Well I finally got back from the taping! (I live 2.5 hours away)
I'm not going to share any information about the show itself (so as not to spoil it for you), but I will say that it's going to be great! As stated elsewhere, the 3 hosts really do have great chemistry, and the filming looks very professional and well edited.
Anyway, here's my experience at the taping:
(Despite this taping being right in the middle of the taping schedule, we were all informed that this will be shown in episode 1! Cool!)
My wife and I arrived at 12:30 since the tickets said to arrive no later than 1pm (for the 2pm taping). My wife and I were the 20th and 21st people to arrive... I thought for sure more people would arrive early, but I guess not! Anyway, for the next hour or so, another 150-200 people show up and get their "number" since only so many people can come in. The morning's taping went late and we ended up waiting until 3:30 to get into the hangar (this is filmed on an old Marine air base). Once inside, I was immediately surrounded by Top Gear goodness. There were a few, um, "really nice cars" on the floor and the hosts were mingling with the crowd. Also, American stig could be seen hanging around the back... (Everyone also saw the Stig driving a Chrysler minivan in the parking lot outside the hangar...)
The taping was interesting. There were a few takes of each segment, but not too many. The people handlers moved the audience around efficiently, and the only thing that really delayed taping was the positioning of cars, and waiting for the smoke to disperse from the smoke machines. The hosts were great at keeping things interesting between shots. Adam Ferrara did some great comedy during one particularly long delay--a mixture of his classic stand-up work, and some improv. Much appreciated
The taping lasted over 4 hours, but I was thoroughly entertained for 90% of it. Waiting for smoke to properly disperse was not my favorite part, but what are you gonna do? My wife and I were up front for many of the segments and had outstanding views of the hosts, cars, and TV monitors, where we were able to watch the entire segments you'll all see when the show comes out.
In my opinion, this version of Top Gear is already better than TG Australia was for Series 1 and 2, and definitely off to a better start than TG UK was for the same seasons. (not to say that I don't like TG Australia, cuz I do, but this is better) It's probably also geared more for American audiences, but I don't think that'll stop the fans across the world from enjoying it.
That's all for now. I think we'll all be pleasantly surprised by how good the show is from the get-go