Clarkson: Former Top Gear presenter blasts Clarkson

TurnerGTX

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IT?S one of the most popular shows on television ? watched by legions of loyal fans all over the world.

But the cult following of Top Gear ? which has earned fame and notoriety in equal measure for its high-octane stunts ? has failed to save the programme from a ferocious assault from the most unlikely of sources.

Quentin Willson, the smooth-talking presenter who fronted the show in its mid-1990s incarnation, yesterday described current presenter Jeremy Clarkson as ?rooted in the past?, and claimed its hero worship of gas-guzzling fast cars had no place in more environmentally-conscious times.

In Cardiff yesterday, Mr Willson urged the public to move away from the glamorised view of high-emission cars seen on the BBC programme.

Features on Top Gear in recent years have included ?drive until you get bored?, in which Clarkson drove a Jaguar XJ for as long as his interest would sustain him, ?car football?, which used two teams of Toyota Aygos instead of players, and a series of long-distance races in high-performance vehicles.

Asked whether the philosophy underlying Top Gear could be sustained, Mr Willson said: ?No, completely not. Bless him, the tall fella [Clarkson].

?He?s a bit rooted in the past. It?s very funny to say, ?Here?s a green Lamborghini. You want a green car? There it is?.

?But that way disaster lies. Only the other night, I saw them do a thing about getting the most out of cars and miles to the gallon, things like that. Anyone who claims that things aren?t changing ? you just can?t do that any more.

?The golden age of transport and motoring is gone. And it was lovely.

?It was great to be there. But now the change is seismic. Absolutely seismic. Not just in the public sector, but in the private sector too. And you?ve just got to embrace that change for the exciting thing that it is. Cars will be fast, but they?ll be silent and there will be zero emission. And that?s great.

?Don?t look at programmes like Top Gear and think this is the majority view. It?s not. The majority view is a lot more level-headed and it?s a lot more practical. It?s a wonderful form of vicarious entertainment, but the reality is that we?ve got a global crisis here, we?ve got to manage our resources, we?ve got to stop being an oil economy, and we?ve got to embrace a fantastic, exciting future.?

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/11/26/former-top-gear-presenter-willson-blasts-clarkson-crew-91466-22341158/
 
Jealousy is an ugly thing...
 
quentin_merc.jpg
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Separated at birth?


(The other guy is Phil Cornwell from Dead Ringers)
 
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The idea is that we shouldn't take Top Gear so seriously. It's not like after the race to Verbier everyone went and raced their friends just for the fun of it. I think that probably 95% of the show's viewers are living their dreams through it and that's not a bad thing considering that not anyone can afford a very fast car or a car at all.

The golden age of transport and motoring is gone. And it was lovely.

I wouldn't think so, because even if in the future, possibly a "green" future, the majority of the cars would be cheap eco-cars, there will still be manufacturers willing to make fun and not necessary fast cars, for example the Tesla Roadster.
 
While I do agree with him that "we've got to stop being an oil economy", there simply is no alternative at the moment. That "fantastic, exciting future" is just a dream for now, or does he have some information all of us don't?
 
first post..

Well, I do think that the "golden age of transportation" is not over. In fact, my generation likes fast petrol cars and couldnt care less for the "eco-friendly" BS that some brands try to sell us...

Just the opinion of a 20 year-old...

Best regards from Portugal
 
first post..

In fact, my generation couldnt care less for the "eco-friendly" BS that some brands try to sell us...

Just the opinion of a 20 year-old...

Best regards from Portugal

That's just ignorant and stupid. The world's petrol reserve is nearing depletion and the environment is suffering as well (you might not have a problem in Portugal, but if you go to Los Angeles, you'll understand).

Like it or not, the end of the big petrol engines is coming.
 
Wait, what? He says that a segment on getting extremely high MPG is rooted in the past..?

And what is this "drive until you get bored" thing they're talking about?
 
And this week's Golden Cock Award for Completely Missing the Point goes to........the smug grinning git with Dracula hair who is incidentally pictured standing in front of what looks like a large, thirsty Benz/Lexus AND a Jeep Cherokee.

The so-called "Golden Age" of motoring probably is over. Gridlock, speed cameras, fuel prices, rampant taxation etc etc have taken virtually all the fun out of driving on a day-to-day basis at least here in the UK. Top Gear is absolutely right for the times in that it celebrates our fantasies, not just the financially unattainable ones like supercars, but the more realistic ones we had, often before we got our licenses, that owning a car would deliver.

Why the hell does he think track days have become such big business? Simple, because that's the only place you can get any kind of pleasure behind the wheel any more - unless you go down (sic!) the Hugh Grant route of course!
 
\I think that probably 95% of the show's viewers are living their dreams through it and that's not a bad thing considering that not anyone can afford a very fast car or a car at all.

That's right, but in overall I've understood, that considering petrol cars has no point now. But, for me and other car consumers in my country I supposse, is no point considering eco-cars either, becouse this useful ones are for "get-on-a-bit" big chaps, who buy Bentley.
 
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Top Gear is absolutely right for the times in that it celebrates our fantasies, not just the financially unattainable ones like supercars, but the more realistic ones we had, often before we got our licenses, that owning a car would deliver.


Very well said :)
 
That's just ignorant and stupid. The world's petrol reserve is nearing depletion and the environment is suffering as well (you might not have a problem in Portugal, but if you go to Los Angeles, you'll understand).

Like it or not, the end of the big petrol engines is coming.

L.A. - U.S of A. where a 3.0 v8 is a small engine?

Yes, "the world's petrol reserve in nearing depletion". That's a fact but that won't stop automaker from making big petrol engines and won't stop us from buying them. We are selfish to that point, believe me.

It's not ignorance or stupidity, just the plain reality.
 
And this, Mr. Quentin Willson, is why you aren't a part of the new Top Gear. If I wanted to hear someone droning on about a global crisis, or managing resources, or an oil-based economy... I'd watch the news.

When I want to watch three grown men cock about in cars, I watch Top Gear. The end.


EDIT: No! Fuck that! Not the end! What about when they did a piece on the HyWire? Or when they talked about hydrogen fuel cells? Or even about that new Toyota WALL-E chair thingy? How are those not relevant to your interests, Mr. Boringpants?
 
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I was talking about the air polution in LA. And obviously you haven't been to the States - not everyone is driving a 5.0 V8. In fact the majority of cars you seeon the roads are I-4's or V6 at the most.
 
Don?t look at programmes like Top Gear and think this is the majority view. It?s not. The majority view is a lot more level-headed and it?s a lot more practical.
...and a lot more boring.
 
I was talking about the air polution in LA. And obviously you haven't been to the States - not everyone is driving a 5.0 V8. In fact the majority of cars you seeon the roads are I-4's or V6 at the most.

oh thought you were talking about the fuel consumption 'cause that's related to the depletion of oil..

Never been to the US but it's surely on the "future trips" list :)
 
You know, as soon as I saw the title of the thread, I just knew who had come out of the crypt woodwork :lol:
 
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Separated at birth?


(The other guy is Phil Cornwell from Dead Ringers)

I actually think he resembles Agent Smith from the Matrix in that shot :?

Anyway, this is just another case of British newspaper making a story out of something that isn't one. Quentin hasn't "slammed" anyone. He just says that people don't buy supercars anymore because they're poor, and people don't take drives to see when they get bored because petrol costs 1 billion ? for a gallon.

EPIC FAIL. again.

Also : IIRC he was a cockbag back when he presented old TG, boring reviews unless there was a Merc involved, then it would be a fanboi fest.
 
The last show was about economy, May has written an article in which he mentions the FCX Clarity in the Telegraph, that car is to be featured in a later show, and Top Gear is out of touch? In series 11, I could agree with that. But now? I think not.
 
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