Top Gear

[Channel]

A sense of humour appears to be missing.

[camelspyyder]

Mate I just read your suggestions for a TG revamp. Sounds like taking it back to the original format. Shall we get Frank Page, Angela Rippon, Chris Goffey and Noel Edmonds back too? God it was boring. Like the AA members magazine for telly. I still remember Goffey reviewing a Lada -.  "A good car for the money but the ashtray is too small" Wow!

[P6bJOHN]

2 hours ago, camelspyyder said:

 "A good car for the money but the ashtray is too small" Wow!

 

These were very important issues back in the day to my Old Man, If the ashtray didn't hold two pipes he wouldn't have the car. A trip down the M1 to London required a full tank of fuel, a pipe on the go to start and two refills loaded with St Bruno. It also had to have good rear quarter view for when he was backing his boat trailer down a slipway. He could break a salesmen's will to live. 

[J.R.]

"the gear lever falls conveniently to hand"............................................

[gregoir]

Fifth Gear has enough real car tests, with the drivers, especially the delightfully fruity Vicky Butler Henderson and the great Jason Plato to keep us amused.

No fatuous amphibious cars or silly challenges in old bangers .

I liked Chris Goffey- really.

 

[Aspman]

Chris Goffey, father of Danny Goffey of Supergrass

 

I remember it from those days. Thats not the market they're looking for.

Clarkson's entertainment TG sold globally and made lots of money, that is what the beeb want to keep going.

 

I think there is still a market for a car magazine style show as well.

[camelspyyder]

On 17/12/2018 at 17:02, gregoir said:

Fifth Gear has enough real car tests, with the drivers, especially the delightfully fruity Vicky Butler Henderson and the great Jason Plato to keep us amused.

No fatuous amphibious cars or silly challenges in old bangers .

I liked Chris Goffey- really.

 

 

I did too - until I had to watch him present the "Orders for Armed Guards" video - several times a year for 20 odd years. Funny how he always flinched when the pistol detail behind him fired off whilst he was saying his piece.

 

 

Edited 20 December, 2018 by camelspyyder

[Ootohere]

Tonight then for the new series.

[Channel]

It will be crash bang wallop boring as hell.  Why can't we have a piece on 4x4 systems. There are so many different systems out there these days all with different names, are they the same or all different.  Lets have some off roading at e sensible speed not " who can get round the quickest"  It might help to have some on road snow driving, how to do it, should you do it with summer tyres.  It might prevent the numpties getting stuck and holding up everybody else and that includes lorry drivers.

[Ootohere]

Like Suzuki Ignis Allgrip vs Fiat Panda Cross tonight.

[BJM]

3 hours ago, Channel said:

It will be crash bang wallop boring as hell.  Why can't we have a piece on 4x4 systems. There are so many different systems out there these days all with different names, are they the same or all different.  Lets have some off roading at e sensible speed not " who can get round the quickest"  It might help to have some on road snow driving, how to do it, should you do it with summer tyres.  It might prevent the numpties getting stuck and holding up everybody else and that includes lorry drivers.

 

Because then it REALLY would be as boring as hell.

[Chris]

12 hours ago, Skoffski said:

Like Suzuki Ignis Allgrip vs Fiat Panda Cross tonight.

I enjoyed that bit. The Ferrari Vs Porsche thing was utterly pointless though. 

[Channel]

Having now seen the 4x4 piece I thought that it was one of the best demonstrations of how not to drive a 4 wheel drive vehicle in an off road environment, particularly if you are keen on getting home again.  It was about as irresponsible as you can get.  Wrecking the countryside and probably damaging the cars.  As an ex  4x4 instructor much time is spent making sure that they understand the system that the car has and make sure that it remains in one piece as it is all you have to get home again.  Those two idiots don't help matters one bit.  With regards to the irresponsible attitude towards the area they were using, it will just be another string to bow of people who would  like all off roading stopped.

[VWD]

Best piece of advice I was ever given on how to drive a 4x4 was given by an old Tech in Zimbabwe. Never think that you can go anywhere in a  4x4 ( particularly a LR).

BETTER to recognise where you can't go.

The problem is that the makers ( and a lot of so called car experts) tell you that you can go anywhere in a 4x4. But they don't spec the type of 4x4. Old style defenders had turn locks on the steering to prevent idiots committing hari Kari on hill descents, by applying to much lock. But where the old LR just plugged away in mud at a slow rate, the JAP psuedo ( particularly the NISSAN 1600 converted to 4X4 ,with increased height ) ,had to be driven rally style  in mud to get anywhere. I know- I had one of these in Africa in the wet season. LR- just stick it in 4wd, and plug on. Nissan- Try that and it was dig it out. i'd no previous 4x4 experience prior to this. I consider myself a bit better than the average driver having spent a lot of years on the West Coast of Scotland on single track roads, where a snowplough/ sanding vehicle usually meant a problem as ,whilst we skated around on untreated roads, the wagons ended up in the ditch. Try driving these sorts of road in olde RWD Morris 1000 type vehicles with crossply tyres and you soon learn to drive in adverse conditions. These days the religion seems to preach that more power to the wheels means better grip. Whereas the opposite is true. So for me , in bad driving conditions- BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS.

But likewise on the subject of the old TG - I fail to see the relevance of how a car is better driven sideways on max revs . To me a car should be  driven so it drives in a straight line. Only fools drive to get a car sideways ( except in snow & ice) and only then to keep the vehicle moving in poor conditions.

Edited 18 February, 2019 by VWD

[Channel]

The best piece of advice I received in the early days was " Never put your vehicle anywhere, where your brain hasn't been earlier"  That only works if there is a brain available in the first place, sadly lacking on some occasions.  Regarding VWD first line,the advice in Australia for some areas is " Landcruisers Only"

[moley]

The new series of Top Gear starts on Sunday 8.00 pm. 

Chris Harris with Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff. I'll have to record this and watch it next week as I will be out of the country for a week.  It will be interesting to see how this format works out. I haven't watched the last couple of series with Matt LeBlanc but anything will be better than Chris Evans.

[Guest]

I noticed yesterday when I was going through some TG magazines that FF & PMcG had both appeared in consecutive Me & My Cars section just after they had been announced as presenters, almost as if it was to justify why they had been given the job. 

 

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but I've never found Paddy McGuinness to be funny, unless it was in Phoenix Nights. 

[penguin17]

I think the show had just started to get back in the right direction, with Chris Harris and Matt le Blanc having some good on-screen chemistry.  Paddy McGuiness annoys the 5hi7 out of me and Freddy Flintoff is just about ok in really small doses.  I'm done with it now.  It's a scripted entertainment show and has been for quite some time but now 2/3 of it's presenters know fk all about cars.  There are proven car journalists with TV experience who would be better suited to the job and funnily enough know a bit more about cars.  It makes me *almost* wish to have Clarkson and his two bitches back. 

 

 

[wonkyewok]

I enjoyed tonight’s. Not sure how much the the humour is genuine or will develop over time. I thought there was less of jokes at the expense of the people of the country they were in - maybe they’re a bit happier than Clarkson and co ended up. 

[Tilt]

10 hours ago, wonkyewok said:

 I thought there was less of jokes at the expense of the people of the country they were in - 

 

No, seems they're all aimed at poor old Harris now..............

[KenONeill]

I'm not allowed to say what I actually think of Chris Harris, so I'll just observe that my opinion of him is aligned with the usual opinion of Boris Johnson.

[BGB]

Isn’t Chris Harris one of the better car journalists there is @KenONeill?

[Lady Elanore]

Holy thread revival Batman!

 

I could watch this as an entire show if they made it a tad longer and slowed Mr 'arris down

 

 a ta

Edited 12 November, 2020 by Lady Elanore

[Jim H]

Oops

 

https://drivetribe.com/p/jaguar-xj220-driven-on-top-gear-KlVhLBU_R9uN6xfto6oczw?fbclid=IwAR3g8JEWc0jGe09i1nmpf8aOBxWPEXp_LpSeL9tsM87Ats1Qgztxjft01ZY&iid=LuYnjvCtQsqSnE38xypSQQ&utm_campaign=main+&utm_medium=fb&utm_source=organic

[@Lee]

Amazon Prime. 18/12/2020