Top Gear thread

[giant_mtb]

I thought the "oh my god the British lied on the speedometer!" joke was pretty fucking stupid.  Pretty much every goddamn speedometer "lies."  It was slightly comical the first time, but then he used it again later.  Come on.

[68_427]

I lol'd at the dog pissing on the stage.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I lol'd at the dog pissing on the stage.

That was classic.

[Colonel Cadillac]

The opening segment of the Evo vs. the skiiers was a lot of fun to watch. Tanner is an excellent driver, he was drifting around so many of those corners and that looked like a blast. Frankly, I was surprised he wasn't wearing a helmet. It really showed the true colors of the Evo, and it was only a second slower around the track than the V12 Vantage (which I  ).

[Mustangfan2003]

I lol'd at the dog pissing on the stage.

Didn't seem like he was a fan of the show  

[The Pirate]

Yeah, big fan of the second episode, the guys seem to be meshing a lot better.  And the EVO vs. skiers was pretty awesome.

[Colonel Cadillac]

I thought the "oh my god the British lied on the speedometer!" joke was pretty fucking stupid.  Pretty much every goddamn speedometer "lies."  It was slightly comical the first time, but then he used it again later.  Come on.

It was still interesting to note that the V12 Vantage's speedo only goes up to 200 and the V8 goes up to 220

[the Teuton]

I don't like that the show is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz now.

[Vinsanity]

I don't like that the show is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz now.

worst case scenario: one of the hosts is replaced with Christian Wimmer.

[SVT666]

Gonna watch Episode 2 tonight.

[the Teuton]

worst case scenario: one of the hosts is replaced with Christian Wimmer.

The commercials are so much H&H that it's ridiculous.

[Colonel Cadillac]

I don't like that the show is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz now.

Would you prefer it to be sponsored by Downy? This way we get to see car commercials during the commercial breaks.

[Mustangfan2003]

I don't like that the show is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz now.

Shocked it wasn't Hyundai since they do a lot of ads on History. 

[Vinsanity]

Would you prefer it to be sponsored by Downy? This way we get to see car commercials during the commercial breaks.

I *would* rather it be sponsored by Downy. Because Downy won't care if the presenters call a car a piece of crap.

[the Teuton]

I *would* rather it be sponsored by Downy. Because Downy won't care if the presenters call a car a piece of crap.

+1

[Vinsanity]

The commercials are so much H&H that it's ridiculous.

just thought of an even worse case scenario: title of the show changes to "History & Heritage Hour (and stand-up comedy) with Christian Wimmer"

[Onslaught]

Would you prefer it to be sponsored by Downy? This way we get to see car commercials during the commercial breaks.

Yes but it's a MB commercial. Who cares about them?

[Colonel Cadillac]

I *would* rather it be sponsored by Downy. Because Downy won't care if the presenters call a car a piece of crap.

Ok, fair enough. But does this line of thinking keep you only listening to Consumer Reports? All car the magazines are sponsored by car companies also.

[J86]

Fact: My mom is not a Top Gear diehard. She got me my "I am the Stig" t-shirt, but she doesn't know much about the UK show.

That said, she watched all 44 minutes of the US Top Gear, and she's planning on watching again next week.

That makes me happy because it's just another thing I can talk about with my parents. After a few days of reflection about the quality of the show and the fact that it made a viewer out of my mom, I'd call that a success.

All they really need to do now is fix the music situation and do better interviews.

My mother, who can't discern a Ford from a Ferrari, LOVES the UK Top Gear, can't stand the US version.

[the Teuton]

My mother, who can't discern a Ford from a Ferrari, LOVES the UK Top Gear, can't stand the US version.

Likely because the UK version has something this one completely lacks: charm.

[hotrodalex]

They still had an anti-Mercedes comment at the end of the Aston piece, so the ads didn't affect anything (at least in this episode)

[The Pirate]

I'm optimistic for the U.S. version.  The second episode was markedly better than the first. 

And what's the alternative, guys?  Motor Trend TV?

[Colonel Cadillac]

Ok, fair enough. But does this line of thinking keep you only listening to Consumer Reports? All car the magazines are sponsored by car companies also.

This does pose an interesting conundrum. The UK version is wholly paid for by the BBC, so all they have to worry about is giving flak to the government, which they quite clearly still do instead. The US version, on the other hand, definitely has needs for outside funding, so the bias problem arises.

They did mention, when talking about the price of the V12 Vantage, that "for that money, you could get a Mercedes SLS or a Porsche 911 Turbo S and still have a pile of money left over." Was the SLS purposely mentioned (and perhaps implied that it is better), or were they just being objective?

On that note, I would still go for the V12 Vantage. It has its flaws, but it has an amazing exhaust note, it is absolutely stunning, is a manual only which gives it a bunch of browny points in my book, and so much more.

[giant_mtb]

It was still interesting to note that the V12 Vantage's speedo only goes up to 200 and the V8 goes up to 220

Yes, that's rather noteworthy and interesting.  But it doesn't require a pathetically stupid joke.

[hotrodalex]

Yes, that's rather noteworthy and interesting.  But it doesn't require a pathetically stupid joke.

[giant_mtb]

THE BRITS ARE LIARRRRRRS!

[MX793]

Didn't they use the Brian Boitano joke in the first episode?

Otherwise, a definite improvement over the first episode.  My biggest complaint is still with the music.  There isn't enough, and the music they do have sounds like the low-budget, generic stuff you hear on a 2nd-string reality show.

[TBR]

I thought the "oh my god the British lied on the speedometer!" joke was pretty fucking stupid.  Pretty much every goddamn speedometer "lies."  It was slightly comical the first time, but then he used it again later.  Come on.

I thought it was clever. Payback for Hammond not understanding how horsepower works in the GT500 segment on the UK TG.

And the cinematography in the Aston segment was every bit as good as anything I remember seeing on the UK one.

It looked like they did at least two runs on the ski vs evo segment. One for the actual competition and one for photography purposes. Note they never showed him passing the bus or the propane truck turning off.

[the Teuton]

Didn't they use the Brian Boitano joke in the first episode?

Otherwise, a definite improvement over the first episode.  My biggest complaint is still with the music.  There isn't enough, and the music they do have sounds like the low-budget, generic stuff you hear on a 2nd-string reality show.

They used Smashing Pumpkins, though you'd never know...

[giant_mtb]

Didn't they use the Brian Boitano joke in the first episode?

Otherwise, a definite improvement over the first episode.  My biggest complaint is still with the music.  There isn't enough, and the music they do have sounds like the low-budget, generic stuff you hear on a 2nd-string reality show.

No, the Boitano joke was just in the previews for the second episode that played when the first episode aired.