I just love the open road–even though I don’t have a car.  Maybe it’s been all those bus trips to Montreal, Buffalo and Cleveland, or perhaps I’ve just seen Almost Famous and Hard Core Logo a few too many times, but tales of peril and adventure on the highways and byways of this great nation have a certain appeal to me.  And A&E’s new series Shipping Wars is no exception.

Initially, I was a little skeptical of the latest in A&E’s many wars, but when I actually saw a couple episodes, I was hooked.  Much like the popular Storage Wars franchise, this show sees independent contractors bid on a bunch of odd loads–only in this war, it’s the lowest bid that wins.  But the episode doesn’t end there; they then have to transport the item from Point A to Point B, occasionally traveling cross-country and dealing with the elements, car troubles and even the law.

It seems Season 2 swapped out war-veteran couple the Bawcoms for a couple Jersey Shore-types, to appeal to a younger audience, I suppose.  But you’ve still got a varied cast of characters, from veteran truckers to handymen and raw rookies.  Though they haven’t taken their war to Twitter, there is still plenty of trash talk during each episode as the competitors watch the footage of their opponents’ journeys.  In the end, expenses like gas, supplies and motel rooms are subtracted from the bidding price to determine total profit.

Don’t get me wrong, I still stick around to watch Storage Wars afterwards, but I actually think I prefer the shipping variety.  Still waiting on A&E to start airing that Nuclear Wars program, though…