The album was produced by Peter Ker and the two main songwriters in the group, Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster.

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Jim Farber praised Approved by the Motors as "a near-perfect LP of pure, pulverizing pop in the best Sweet, Slade, and Pilot tradition, cutting through the cuteness of that genre with Nick Garvey's and Andy McMaster's dynamic dual vocals… the band sings sweetly about S&M activities, disarming the entire subject in the same endearing manner as Cheap Trick joyously trivializes suicide.

[8] The Globe and Mail noted that the album "has the band moving into power pop, proving even punks follow yellow brick roads.

"[7] AllMusic critic Chris Woodstra retrospectively wrote that Approved by the Motors "shows a marked improvement over their debut, with a stronger melodic base and catchier songs".

With confidence growing, McMaster and Garvey produced the set themselves, with the help of Peter Ker, who’d engineered the November 1976 demos.