[12x04] November 23rd, 2008

[12x04] November 23rd, 2008

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I think May's decision is quiet wrong. He could use a Toyota Avensis diesel. Toyota makes best diesel engines.
 
sturtles said:
Ya know, I kind of think the fuel run challenge is rigged.

Looking at the amount of tape on the fuel lid of the winning cars, before, during and at the end of the race, it seemed that they topped up along the way.

Naturally they would do that, as they are obliged to attend. No amount of stupidity in the world would they disappoint their blackpool supporters.

Good for a laugh, but this does show appearance consistencies shown in the earlier challenges weren't kept up, which means people are not putting as much focus on their jobs. Just making an inference.
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jeremysg said:
i remember reading somewhere... either on topgear.com or a clarkson article, stating that their challenges are real and unscripted. but sometimes they will go back, and retrace their route, to get better camera shots.

so this may be the case with this challenge as well.
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Dear sturtles, although it has been said diverse times on the last pages (for example by jeremysg above), here's a -from my POV as a film industry insider- completely believable explanation on how the challenges work from Andy Wilman, TG's producer:

Well, what we do is shoot the race in real time - car on the road, camera car alongside, no stopping for extra shots - get the result, and then the director and camera crew spend another two days after the race going back over the route to get the pretty shots.
[...]
People get suspicious because the results always go to the wire, but what we do is plan the route beforehand, and we always make sure that mathematically both journey times will be close.
It's not rocket science, you just need average motorway speeds and train times etc. After that the presenters are on their own.
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http://www.topgear.com/blogs/planettopgear/133-tgtv-show-4-preview/

Edit: I remember there was some story about Jeremy being so eager to win on one challenge, he overtook the camera car and gave a damn about any coverage other than from the finger cameras in his car.
 
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What a great episode.

TG do everything - from supercars to seemingly boring econ-runs, with such amazing aplomb.

This is pure entertainment.
 
I loved the episode, It was awesome!
 
The episode felt a little flat for me, I had a vision of the Top Gear researchers testing various cars and giving the trio cars they knew could make the distance. And unanswered was how the Jag had such good range/economy, I don't even know if it was a diesel (if they mentioned it I missed it).
Also James has worn that stripy shirt a few too many times, I think it even made an appearance in James May's 20th Century.
Listening and watching Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson paid off as I was "familiar" with Blackpool!

Having subjected myself to Top Gear Australia, I was reminded of why the original works, they're not playing roles and fulfilling a joke quota.
 
Vltros said:
Weight is a killer and the Veyron is not an exception.
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quite right there.
What would happen if someone stupidly rich (like Sheik Muhammed Al Mohammed) would take one of their Veyrons, strip out a ton of crap, and end up with a 1000 hp/tonne car?
 
pepitko said:
This got me thinking, if your trip computer is saying there's 0 km left on current fuel, how much fuel is "really" left?

The route is 1236km long (according to viaMichelin), my car has a 55 liter fuel tank, so I'd have to do 4.45 l/100km to get there. I can get some 5.0 l/100 km out of the car if I drive it really carefully. So, it should be do-able, but a real stretch. It just goes to show that paying that bit extra for getting there faster is worth it.
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it may depend on brand of car. though fuel gauges apparently use some logarithmic method to tell you how much fuel you have, in a way that insures theres a few (or so) gallons (or litres) left in the tank even if you hit dead "empty".

from what i've read, there was a time in history that the gauges were 100% accurate. but some reason, people didnt like it. not to mention, this kind of gives a little bit of insurance on trips and you forget to fillup passing a gas station, with how it currently is.

i know with my car, i've only hit the "low fuel" light once, and when filling it up, i only put about 12-13 gallons (US), while my tank is 15 gallon.

oh, just found this with a quick google:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-gauge.htm quite interesting stuff. :p
 
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Does anyone know the name of the watch Jeremy was wearing during the eco race this episode?

thanks.
 
My fuel computer has reached 0 a few times, and it makes you panic a little. Not sure knowing there is fuel to continue is good for me. I am not keen on filling up so it goes to zero before I bother refueling. Odd thing about my car and I assume the Polo blue motion is the same is that while it will give you a accurate mpg reading, miles travelled, avergae speed and how long your journey has been, the part of the computer that tells you how much fuel you have left drops and increases in units of 5. So if I got 16 miles of fuel left it will tell me I got 20, till it reaches 14 then it goes to 15.
 
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Isn't it possible to wreck some types of engine by allowing them to run until they misfire from lack of fuel, as well?
 
James review was excellent! Also when he started screaming "powaaaah", i loved it. Also, when wore the helmet of the stig during the powerslide, or was it the stig? Is james may --> the stig! :D

The race about fuel economy was in my view, boring but i watched it, the guest in a reasonable priced car, boring! and i jumped to the next chapter.
 
Did anyone notice the Bugatti had some body damage on the right side? At first it looks like just a shadow, but going around on the power lap, the other side doesn't have a matching "dimple" or dent. It's located right near the ground underneath the door, on the aerodynamic bit.
 
A clear 10/10, and I don't say that lightly.

This show was exactly what TopGear should be about, which is cars. Not the three of them.
The cars need to be the meat of the show, the friendship, fun and "exploding" the complementary sides. Enriching, but not overpowering, otherwise it gets ruined.

This balance still satisfies the casual viewer, but also makes us car-loving people content.

Absolutely the best of this series so far.
 
Burak said:
I think May's decision is quiet wrong. He could use a Toyota Avensis diesel. Toyota makes best diesel engines.
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Breznikov said:
The Veyron isn't designed to be very fast on a track, it's just an extremely powerful luxurious car. If you wan't to go fast round a track, go and buy a Koenigsegg or something. The Veyron is a totally different car.
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The Veyron beat the Ferrari Enzo ... I would say that's a car designed to be fast around a track.
 
Dr_Grip said:
Dear sturtles, although it has been said diverse times on the last pages (for example by jeremysg above), here's a -from my POV as a film industry insider- completely believable explanation on how the challenges work from Andy Wilman, TG's producer:


http://www.topgear.com/blogs/planettopgear/133-tgtv-show-4-preview/

Edit: I remember there was some story about Jeremy being so eager to win on one challenge, he overtook the camera car and gave a damn about any coverage other than from the finger cameras in his car.
Click to expand...

not fully sure but wasn't that the Veyron vs the Plane challenge?
 
Seems other people liked this episode more than me overall. I don't know what it was, I think the poor quality of the News (repeated material anyone?) killed it a little for me, and SIARPC was a bit more 'eh' than I expected it to be. And while I loved James' segment (the high marks are mostly for that), the race was a bit...I think Andy was right in his blog about the pacing of it. Also, in contrast to last week's Aventime piece which Andy also said he felt was flawed, I preferred the Aventime - some funny moments and also some touching ones, you could see the boys were really invested in the outcome. And while it was funny that Jeremy didn't care, it made the whole thing feel a bit 'eh'. I dunno. I gave it a seven, great episode in some places and good in others, but I felt there were points where the Top Gear 'magic touch' was missing for me. (Nice to see some good cars, though...I do like a bit o' Zonda.)
 
pepitko said:
Stig in Blackpool - lol-ed at Stig on the rides, and afternoon nap :rofl:
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Gotta love it when they're letting the Stig loose in the "real world", i.e. outside the track.

My favourite scenes so far are Stig arriving via special delivery on the Isle of Man and Stig on holiday in Spain. They had me in stitches.
But Stig in Blackpool comes pretty close!
:lol:
 
Easily one of the best TG episodes ever....very strong 9 from me..
 
Even tho the eco-fuel race was alright to watch, I have no idea why they would make a challenge like that.
Does anyone watching TG really want to drive around in a car with a tractorengine?
 
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