[08x02] May 14th, 2006

[ejaymclane]

Originally Posted by Patrick Bateman

If you've the money the 430 is definatly the one to go for. Its already been mentioned that you get more than just a car and the better normal road ability makes it the better car overall. You could strap a rocket to a piece of shit and it would beat the 430 in a drag race but it's still a piece of shit.

Yeah, some people just dont understand.

I mean, if you want to stop your hunger go and buy a bag of chips for £1.(zo6)

If you want to really give your tastebuds a treat buy a 5 course meal in a fancy restaurant. (ferrari)


A Ferrari F430 is like a finely made gourmet dish, you can see in the way its put together that the creators have skill and experience and a real passion for what they do.

Plus, you cannot beat the sound of a Ferrari.

[NeoTheOne]

the stig did a lap in the old Suzuki Liana in the first episode they began with the celebs drivin the Liana (first or secound eisode of the first season) but they didn't put the time on the board but they told his time in the show

[qube]

Z06; best car in the world.

Thus best episode ever!

Matthew

[kekekeke]

A very good car, but best would be overstretching a bit.

[triumph]

the Xk review was great especially the filming.
As usual Jeremy comments about the BMW and the MB are ...well as usual!
pity thought about this aerodynamic problem with the XK , he said "as long as you don't get over 110miles" wtf If I had a Jag coupé with a V8 it wouldn't be to cruise at 60!

As for James, common I know you love France you can drive on which ever side of our roads you want, we don't mind!


the kayak race was superb . If Hammond hadn't crashed in this "iceberg" the result would have been different.

Z06 lap time was IMPRESSIVE
But most impressive was Stig lap time and I loved his self-confidence , but still wasn't a big surprise this guy knows this track better than anyone.

[qube]

Not in my book, it's perfect, looks awesome, has awesome performance, is economical, cheap to maintain and is affordable. Most of all it'll give most cars that cost 3 times its' price some schooling on the strip and on the track.

I'll never be able to afford a Ferrari, Lambo or K'egg so those cars are meaningless, the Corvette is a car that I could actually go and buy.

They're very rare in the UK which makes them exclusive and unlike TVR's they don't break down every week.

[SR71]

Just finished watching the show. Didn't like it much. Reason Why? Here goes:

* The idea of running the car against burning fuel was taken directly from a lexus ad (don't know if it is aired in the UK, at least it is shown in Canada). Wasn't filmed clearly so we never knew how much did distance did it beat it by.

* News segment was poorly edited, especially when Jeremy is talking about the new Ferarri. All of them seemed rushed.

* Everybody knew that the Canoe would win. Besides I think most of their new races are fixed just to provide cheap thrills to the audience.

* Jeremy is too much in love with the Jaguar brand. In my opinion the front grill of XK is downright ugly. The only criticism was about the front end lifting at 130mph which is irrelevant. With the speed limit at 70mph, where would you drive it at 130mph (Isle of Man and Germany are the exceptions). The exhaust note was also too noisy, not the deep throaty rumble that some engines make.

* The radio segment was a little too long (around 16 minutes). It also shows that doing live shows is so much more difficult than recording scripted shows.

Even though I love the photography and the camera work in top gear generally, all throughout the episode I was wishing that they lighten up the dark blue filter so that we can see the actual colours. It is already mostly cloudy and grey in UK, why make it even more so by using the dark filters?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a great TG fan, its just that I expect so much more from the show that average just doesn't cut it.

[kekekeke]

Originally Posted by qube

Not in my book, it's perfect, looks awesome, has awesome performance, is economical, cheap to maintain and is affordable. Most of all it'll give most cars that cost 3 times its' price some schooling on the strip and on the track.

I'll never be able to afford a Ferrari, Lambo or K'egg so those cars are meaningless, the Corvette is a car that I could actually go and buy.

They're very rare in the UK which makes them exclusive and unlike TVR's they don't break down every week.

You should get a Radical SR8.

[qube]

Nah, don't like screamers so 10000RPM sound like hell to me, also I don't like track cars, preferring GT's (and despite Clarkson saying that it's too much of a bone shaker to be a road car is not something I'd agree with).

Also I've 6'7" so there's no way I'd fit in a RSR8!

[janstett]

Originally Posted by Mr. Vercetti

Corvette segment was O.K, not a fan of that car at all (especially the yellow one's that are beating Aston Martin in ALMS) and all that burning of fuel, not only the fuel being burned in an incredably thursty car but being set alight .

The Z06 escapes the US gas guzzler tax (unheard of for a car of this performance) and is rated at 16 mpg city, 26 mpg highway (that's exactly 2 mpg off of a BMW 330Ci, a 3.0 liter 6 that makes 255 hp / 225 tq.) Show me another 500 horsepower supercar that gets close to the mileage of a 6 cylinder saloon car. Run down the list of your favorite exotics, they're all worse offenders than the Z06.

You seem to be an Aston fan, the V8 Vantage rates 14 mpg city, 22 highway. The V12 Vanquish gets 11/17, the DB9 11/18.

On top of that, the Z06 does not feature the cylinder deactivation technology that has become popular on American V8s. (This deactivates 4 cylinders while cruising, seamlessly.) If/when they do, mileage will only improve.

Originally Posted by TomCat

Well, the Z06 is running on runflats, which offer less grip and a stiff worse ride.

Yes, for some reason they insist on those horrible Goodyear runflats (they've gotten better but still suck). Explains the tire squeal. Get some good rubber on that car (which is the first thing owners will do) and the picture gets better.

Originally Posted by Mischief007

What I got from this episode:

American made cars (or anything to do with America) suck. Yes they liked the performance of the Z06 but still tore it apart even though it is 100,000 quid cheaper than the 575.

Nah, Clarkson's list of complaints at the end from when he drive it home are minor nitpicking, looking for things wrong. He went back to the well on the "flimsy" rear panel (while they gush over this same behavior on pedestrian-friendly Euro cars). He didn't even go to the old standby, the rubbish interior (which is slightly less rubbish than the C5 but still not up to Honda Civic standards) and the Vietnamese leaf springs (which are a single transversely mounted composite spring like F1 cars did not too long ago, not the giant rusty steel longitudnal springs of a pickup truck). Is his memory that bad, why did he let that go? Does he know it's a losing argument because it works?

All in all, he's respecting the Z06. His complaints were petty. If he was complaining the ride was too stiff (I've been in one and disagree, it soaked up bumps) and that the satnav comes up to fast food restaurants (which was funny), that's an accomplishment.

Now, yes I am happy to see the Z06 do so well (and that's in part because I want one so badly). But let's be honest, it's not a Ferrari, THAT is what the extra $100,000 is for. I've been to many track days and actually seeing a Ferrari on the track gets pretty rare for those of us who don't have trust funds. If I had Ferrari money, I'd have the Ferrari for posing and the Z06 for the track. The Z06 has none of the cachet or sophistication or brand image of the Ferrari. But there is a long Corvette racing history, and for performance thrill, what's the extra $100k for?

Put another way -- I make a decent living, low six figures and no kids. There's no way I could afford a Ferrari, but I can (somewhat painfully) find a way to put a Z06 in my driveway. Like fast food restaurants, that's American!

Owning a Porsche I know what a maintenance headache they can be and what the parts and labor cost at a competent mechanic, and Ferrari repairs/maintenance I have heard of make Porsche look like Chevrolet in comparison.

[ejaymclane]

What are you guys whining about?

He commended the car for being good on the track but a pig on the road.

And thats what any potential buyers would need to know since they arent going to buy it and just use it for track days.



Gee, you Americans. What did you want him to say?

You think Clarkson only says what he thinks us Brits want to hear. Ive read numerous times how you think he is pro Euro and hates US cars.

Thats why he owns a Ford GT isnt it

[Jimi Hendrix]

JC didn't do the 0-160 km/h run in fifth gear. When he goes at 110 km/h the tachometer is at 5500 rpm.

Also I think they could have done a proper comparison between the three cabriolets.

[sonofstig]

Hi, i'm new here, just wanted to say great episode for the new series. Loved the photography on the XK reviews and the corvette was nice(though i'd go for an old F355, but thats just me).

Thought the radio section was great especially with them clearing out early at the end.

The highlight has to be the Stigs laptime and they really should have had that in the first episode but at least we got to see it.

with the episode content i think the problem is they where trying to cram as much as possible in 1 hour. We should ask for an hour and a half episodes . The studio bits where much better though

[kekekeke]

Originally Posted by Jimi Hendrix

JC didn't do the 0-160 km/h run in fifth gear. When he goes at 110 km/h the tachometer is at 5500 rpm.

Also I think they could have done a proper comparison between the three cabriolets.

It's 0-160mph actually, I think.

[Mischief007]

See and here I would take the Z06 over the F430. But that's just me. I prefer a car that I can use daily and not worry about huge maintenance bills.

[pdanev]

Originally Posted by Mischief007

See and here I would take the Z06 over the F430. But that's just me. I prefer a car that I can use daily and not worry about huge maintenance bills.

Nope, not just you. Not a fan of new Ferraris, including the 430, and don't you guys come with that "you pay for the experience and passion" crap.

[Jimi Hendrix]

Originally Posted by sonofstig

Thought the radio section was great especially with them clearing out early at the end.

IMHO that was the most stupid feature ever in TG. What a waste of time!!!

[ViperVX]

The episode was good, not as great as the 1st one, but still pretty good. Chevy Z06 review with car ag. petrol drag race & burning petrol background shots was very impressive. Studio bits once again seemed too scripted...
The Jag segment was very interesting too, although this new Jag sounds & looks like crap, it's no way near as Cool as AM's & it looks a lot "Weaker" than the old Xk, which i happened to see 2 days ago.
Radio show was lotsa fun, but it wasn't as funny, as it wud've been if i cud resist reading all the "pre" articles & spoilers (same story with pink Micra segment).
The Stig in Liana was a nice surprise. The only thing that spoiled this ep. a lil bit was RH's race VS jet-powered kayakk, there were some nice shots, but the whole thing was kinda pointless...
Overall - another great episode, still 11/10

[SL65]

That was a really pleasing episode

I have this new found respect for the Corvette. And not just respect in respect to American cars but proper respect up against all the worlds cars. I thought the thing with the lighting of fuel was pretty cool! And the sat-nav thing was very funny - I can't believe such a stupid feature exists!

I wasn't that interested in the canoe segment. I'm not that interested in water related stuff...it was a meh segment.

The Jag segment was pretty good. Good cinematography as usual however I was a bit dissapointed that Clarkson got so wrapped up in the Jag that he didn't really bother to REVIEW and COMPARE it to the other cars. I know this is TG and they don't nessesarily do that but this was a bit underdone IMO. But I still enjoyed the segment as a whole.

That drive time radio thingy was hilarious, especially Clarkson's intros Just awesome


btw: For anyone who needs it, I will have some HTTP links to download this episode up by 9:00am (GMT+10) on the 16th. Check the Video Offers section of the forum.

[Nismo Brothers]

I still really dont get the causes of the problems of the Jaguar once reaching 130? Anyone want to explain it to me?