What is the equivalent program on US TV?

[dawsocj]

Hi all,
I've just moved to the US from the UK where I used to watch TopGear for the last 15 years or so (When Noel Edmunds and William Wollard were on it!) ..

Now I'm here, is there an equiv program in US which gives reviews of cars which don't just sound like advertizements? I'm eagerly waiting the lastest Top Gear download!

[GTV V6]

SHIT, Noel Edmunds, I'd forgotten that...

Don't have any info on US broadcasts, as I'm In Barcelona ( ).

But just to let you know , the programs over here suck the Big One, just as you said, more like car adverts.

Envision a Porsche Cayenne on a mountain road sailing round tarmac corners at 80 kph FOR 5 MINUTES, while all the time a sycophantic git is drolling on about how superb the car is and how much it will cost.
In the Top Gear bit we got JC Going round in circles in the mud, foot flat to the floor, up a muddy bank, etc. and after that he said it was too ugly to drive home, so he walked :lol.

All my car loving mates get after me as soon as I've downloaded the latest Top Gear.

[oliB]

Originally Posted by imillman

Don't have any info on US broadcasts, as I'm In Barcelona ( ).

But just to let you know , the programs over here suck the Big One, just as you said, more like car adverts.

Aren't you able to receive all the television channels from UK via Satellite there?

cya
Oli

[GTV V6]

Aren't you able to receive all the television channels from UK via Satellite there?

I looked in to that.

A while back the BBC changed the satelite they were using, for one which had a smaller footprint which was more centred on the UK. They had recieved complaints from broadcasters in Europe that people were watching films and stuff with no adverts rather than watching the local version, so they changed it.

I could "in theory" pick it up, BUT I'd need a dish of approximately 1.5 m to do it , they aren't cheap & I've nowhere to put one.

P.S. In Frankfurt tomorrow 8) (Int. )

[oliB]

I see...
Btw, I'd really like to receive US channels but that is absolutely impossible, no matter how big the dish is. They are "behind the horizon".

However, have fun in Germany!

cya
Oli

[Viper007Bond]

You aren't missing much. The only good car releated program on TV is WRC coverage on the Speed channel.

[DimitriPopov]

Or Car and Driver TV , which really sucks when compared to Top Gear and Fifth Gear. the BBC needs more exporting.

[ESPNSTI]

Actually I think the WRC coverage on Speed could be a lot better.
It needs to be longer, and longer stretches of in car camera.
I also think that the in car cameras in the WRC sit too high up in the car.
All you see is the hood, and a little bit of the road ahead.
You can't see down the road to get more of a feel of what the driver sees.

[Synaethesia]

Top Gear has been one of the top programs of any TV Broadcaster in my opinion, and ive lived in 9 countries world wide not just europe. I really like the lastest format with three presenters boucing things of each other even though its a little scripted

[MrMan]

None of the US or any other country's car review shows are as good as Top Gear and 5th Gear though Top Gear is the best IMO.

Shows like Motortrend, Auto Motor und Sport, etc are very boring, monotone, and don't have personality like the British shows which are true infotainment.

[Synaethesia]

juzt watching the F1-monaco reply on TV and i think top gear need to do a 2004 F1 car inspection / feature

watching takuma Sato's engine blow up was quite cool

[MrMan]

That would be awesome to get an F1 car out of the Top Gear test track. Hopefully Ferrari let's Clarkson play with the F2004. I would be interested to see its lap time around the track with a driver like Luca Badoer or dare I say Schumacher - imagine star in a reasonably priced car being Schumacher

What do you guys think the lap time for the F2004 would be around the Top Gear track? I venture to say 50-55 seconds.

[sandys]

he wouldn't be used to the bodyroll and understeer.

I wouldn't mind seeing some US based programs, don't know if there are any good American cars though, they normally get a good slagging over here for not being able to handle a british B road or in fact a corner full stop, are there any good ones and any downloadable vids for good US sports cars?

My boss has bought a few cars and vans from the states and it tends to work out thousands cheaper than buying something equivelant here, just wondered if there was anything worth considering.

PS I am genuinely interested, not trying to start a flame war or something by slagging US vehicles I don't know much about them.

[MrMan]

I would consider myself a patriotic militaristic American, but I will never buy an American car. Simply POS from personal experience

[CanadianLoonie]

^Do you drink American beer?

[ESPNSTI]

I've owned 4 American cars before I bought my STI:
-1984 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am : Not great, but fun on gravel.
-1987 Ford Bronco : Downright awful, way to heavy, somewhat ok in off-roading, I never should have bought it.
-1987 Ford Ranger With 3" lift: Not all that good, but with the lift and the big tires, it was pretty good in the winter and off-roading.
-1993 Pontiac Firebird Formula : Pretty good, lots of fun, OK handling with better tires on it, but compared to the STI, it feels like a dump truck (of course the car is 10 years older too).

[dawsocj]

Well this thread is certainly interesting - I agree that I can't find any US shows that are any good at all - really just all adverts.. Which is why I'm so happy that I can get top gear -also, unfortunately for us living in the US, we can't get BBC World either, we get BBC America, which is just a bunch of 'you look bad in that' and 'what not to wear' and gardening shows.. I used to get BBC World which had the last series of TG, but I had to stream it.
You know, this bring up another idea - I wonder if there's any way to get BBC One in the US?.. The only thing that I can think of is intstalling a PC/Tivo thing that records it and sends it over.

BTW, American sports cars - yeah, I agree, I have a euro car. Corvettes are quite nice, and the new mustang looks great, but don't know how it drives. American cards, on the whole, are ALOT cheaper. YOu can pick up a mustang, I'm guessing, for around $16,000 = 9,000 quid.. so that's a plus! .. probably would cost a ton to ship one over to Europe though

[Synaethesia]

i have nothing against american cars (ones that are built for the american market and not just by american manufacturers), but in general they then to be overly large to the point where it is not necessary, and having to have a big engine just to pull the extra weight. Ok yes, this is my opinion and i can see the appeal of large cars, but i have to say i am a car weight freak (a person who wants a car that has the weight of a mini, but a 5.3l v12 engine (from a old Jag sovereign) which is sitting in my father garage waiting for him to retire so we can work on it, )

[Viper007Bond]

Yeah, but big cars are what sell here. No one in their right mind here would buy one of the "normal" sized European cars.

[Renesis]

I'm glad I don't live in USA.

and in other parts of Canada for that matter...

here we love hatches and small cars, they should ban SUV's and trucks