Saleen?

Chupacabras said:
thedguy said:
I would love to see him actually have many good things to say about 1 American car.

Episode 07x03

I think him defending the one he owns while driving to france more than fulfills your criteria. There are more cases where he likes american cars previously discussed in this thread.

Exactly. If Jeremy Clarkson tests a car and loves it, he declares praise. American, European, Asian, Australian or where the fuck ever. If it's a shit car, he declares shittiness. It's that simple. Location irrelevant. Don't forget, he OWNS an American car.
 
I don't care where the car comes from, I just want to see them. I'm interested to know how the american supercars stand up to the others that have been on TG. I, for one, would not throw a fit if they don't like it. What I'm wary of, is Clarkson pulling one of his trademark: yes it's well made, yes it's fast, yes it handles well, yes it's well priced, but... I just don't like it and neither should you if you want to be cool *wink*. Or the reverse of that which he pulled with the new Viper, which I think it a poor car. I'd rather have a TVR or something similar.

Clarkson's owned many american cars, but he's still a bit of an ameriphobe and he's still a bit patriotic for a critic. His love of "british" car makers is quaint these days, as they are all large multi-national conglomerates that have little to do with country of origin. Aston Martins are officially American, and Dodge Vipers are German, at least for now.
 
Well of course he is biased. Top Gear would be really boring if the presenters weren't biased!

People need to understand that reviewinga car (and anything else for that matter) is a very subjective thing. Sure, you can try your best at being objective, but in the end all you can say is YOUR opinion. People can agree or they can disagree. That's just how it works.

And if the presenters in Top Gear did NOT say their hournest opinion, then what do we have left? Yet another boring car show.. Top Gear is what it is because Clarkson, Hammond and May say what they feel, and not necesseraly what they are supposed to say.

So, bashing Clarkson because he is bashing American cars is pointless.. You can say that you disagree, and you can explain why, but you can't really hold it against Jeremy. I must admit that there are very few American cars that appeal to me. That being said, i don't say that American cars are bad. But then again, what would i know about that, i don't even have a drivers license.. =)
 
Puh-lease, stop this nonsense. I notice that all the people who seem to give a shit about this argument are under 30 posts. Everyone else here has seen this argument far too many times to give a shit. Clarkson doesn't just hate American cars, he hates Porsches too. The only Porsche I've seen him give a favourable review to is the Carrera GT simply because of its amazing-ness. Every time he drives one he says it's incredibly capable but incredibly soulless and hates it.

Seriously, shut the fuck up. Sometimes I think it'd be nice to see an Australian car on there, we make some pretty nice metal, but the ONLY Aussie car to be featured on Top Gear ever was the Monaro, and that's only because it was sold in the UK through one of the UK's longest standing marques, Vauxhall. The Ford v Holden battle is just as passionate as the Ford v Chev battle in the US or the Mitsu v Subaru battle in Japan, it'd be fantastic to have Clarkson do a comparo between maybe the F6 and Clubsport, or the utes, Maloo v Pursuit. That'd really make for some entertaining TV. But the bottom line is, it won't happen. Those cars aren't sold in the UK and don't really have a high enough interest value. You yanks ought to be at least a little happy that they do test your general sporty gear, the Viper, Corvette, Mustang and F150 aren't sold in Britain yet they still tested them on TG. You want to see American stuff? Watch Top Gear America.

This argument is way to old, way too boring and way too selfish (syn: American). Broaden your horizons a bit you stupid redneck wankers. ENOUGH!
 
niteriyder said:
european car > American cars > Asian cars

nuff said :mrgreen:


sweeping generalisations rule :thumbsdown:
 
Buktu said:
People need to understand that reviewinga car (and anything else for that matter) is a very subjective thing. Sure, you can try your best at being objective, but in the end all you can say is YOUR opinion. People can agree or they can disagree. That's just how it works.
Right, but that's not bias, that's just an honest opinion. Bias is when you consistantly favor a manufacturer and consistantly ignore negatives, or vice versa.

So, bashing Clarkson because he is bashing American cars is pointless..
I'm not bashing him at all. He makes the show and I love it. Where did I bash him?

flyingfridge said:
Clarkson doesn't just hate American cars, he hates Porsches too.
Right. So if I wanted a fair assessment of a Porsche, I'd prefer if Clarkson didn't test it, Hammond either on that one. That's all I'm saying.

I don't understand the hostility here. Yes, I understand there have been fights about american cars before, but this is not one of them. I'd also love to hear about more Aussie cars too, that Monaro kicked ass. They've done cars that were not available in the UK a number of times, so... what's the harm here?

I'm thinking that most posters here aren't old enough to drive, let alone buy a nice car. There's been absolutely no need for coments like "stupid redneck wankers" and "shut the fuck up". I've made no claims about the quality of cars "produced" in one country or another, because frankly, country is almost irrelevant these days. If you feel the need to vent your own issues at someone else's country, just know that I can come up with plenty of insults towards Australia, or whatever country an insulter comes from.

Some people just wanted to talk about the american supercars. There was no need to turn this into a hostile thread.
 
:angrylock: Where are the mods? This is stupidity and has gone on long enough.
 
Right, but that's not bias, that's just an honest opinion. Bias is when you consistantly favor a manufacturer and consistantly ignore negatives, or vice versa.

Yeah well, isn't that an opinion? It's his chioce if he doesn't like Porsches. He may even have a reason! Have do you know he hasn't?

I'm not bashing him at all. He makes the show and I love it. Where did I bash him?

Sorry, bashing isn't the right word for it =)
My point is, that complaining about this is without purpose.


Right. So if I wanted a fair assessment of a Porsche, I'd prefer if Clarkson didn't test it, Hammond either on that one. That's all I'm saying.

So, you'd rather se a test done by someone who is sure to praise it - is that it? Just because Hammond and Clarkson has negative feelings towards Porsche, doesn't mean they shouldn't be testing them. Is it better to have the opposite? Someone with very positive feelings towards Porsche? Who gives the most fair review do you think? I sure don't know. Then we're back at my previous point about reviews being the worlds most subjective thing.
 
Does anyone have a good Saleen S7 video review (something like a TG review)? I read alot about it but finding anything substantial is next to impossibel...
 
thedguy said:
I get irritated by the bashing because it gets to the point that when we make atleast a decent car, it still gets pissed on. I read a review the other day that said basically they love the z06, and compared it to the porsche GT3RS, the porsche was a bit scary to drive, but that was a good thing, and it made it better than the z06 which didn't tramline and had didn't have a twitchy backend...WTF?

Even when the cars come up to speed, there is mystique and aura to deal with. Porsches have been perfect forever, there is an emotional attachment to them. Heck even when they weren't perfect (pre-993 911) people excused the pendulum handling for the aura -- you had to be a good driver to tame one.

BTW my ex-boss showed up in his brand new Z06 last week and took me for a ride. WOW! Now, he's wealthy and can afford anything he wants (his Z06 replaces a Shelby Cobra), but he chose the Z06 because he's a car guy (petrolhead). He's done the 911 Turbo, he's done the M3.

I want JC to drive a Saleen S7 TT just to see what he says about it, I would love to see him actually have many good things to say about 1 American car.

Jeremy owns a Ford GT (though the British design team helps). While he bashes American cars on Top Gear, either he's changed his tune or he's pandering to the UK audience. I know he's always had a fetish for the Viper going back to its creation. In Motorworld - Detroit, he actually has good things to say about Detroit and shows some hope for the US car industry. (He also reviewed the old Lincoln town car, which my mother used to have, hilarious).

I agree pretty much with what you say. We can do better, and I hope we do. But there's a lot of public perception to be reversed even when the product is there. I think things will get worse before they get better -- too much bean counter interference, too much union BS overhead, too much cheap plastic. But innovative design seems to save companies. It saved VW, it saved Nissan. It will save the Americans, it just has to get so bad that the shackles of old Detroit thinking will have to be broken.
 
Buktu said:
Yeah well, isn't that an opinion? It's his chioce if he doesn't like Porsches. He may even have a reason! Have do you know he hasn't?
It's not an honest opinion about the car if someone has a personal bias against a company.

So, you'd rather se a test done by someone who is sure to praise it - is that it? Just because Hammond and Clarkson has negative feelings towards Porsche, doesn't mean they shouldn't be testing them. Is it better to have the opposite? Someone with very positive feelings towards Porsche? Who gives the most fair review do you think? I sure don't know. Then we're back at my previous point about reviews being the worlds most subjective thing.
um... wha? Do you watch the show? Hammond loves Porsche. I'd rather see him not review a Posche, but anyway I'm not the one complaining in this thread.

Whatever, it's all entertaining no matter who does what car. And everyone watches just for the entertainment I suppose.
 
flyingfridge said:
:angrylock: Where are the mods? This is stupidity and has gone on long enough.

Past SL65!!!OMG!!!WTF!!!BBQ!!!'s bedtime :p
 
teeb said:
flyingfridge said:
:angrylock: Where are the mods? This is stupidity and has gone on long enough.

Past SL65!!!OMG!!!WTF!!!BBQ!!!'s bedtime :p
Its a forum, let em' discuss whatever the hell they want to discuss.

Next thread that is even remotely similar or related to Top Gear AND Americans OR the American motor-industry will get the big Nazi-lock which I'm yet to use..
 
To answer the question of whether the S7 is sold in the UK:

The S7 is a built to order car like a Maybach or something. I am sure if a brit had the 500,000 dollars about 350,000 pounds that Saleen would ship it over there + if someone has that kind of money they could get it shipped fairly easily. The Bugatti Veyron isn't "sold" anywhere persay there are no Bugatti dealers but yet people that have the million needed for one can get one almost anywhere they want.
 
CaptainPlanet said:
To answer the question of whether the S7 is sold in the UK:

The S7 is a built to order car like a Maybach or something. I am sure if a brit had the 500,000 dollars about 350,000 pounds that Saleen would ship it over there + if someone has that kind of money they could get it shipped fairly easily. The Bugatti Veyron isn't "sold" anywhere persay there are no Bugatti dealers but yet people that have the million needed for one can get one almost anywhere they want.

I thought I read something about select Bentley dealers fuctioning as sales points for Veyrons. The Veyrons can also be serviced at Bentley dealers. This is the great thing of having several marquee's under a giant like VW, not only are they reliable but they can actually be serviced at a reasonable location :lol:
 
I've mentioned before and I'll mention here, why don't they review cars from smaller manufactures in the US like they have with Pagoni in Italy and Konigsegg in Sweden?

We all know that America's Big Three made sub-standard cars for years but they are not all of American ingenuity. Panoz, SSC, and Saleen immediately come to mind, but Factory Five has recently made one hell of a Corvette powered GT car. I've seen UK kit-car magazines and websites and although the term is often associated with negeative stereotypes, Tiff Nedell on FIFTH GEAR drove a GT40 recreation from South Africa that delivered all of the excitement of the original with some modern creature comforts.

Now, I don't expect TOP GEAR to become KIT-CAR REVIEW, but I just don't see why they can't show more cars that may or may not be available to the UK consumer. They did it with the Honda Element and Nissan Cube, so why not a Saleen?
 
ishigakisensei said:
I've mentioned before and I'll mention here, why don't they review cars from smaller manufactures in the US like they have with Pagoni in Italy and Konigsegg in Sweden?

I'm gonna say principlly because TG isn't shown here. They have no one to please in the US and only need to make their viewing audiences happy.
 
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