Top Gear Show/Site Suggestions

[Soup?]

If they do do something on economy, they're most likely to look at that Seat EcoBox. something along the lines of "If you can get 70-odd mpg just by tweaking, why bother with Hybrids?"

[Labcoatguy]

Ages ago, James May wrote a column about how dogs were as expensive as cars over their lifetime. Now turn that into a comparison test: which is more expensive, a car or a pet? Each presenter gets one of each. Jeremy gets a jaguar and a Jaguar, Richard gets a mustang and a Mustang, and James has a panda to go with his Panda (yeah right). Each presenter keeps them both for a month and undergoes a series of challenges.

[controlspecimen]

Originally Posted by Labcoatguy

Ages ago, James May wrote a column about how dogs were as expensive as cars over their lifetime. Now turn that into a comparison test: which is more expensive, a car or a pet? Each presenter gets one of each. Jeremy gets a jaguar and a Jaguar, Richard gets a mustang and a Mustang, and James has a panda to go with his Panda (yeah right). Each presenter keeps them both for a month and undergoes a series of challenges.

I like it! Very creative.

[Mr. Nice]

A Himalayan adventure, with a possible stop in the Maldives. Maybe it could be in a Tata Nano (just kidding)

[Mr. Nice]

This idea is a bit out to lunch, but it's kind of cool, so I thought I'd post it anyways...

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has a lot of strange anomalies that could be explored. There is a modern ghost town called "Centralia" which has been part of the plot of many stories and movies, though no filming has actually been done there for any of the films.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has 13 miles of no longer used road, which includes, I believe, 3 tunnels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Hill_Tunnel

http://www.pike2bike.org/

Interesting stuff, even if it never goes anywhere.

Edit: Almost forgot, my favorite PA road! http://www.pahillclimb.org/Courses/Rose_Valley.htm

Further Edit: Found some youtube links

Turnpike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOq5lcTSFbU&NR=1

Centralia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjtmaCI9_wM

Rose Valley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VuR5qCEfng

(kind of nerdy, but they are pretty comprehensive)

Even Further Edit!: I thought I'd add the Simeone Foundation Museum, in Philadelphia

http://www.simeonefoundation.org/

If you were to start in Philadelphia, head to Breezewood, then go to Rose Valley Mountain, the journey could continue into New York State. While traveling North, you could pass through the PA. town of Wellsboro, which has gas lamps on the street (something unusual for the USA, I saw gas lamps years ago, in England).

http://www.fallinpa.com/fallinpa/dri...section=canyon

Corning Glass isn't far from the PA. border, in Corning N.Y. Up the road from Corning is Watkins Glen, which is situated in The Finger Lakes, and home to some above mediocre wineries. In Watkins Glen, there is also a race track, one of the few in the US that actually have left turns, right turns, and hills.

http://www.theglen.com/

[capra]

I'd like to see them enter a long distance rally race. They can do a much more involved Impreza vs. Evo comparison that way. And James can drive an old Citroën DS. And get lost. Maybe have the Stig, Wilman and Kiff as navigators?

[capra]

Originally Posted by nouseferaname90

I want to see the Vette ZR1 on the track...and the CTS-V when it comes out just for good measure.

Looks like you'll get your wish, though it'll be a track in Utah.

[Mr. Nice]

Jeremy mentioned today in his Sunday Times article, that he owns a Vespa. I, and I'm sure many, many others, would be filled with much laughter and joy, if he were to use that in a challenge where James and Richard were riding proper motorbikes.

[Momo63]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nice

Jeremy mentioned today in his Sunday Times article, that he owns a Vespa. I, and I'm sure many, many others, would be filled with much laughter and joy, if he were to use that in a challenge where James and Richard were riding proper motorbikes.

He's been seen out and about on it at already

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...oter-spin.html

And boy does it look wrong!

[Mr. Nice]

Originally Posted by Momo63

He's been seen out and about on it at already

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...oter-spin.html

And boy does it look wrong!

Saw that, but thanks for the link there is a thread all about this here http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear...-review-30661/

[KM-TV]

An idea nicked from another thread

Comic relief special 2010... TG does James Bond

They already have the car [Rover!]...

+ YouTube Video

... Now lets see, James as Q, Jeremy as the villan, Stig as the henchman and Richard as... well James?

Hmm, now plot. err... The evil Jeremy has taken over the country and forced everyone into perms and badly fitted denim, it's up to 006 3/4 to defeat him...

And if they need a director, I'm free. well not in the financial sense, but in the time sense.

I'll get my coat...

[Mr. Nice]

Was just thinking of my two previous suggestions, and thought that it may be a good idea to meld them into one (apologies if this is an unacceptable idea, or if it was already used in this season).

A new vs. old comparison, using British, American, and German cars, and their nearest modern counterparts.

The Boxster would be excellent to compare to the 550 Spyder, the Saturn Sky's sister car, the Pontiac Solstice, hearkens back to styling of the '53 Vette, though it wasn't until 1956/1957 that the Corvette would have serious technological advances resulting in increased performance. The Lotus can't really be compared to the Jaguar, though the XK-120 is a beautiful design that was incredibly small, light, and fast in its day (this choice, for me, was because there is no real modern Jaguar that can play the part).

The Porsche has the ominous, ever-present, James Dean accident to go with its fame. The Jaguar has been featured in many movies, and brought about a whole new movement in small, light roadsters. The '57 Corvette enjoys having had Zora Arkos-Duntov engineer it into being something that could actually perform, and having a 283 cubic inch engine that made 1 horsepower (gross, not net) per cubic inch, when the Fuel-injection option was installed (GM's answer to Mercedes Benz, and why I first went with the 300SL in the previous post).

Lotus Elise SC (supercharged) VS. Saturn Sky Redline VS. Porsche Boxster RS 60 (edited to RS 60 )

Yes, the British will win, and the Germans will come second, but it would still be very entertaining. Also, it would be a good excuse to put down the Americans. Americans like me would enjoy it, because we like seeing American cars that aren't terrible on Top Gear

Originally Posted by Mr. Nice

1954 Jaguar xk120 roadster VS. 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing coupe VS. 1957 327 injected (327hp, 1 per cubic inch gross)

Edit: forgot my numbers, I'm not terrific at being an anorak... my apologies again.

Chevrolet Corvette. It would be excellent to see these three cars on a road trip in Europe. Some explanation of the xk140 and xk150 would also be great to see.

Alain de Cadenet on SIARPC!

EDIT: Got to thinking about this, and the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder seems like it would be more suitable for this than the Merc. Just watch out for any Ford station wagons.

Further Edit: This post has been bothering me, as I made it sound that the XK-120 was the British roadster to make all roadsters.... I should have probably mentioned the MG-TD somewhere, and added that the XK-120 was the first one to be mildly reliable, have beautiful lines, and be somewhat powerful.

Further Edit again: I think I should also have mentioned that the Jaguar was one of the cars that lead to things like the Corvette and T-bird. And again, not have minimized the role that the MG-TD played... Sorry about all that!

[Pippin]

Forgive me if this has already been suggested, but I'd love to see them participate in a proper winter rally - perhaps the Perce Neige?

Some photos here: http://www.flatovercrest.com/2008/02...lly-photo.html

[Glopaticki]

Challenge Suggestion

Civil Service Challenge

Each presenter buys a car for a certain amount, and turns it into a civil service vehicle, be it a ambulance, firetruck,armored bank car, rescue vehicle...whatever and do some challenges.

Challenge 1: Because they need to be at the scene quickly they will be raced around the track with the base time of a say a normal ambulance or something like that.

Challenge 2: Each presenter will have thier car put up against its real life counterpart in various challenges and the other two are there for the ride.

What do you guys think?

[Mr. Nice]

If Top Gear Stunt Man hasn't been done away with yet, have him jump the Tower Bridge when it's somewhat open. It may cause traffic problems, but so what, it would be exciting!

Edit: If this, or something like this is done, why not do it while Top Gear in the hangar is being filmed, so that the audience can watch it unfold live? adding some fireworks and stuff like that, and perhaps having room for a live crowd watching at the scene wouldn't be bad ideas.

I really feel like this (not the tower bridge, but the crowd involvement in a real world place/situation) is the only thing that would make people feel less like over TG stuntman

[Mr. Nice]

A comment should be made during the Top Gear news by May, or Hammond, (since of course, Jeremy doesn't believe in what I'm about to type) about how the effect of global deforestation, particularly the mass deforestation in South America, is causing global climate change. In the inclusion of that statement, something should be said of the massive desert that has been caused in China by over-farming, which also has a large effect on climate change.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/...na_desert.html

In covering all of this, someone should go on to mention the comparatively small effect that the car has on the environment, when viewed in light of these two major contributing factors.


Many species of life on this planet emit CO2, including human beings. Trees and plant life are the primary converters of CO2 back into oxygen. With everyone up in arms and scared, about the melting of the polar ice-caps, and the permafrost in Greenland, people should be working harder to bring to light the fact that deforestation, and the creation of millions of square miles of new desert, are the two largest factors in climate change.

[Soup?]

Originally Posted by Glopaticki

What do you guys think?

Personally, I'd say it sounds too much like a rehash of the police car challenge.

But I'm usually wrong

[Mr. Nice]

Tuned into YouTube yesterday to see this

+ YouTube Video

Jeremy should ask parliament to buy an F-16, or maybe an F-15 Strike Eagle, and then sell it to him at a profit. The excuse that they could use, is that they are softening the economic crisis because, even if they only sell it to him for a few pounds more than they paid for it, they will still be making money!

It'd be great to see Jeremy fly into Dunsfold in a fighter jet, get out, and say "this is mine"

[bubbadoodle15]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Holy crap, it's the BBC, hide!

(And I reversed that poster's IP: webgw0.mh.bbc.co.uk, so it's legit. )

Anyway, excellent, potentially high res walls!

[Mr. Nice]

James May testing the Cord 810, or the Cord 812, interesting cars that were ahead of their time. With economic depression looming, perhaps series 13 could also include other depression era cars, like the Packard, Duesenberg, Auburn Boattail Speedster, or any variety of British cars which I'm certain that I am not aware exist or existed.

I saw the Pound decline a bit today. Maybe you could squeeze something like this into series 12? Be the rich landlord, coming to collect on the rent and throw-out the delinquent tenants!

I thought I would quantify the fact that I don't know which British manufacturers made larger, expensive, high luxury cars during the time of The Great Depression (or The Great Slump), other than Rolls Royce, and Bentley. I do admit to having a bit of an affinity for the Duesenberg, the Auburn, and the Cord, as my great grandfather worked in the Lycoming engine factory http://www.lycoming.textron.com/engi...acy/index.html . Frank Lloyd Wright owned a Cord, and he designed some of the most awesome looking structures ever, Falling Water, Temple Beth Sholom, and The Guggenheim

(sorry for that whole "Chrysler Building" thing, it surely wasn't my intention to mislead anyone with my terrifyingly bad memory)