[02x06] June 15th, 2009

[stiggie]

Originally Posted by Flashman2003

Hi, does somebody know where this place is, and it is called?

Yes, it is called the Seacliff Bridge and it is about 20 minutes drive from where I am sitting. It is in the north of Wollongong, between the suburbs of Clifton and Coalcliff on Lawrence Hargrave Dr. It was built to replace a section of road that ran along the coast but which was constantly closed due to falling rocks from the cliffs above. The solution- build a road over the sea instead.

The bridge also featured in that Shell ad with the Ferrari F1 cars. From the 0:43 - 0:50 marks.

+ YouTube Video

[flow]

Um.... why not say who they were? Strange - is that part of a story to air later in the year?

[pablo_h]

Decent ep, rated it a 7.

Next weeks looks good, comparing old 4wds with new ones, driving a fiat and smart in the outback, flogging a GTR with no performance restrictions around their track.

[TopGearJB007]

I felt generous, and gave it an 8.

I enjoyed the G8 bit, but it bothered me that they kept saying the G8 was Australian. Australian name, yes, built in Oz, yes, but who owns Holden? GM does! The G8 is American, like it or not. (That's like saying Honda's not Japanese cause they build cars in Ohio.) I also noticed Barry White was in this bit. He owns Barry's Speed Shop (http://www.barrywhitesrrc.com)

Lawn mower bit was mildly enjoyable, felt rehearsed and scripted, especially with the window bit.

Skipped SIABSC (always boring to me)

I enjoyed the Niss'n part a lot.

[Sik02Stang]

Originally Posted by stiggie

Yes, it is called the Seacliff Bridge and it is about 20 minutes drive from where I am sitting. It is in the north of Wollongong, between the suburbs of Clifton and Coalcliff on Lawrence Hargrave Dr. It was built to replace a section of road that ran along the coast but which was constantly closed due to falling rocks from the cliffs above. The solution- build a road over the sea instead.

The bridge also featured in that Shell ad with the Ferrari F1 cars. From the 0:43 - 0:50 marks.

Awsome video!

[stiggie]

Originally Posted by TopGearJB007

I enjoyed the G8 bit, but it bothered me that they kept saying the G8 was Australian. Australian name, yes, built in Oz, yes, but who owns Holden? GM does! The G8 is American, like it or not. (That's like saying Honda's not Japanese cause they build cars in Ohio.)

It is not just Australian built, it was also designed here, by Aussies. It is an Australian car, get used to it. If you can't accept that the G8 is Australian then you're really going to hate the fact that Holden also designed and developed the new Camaro (except the styling).

And if those Hondas built in Ohio are also designed in America then yes, they are American cars. Who a company's corporate owners are has nothing to do with it. Are you really going to suggest that Lamborghinis are now German because they are owned by VW or that Jaguars are Indian because they are now owned by Tata. Are Ford of Europe's Mondeos also American cars? Are all Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps now Italian cars because of the Fiat deal?

[MP4/14]

Check-Mate.

[flydiscovery]

Originally Posted by Flashman2003

Hi, does somebody know where this place is, and it is called?

This was, for me, one of the most disappointing aspects of the entire episode. My jaw dropped at that first shot and then they totally ignored the beauty and moved on as if they'd just crossed a creek or something! That's a truly beautiful road.

[Mr_Metabolism]

Originally Posted by TopGearJB007

I enjoyed the G8 bit, but it bothered me that they kept saying the G8 was Australian. Australian name, yes, built in Oz, yes, but who owns Holden? GM does! The G8 is American, like it or not.

You're not gonna try and claim vegemite as well now are you?

[stiggie]

Well Vegemite is owned by Kraft, an American company. So according to TopGearJB007's logic......

[Icedvovo]

I've stopped downloading the episodes.

Tragically boring.

[TopGearJB007]

Originally Posted by Mr_Metabolism

You're not gonna try and claim vegemite as well now are you?

Vegemite is nasty. You can keep it.

[Wyvern]

Not quite up there with last week's show, but still a pretty solid effort, and I even enjoyed the SIABSC. I knew I knew Amanda Keller's face from somewhere - we used to get Beyond 2000 on one of our satellite channels back in the day, and I used to enjoy it (it wasn't as good as Tomorrow's World though, but it's good that TW wasn't the only pop-sci programme out there getting things hopelessly wrong... anyway, I digress...). Good call on naming the crest after HG's Up-and-Under. This is the kind of mirroring of TG UK that seems appropriate, growing out of things that have happened, rather than being forced from engineered circumstances.

The 370Z review was very nice and I enjoyed James's little sojourn to the States. The musical instrument thing had me in stitches. In fact, the only thing that brought it down a little for me was the challenge, but it seems I'm far from alone on that. I like that they seem to take the actual build of the challenge vehicles quite seriously, but I wish they'd challenge the finished vehicle more thoroughly.

What kept the episode up for me was that the chemistry between the presenters is really developing nicely, but also the guys are really settling into their own roles. Warren, with his silly jokes and funny faces, fits into a nominal lead role while being very different from anyone on TG UK, Steve is enthusiastic and energetic but also (although we didn't get to see it this week) a very capable reviewer and at least as far as I'm concerned, an entertaining driver to watch. And James... well, it's like Charlie Cox was never there. James is so affable and capable, and he has slotted in like he was meant to be there all along. It's almost as if Charlie was trying to fit into a James-shaped slot, if you know what I mean.

I am not saying I didn't enjoy season 1. If anyone went back over the S1 discussion threads, I'd instantly be revealed as a liar if I said that. However, while I enjoyed S1, it was in a casual, slightly indifferent way - I wanted the show to do well, and I wanted to be encouraging, and I would be lying outright if I said I wasn't entertained.

But...

I LIKE S2. I like it a lot. Last season I could have come up with a list of improvements as long as your arm. This season, apart from the little niggle about the challenges, the only suggestion I have is 'keep doing what you're doing'.

[Ultima RB]

I went with a 7. I thought the G8 segments wasn't really a review but a timid piece of filler. Flying him over to the states to say "it's made in Australia...." seemed like a lot of wasted effort. Perhaps he could have drag raced some yank tanks to really shove it up em. I was left with the feeling that it was more about "we're not shit... we can make car..." instead of "Suck it yanks, Aussie cars rock and you're too dumb to realise that." Although I thought the Pontiac looked horrible compared to HSV's sold in Australia.

The 370 was shot well, one thing that irritates me is the friendliness of their negative remarks. Something like "this car is shit because the vision out the rear is worse than Ned Kelly's helmet." would make me smile. Statements like that are what make Clarkson interesting, the Aussies are just too nice.

SIABSC was good. Having two guests helped with the social dynamics as opposed to a standard interview format with awkward lulls.

Lawnmower challenge I thought was pretty good compared to last weeks challenge. It actually worked. He could have driven it a bit faster though or started paddock bashing or something to make it a bit more interesting.

I'm looking forward to next weeks, I have an FJ40 and love parking next to these brand new soccer mum 4wd's. I once had a lady ask me whether I thought her 4wd would drive up a gutter to get out of a carpark...

[tone76]

Originally Posted by Ultima RB

Flying him over to the states to say "it's made in Australia...." seemed like a lot of wasted effort.

I suspect that James Morrison may have been in the States at the time anyway doing some gigs, and the producers of TGA might have decided to give James something to do on one of his day off.

I dunno ... I just get a feeling that most, if not all, future overseas pieces will be hosted by James ... but only if he's already there. James' day job is as a world class musician, therefore he's going to spend a fair bit of time on the road touring. SBS/Freehand doesn't have a huge budget, and if James' airfare and accommodation is already paid for, it can make TGA's globetrotting segments quite cheap - especially if they get a local freelance cameraman and sound guy for the day rather than sending their own guys over.

[bootlegapparel]

good ep, gave it an 8

it's getting consistently funny, watchable, and have good reviews, always room for improvement but i'm really liking it at the moment, and all the presenters are working really well

[fink99]

No-one else seems to agree with me, but I'm finding James hard to watch. He seems overly smug, and doesn't seem to want to cock about in the grand tradition of TG. he seems to take himself too seriously.

Am I being unfair?

[stiggie]

Did you see him in the Jet Ski vs Lambo race?

[dj.TAKA]

Other than the 370Z bit, a bit underwhelming. Show was a bit of a organised mess really.

[efoolution]

Haven´t followed Series 2 so far, so this was quite a shock for me. And I´m also shocked now, looking at the vote to find so many people thinking this episode was rather good (80% give it a 7 or higher) so far.
I could now complain for hours about what I didn´t like, but instead I´m just going to tell you what I liked ... and that was the 370z review by the new James-bloke (who apart from not being "easy on the eye" does a great job and fits in good). The rest of the episode I didn´t like at all - a real letdown and I don´t really feel like watching the episodes I´ve missed so far ...