[12x07] December 14th, 2008

[teeb]

Originally Posted by the Interceptor

The only question that remains is how much water vapour the FCX emits.

At a GM press conference, Jay Leno drank some of the water produced by the GM hydrogen prototype. (verdict - not best water ever but drinkable)

So I guess it can be made to emit water, with aforementioned water stored in a tank?

[Tarpic]

Bad parts:
The touring car segment and Tom Jones.

Good parts:
The rest!

I absolutely loved the Clarity segment along with Lenos garage. I want the future to be here today!
The Tesla looked cool, although I had stumbled upon it on youtube a while back. I had also heard about the Clarity before but Mays segment was excellent and it was nice to see more of the car.

Originally Posted by alihaig

The climate change debate has never really been about facts or science, just an irrational hatred of wealth, success and big business that is nicely summed up by the oil industry and associated things like airlines and cars.

That's quite a provocative view on the issue.

[DarkReaper]

What Jacket was JK wearing? The instant he entered the stage I felt a strong craving to get me one. Unless it's a multi-thousand dollar designer piece of course.

[jayhawk]

A nice, well rounded episode. Felt a bit like Boxing Day leftovers, you know?

Back in 1998-2000, when the SPEED channel was called Speedvision, they used to show BTCC races, a full hour, ever week. Very exciting to watch, it was balls out racing! Remember in Gran Turismo 2, they had quite a few BTCC type cars in it? I used to set up BTCC races, with commentary while playing!

[acabinian]

8/10.

Letdowns
TG awards: didn't catch my interest as much as ones from previous series. Almost useless, IMO.
Touring car film: yeah, I like crashes as much as the next person, but I felt they could (or should) have focused more on the racing. In the touring car races I've been lucky enough to see on TV in the States, I was pinned to the edge of my seat. I think the segment would have been better if some of the best ever races/rivalries would have been touched on by Hammond.
TG Stuntman: why? The Fifth Gear trashing is frankly boring at this point. Find something different to bash around...

Pluses
Jay Leno and the FCX Clarity: Another excellent piece by Mr. May. Sad that the FCX Clarity won't be widely available for some time. I would feel no embarrassment or shame in driving or owning an FCX, as it is just a standard car that uses hydrogen instead of gas/petrol. It really is a revolution in-the-making for the automobile, IMO. Nice to see part of Jay Leno's massive car collection finally put on the show.

Is it me or do Jay and James seem so similar in their interest and passion for automobiles? They appreciate the technology, effort and craftsmanship that's put into designing and building cars. I would think if they did a show together on cars, whatever topic(s) that would be, that I'd be glued to my TV for it. They relate to cars in a way that inspires the average person and gets them thinking about the past or the future, as here with the FCX.

Tesla Roadster: I was expecting Clarkson to trash the Tesla just because of its electric underpinnings. I genuinely think he was impressed with it on the basis that it is a car that you can drive and enjoy (partly because it basically is a Lotus Elise). It's a shame on its range and reliability, though; it puts such a chink in its armor. I know I'd enjoy driving that car - peak torque from 0 RPM, 60 in 3.9s, and handling which is unheard of in an electric car. But, with Tesla teetering on the edge of the abyss, I'm not so sure...

[Aston Martin]

I know millions of people noticed it, but I'm dying to know if it was me who was the 'eagle-eyed viewer'.

[kurthest]

This episode wasnt really any special.
Best part was Jezza saying "Shame it doesnt come with a CD of v8 noises, really!" during the Tesla film.

The future looks scary tbh, if cars are gonna be like that Honda.
Who the hell wants to drive around in a car that doesnt make a glorious noise when you put your foot down?

And yeah, they really need to stop catering to Jonathan Ross' guests in the SIARPC segments.
Get some petrolhead celebrities on there, or cut the segment.

5/10

[spigalau]

Call me a harsh critic, only gave it a 7/10 this week.

Awards - meh
SIARPC - Zzzzzzzzzzz
Telsa - ROFL - reliability my arse
FCX Clarity - Cute Bum
BTCC - Ahh bring back the Jelly Moulds.
Stuntman - could try being launched off a carrier (might have been done before).

[Triborough]

Jay Leno on Top Gear. Hmm. . .

[Lupul]

Rated at 9.

Pretty nice, but awards were lousy and that TG stuntman should be in the next Marina to get "rained" on.

SIARPC wasn't great but i like Tom Jones so it evened out.

Other than that it was great; liked the Tesla bit, the christmas present stuff, the touring car anniversary and i think the Clarity segment featuring Leno was more than great.

"Here in America we like everyone to know about the good work we do anonymously"

[evowlaf]

I wondered this before if hydrogen fuel cells work out, will airplanes go back to prop driven engines that are powered by electricity?

[Maarre]

Richard's laugh after the video were Jeremy "broke" his neck.

May's "Hello" in the Alfa Romeo challenge.

Jeremy pushing Richard into the crowd of girls.

The elderly lady.

and the christmas gift with santa's pubes on it, lol.

I had a great laugh at this episode...

[Censport]

No doubt about it: James May does the best TG films.

[barrabas]

awesome!! very good , only the touring car movie was "weak", but i have a good laugh.
James saying: HELLOO

[PlaneDriver]

Wow! That episode was impressive. 10/10. Wish I could give it more than that.

Touring cars: As an American, I enjoyed it since it was new to me.
News: One of the best of the series. Really gave the Morris folks the finger! Well done. Don't give in.
Tesla: Nice car, but it proves a point. Electric plug-ins are great for driving to work every day and use around town. They are useless for journeys as long as it takes 16 hours to recharge. Many people don't even spend that long at home before going to work again. If work is 25 miles away, you can make it through the week and recharge Friday night into Saturday. (25x2 for R/T time 5 days equals 250 miles, within theoretical range).
V8 chair: Amusing.
SIARPC: Didn't watch it. Sounds like it would have decreased my opinion of the episode.
Stunt: Almost thought they were gonna do the Cool Wall. The quote of "Revenge is a dish best served cold." I thought that was a Klingon policy. Then I thought they were gonna do some breaking and entering. Oh well. More car crashes is fun.
Awards: Nice to relive some moments from the series.
Clarity: Interesting review. Solves the problem of the Tesla not being able to leave town. Liked seeing Jay. When is Clarkson going to be a guest on the Tonight Show?

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the episode.

[Seasonone]

7/10.

I never liked those "how many caravans can a volvo jump" things from the older series and Top Gear Stuntman reminds me of those bits. He is a character that IMO got boring by the time they did the bond jump and if I see him from now on it will just be an instant fast forward.

SIARPC, boring as usual.

V8 chair was better than the blender just because it didn't take long. Had the feeling of "oh shit we film tomorrow and we need to kill time" rather than something that was actually written and thought about.

Awards, worst awards they've ever done by far.

News was good, both the reviews were good, and the touring car was good enough to keep it from dropping to a 6 since those 3 took the majority of the time.

[MP5A4]

I gave it a 10 becuase if i remembered correctly this is the first time ever in history of topgear (and i know i will be corrected by saying this) that Alfa Romeo had actually nominated for a price in the topgear awards.

And now since the season is over, i think i need some time with myself, weeping in the darkcorner of my room. Anyone cares to join?

[pduthie_au]

Originally Posted by kurthest

This episode wasnt really any special.
Best part was Jezza saying "Shame it doesnt come with a CD of v8 noises, really!" during the Tesla film.

The future looks scary tbh, if cars are gonna be like that Honda.
Who the hell wants to drive around in a car that doesnt make a glorious noise when you put your foot down?

I read somewhere that Lotus was working on a system to put Audio from Engine noises on electric vehicles - and the idea was that you would be able to download any engine noise you want.

It's not just a driver thing, it's a safety thing as Jeremy mentioned when they did the Prius review a few seasons ago - relearning the Green Cross Code.

[acabinian]

Originally Posted by kurthest

The future looks scary tbh, if cars are gonna be like that Honda. Who the hell wants to drive around in a car that doesnt make a glorious noise when you put your foot down?

I would, if the FCX saves the oil to allow me to drive a car that makes a glorious noise.

The high-powered (and great-sounding) cars of today, IMO, can't continue to exist if we continue gouging through oil at the rate we are today. As Leno said, cars like you mentioned will be driven, in the future, for fun, as they are intended, while we use cars like an FCX for daily commutes/trips to the shops, etc.

[acabinian]

Originally Posted by Triborough

Jay Leno on Top Gear. Hmm. . .

What? Doesn't sound like you liked Leno's part in James's segment?

IMO, put Leno in the SIARPC segment. Maybe it would give it a nice bump from the other horrid guests they've had in the seat.