You cannot fault the man for loving his country. Maybe he thinks things from his country are best, maybe not. He is entitled to think that way, as he should. He is proud of where he lives and wants it to be the best. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. I don't him bashing Americans or our cars. He is an entertainer, he will play things up to get a response, one way or another. He may honestly find plenty of faults and reasons why he doesn't like American cars or others, and that's because he has his own likes and dislikes, as we all do. We all know the show would be immensely less popular and no one would care what he has to say if he just gave factual information about a car. "This one has a 5L V8 and 335 tires while this one has a twin turbo V6 and AWD. Let's race them.....this car won. Next topic." That would be dreadful. We watch because we want to compare our opinion to his; we get on this very site to compare our opinion to others, it's what makes the world go 'round.
When he drove the Corvette ZR1 ...He absolutely loved it as a driving machine, and liked the fact that it's a cheap thrill. But still pointed out that the build quality is aweful ... Which it factually is.
[mandatorycorvettedefense]I beg to differ. I've been in a number of luxury cars, from all 3 big Germans as well as some offering from Lexus. My lasting thoughts were, "nice, but unnecessary." I've also been in a C6 or two, and I find it to be a nice place to be. Not everyone needs lots of luxury to be happy. I haven't gotten to trash around a C6 so my opinion might change, but I didn't find the seats as displeasing as everyone makes them out to be. I actually got to sit in a CTS-V2 just a few weeks ago, that is borderline not-necessary to me. Don't get me wrong, I want a car that is built well, but I don't
need the best since my wants are apread around in other places. So factually, it isn't awful (to all of us, just to some). [/mandatorycorvettedefense]
It's also a tad sensitive sometimes..
I think you wrote "a tad" when you meant to write "ultra."
One can discuss, if all his remarks and comments are tasteful or appropriate but one thing is absolutely clear: When it comes to it, he is the harshest critic of his own country, too. No need to tell him what's wrong with Britain today.
And that is what many, who bash or criticize him, ignore or simply blind out.
Great post. I cut most of it because this was the most on topic bit. I wholeheartedly agree.
On the topic of "Britain's lost glory," I see America going down that road as we speak. At one point, "Made in America" meant it was the best (at least in our minds
), but now we are going down a path where others' can match are quality, or dare I say it, even beat it (soundly).
Most people have mis-interoperated the e-type ending. He wasn't being patriotic or saying that Britain makes the best stuff. He was saying that we like to think we do but we're in fact a bit crap ("as good as we THINK we are" with the big show of "patriotism", followed by the car failing to start). He was making fun of British engineering.
Exactly on point. And that is a key thing that people (mostly Americans) seem to miss, the fact that he can laugh at himself and his country.
I enjoyed both the ZR1 appearances on TopGear. My only complaint with the second showing, the proper review against the Audi R8, was that they tried to type-cast the car as an overpowered monster that is near impossible to drive in a straight line. It contradicted the earlier episode with the ZR1 quite a bit. They even type-cast the Audi R8 as the sensible, stable, and easy to drive supercar of the pair. But when the Stig did his power laps in both cars, it was the Audi R8 that was getting out of shape, while the ZR1 was looking very stable and controlled. But then Clarkson tried to explain that away as only a professional racing driver could handle a ZR1 like that, but apparently not the R8 for some unexplained reason. Alittle too much fake hollywood entertainment nonsense for my liking.
That's because it is. (see bold) AWD, and an engine that is more about finesse than brute force makes it that. In the ZR1, you have a 6.2L V8, which has a PD blower on top. That means torque early, often, and everywhere. The instant power makes it a handful and couple that with being RWD VERY, VERY hard to drive anywhere close to it's potential. Take magazine tests for example, how often does the ZR1 get beat by the GTR, or sometimes a couple of other cars? Most of those guys have very little skill, and knowing that the huge amount of power can and will overcome grip so quickly scares them into driving slower. Does that mean the car is worse, or performance in 2nd rate? No, it means you have to be on your game to get the best out of it. When true racing drivers take it out, it almost always will take the same GTR and most other offerings from the super/hypercar elite.
The ZR1 is just another American car that happens to be wearing a fancy suit, but underneath he's still got his wifebeater and Chevrolet boxers on, and scratches his butt when people aren't looking. It is exactly what Americans are looking for: one hell of a hoot. It has 638hp, and people are still looking
for more. Why? To make it handle better? No, the majority of Americans aren't into that. What they are looking for is something to put a giant, stupid smile on their face.
Have you been in a car with an enormous amount of horsepower like that? My friend's old Cobra made ~675hp to the wheels on the spray, and even on a drag radial it was hard to keep pointed straight, even though some think it's quite easy. The ZR1 is the same way, only on street tires, it amplifies the problem. That the beauty of the ZR1 though, it has insane amounts of power, but can be as docile as the base vette or any other car in the Chevy lineup when driven normally. Jeremy didn't get to go all out with it for the Western roadtrip; sure he slid it around a few corners and clipped a few apexs, but he was still reserved because they were on the street. On the track, he is at home and knows how to attack it, and in a car like that, it can show a completely different face.
I think the British in general like to think we're quietly brilliant but fear we may be a bit crap. At least we have a sense of humour about it though and don't fly off the handle when someone insults us, in fact we enjoy it and join in. Jeremy does that very well. In the same way that we can mock our siblings but if other people do it we get feisty with them... or perhaps that's just me? Also I don't think making fun of somewhere means you hate it, quite the reverse.
Perfectly said. It's only alright to poke fun at a family if you are a part of it. I expect Brits (and others) to defend their country and think it's got some greatness to it, and would not fault someone for thinking as such.
No, he had it right the first time. Patriotism here is different than elsewhere, mostly because of how our country was born. We had to fight for our independence, and to top it off, we had to fight the best in the world. We had to defend it on more than one occasion once it was won as well. Our first few decades all add up to why it is indeed a fiercely guarded thing here. The way we do it, makes us look insecure because we are seen as less "civilized" than Europeans. Most here still believe we are the best in the world, which is a topic for another day, but right or wrong...that's how it is here.
