinemaholic estimates that Towle’s net worth is $7 million, and that most of his income comes from TV appearances.
We know that Towle has earned and continues to earn money from some of Gotham Garage’s high-profile builds, like the Batmobile and Mach 5 replicas again, which have reportedly sold for six figures. But, sale prices are very often unverified.
His role on Car Masters is presumed to give him a nice income, considering he is one of the stars of the show, but neither Netflix nor Towle has ever disclosed how much he gets paid for it. Which is fair enough, we think. Likewise, public appearances at conventions are likely to add a bit of income, but they are few and far between.
Also, because many viewers think that the prices paid for some of Gotham Garage’s creations are exaggerated for the show, it makes it hard to pin down exactly what his company is making or what he is worth. There is going to be an ongoing debate between fans until Mark Towle himself comes out (if he ever does, which we think is unlikely) and categorically says how much he is worth. Even then, are some people going to believe him, considering his controversies and the showmanship around a lot of what we know of him?