Top Gear 3 set for USA show

instead of their usual test track...a drag strip?

haha just kidding...that would be terrible

p.s. notice how most of the negativity in this thread so far is from non-americans
 
this is perhaps the worst idea i have ever heard for the love of god dont do it

-- Ez
 
What a bunch of whining Nancy's. Top Gear is not long enough, they need to make more eps of Top Gear, they need to review more, they need to do less stunts, they need to do more stunts, they need to review more cars from Antarctica, Top Gear UK is gonna suck cause they are doing Top Gear USA.

Give the show a freaking chance. Yeah, sure it's gonna be different. How? Who knows? We can't possibly know. Perhaps the Stig will be a circus clown with six fingers enabling him to program the M5's computer 37.6 seconds faster than the average Stig. Perhaps Clarkson will review an American car and honestly believe it's not that bad. Perhaps Us Top Gear won't have any effect upon UK Top Gear. Perhaps you might like US Top Gear. In the very least quit freaking whining about something you don't have any information about.

BTW: anyone know where I might be able to get tickets to the taping of US Top Gear?
 
Review cars that are sold in america? One of the main reasons I watch Top Gear is to see reviews of cars that are NOT sold in america. With unbiased and ungoverned opinions.

I don't see this show happening. Fact of the matter is american shows are governed by money and advertisers. Clarkson won't allow anyone to control his opinions or dumb him down, if he does, he's a sellout, but I don't think he'll sell out. And this is where the conflict will occur.

If it somehow does happen, and he does go on to say it as it is, ie describing most of the cars sold in america as garbage, they'll be a huge backlash from the american motor industry and the majority of american public, even more so because he's not american. If american manufacturers can sue their own country and states, such as GM and Ford suing california for tightening emissions and so on, imagine the field day they'll have with this show.
 
I don't think ANY of you have EVER watched American TV, let alone any American comedy. You'd think nothing off color, controversial or funny was ever said on TV from what you people are posting, lol.
 
I don't think ANY of you have EVER watched American TV, let alone any American comedy. You'd think nothing off color, controversial or funny was ever said on TV from what you people are posting, lol.

Allow me to second this, if I may, please...and point out a few other things.

1. If Americans LIKED American cars, then the industry wouldn't be in as sad a shape as it is today. Clarkson....have at it!

2. Did anyone in this thread catch the program a number of years ago where Clarkson came to Texas? I'm telling you people, that boy GETS us(Texans, that is).

3. I've heard it said that people here who really love cars already watch Top Gear. Rubbish--some of them MAY have caught those sad, dumbed-down, humorless episodes that ran on Discovery, but I'd be amazed if one out of a hundred thousand Americans had even heard of it. Just how many petrolheads here watch BBC Canada or BBC World? However, that's good news for the writers....all the old material can be recycled!

The best case scenario is that Discovery's original rights to the show have expired and that the BBC is negotiating with a pay channel, such as HBO or Showtime. That kind of platform for Top Gear is as close to the editorial protection they get at the BBC as they're likely to find here. The liability question though, does bother me. I can see having to do stunts (such as darts with cars) overseas and then playing them here. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of the old material replayed here in the US as it has never been seen on broadcast TV here.

As far as ASiaRPC, I'm sure there is no end of B-list actors, politicians, and various hangers-on that would kill for this kind of exposure.

And on top of everything else, there's a wealth of material to be gained by comparing driving in the US with driving in the UK and Europe.

In short....bring it on, if for no other reason than there isn't a decent American program devoted not just to testing cars...but to commenting on the joy of driving and how we are in a very real danger of losing it, not just here in the US, but around the world.

Gentlemen....where do I line up...excuse me, queue....for tickets?:mrgreen:
 
this is perhaps the worst idea i have ever heard for the love of god dont do it

-- Ez

You only think it's a bad idea because your not special enough :p

As far as ASiaRPC, I'm sure there is no end of B-list actors, politicians, and various hangers-on that would kill for this kind of exposure.

Also the off beat chance the show becomes a bit of a hit, that some environmentalists will fly out in their personal jet, come on the show and whine and bitch about gas guzzling SUV's.
 
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Also the off beat chance the show becomes a bit of a hit, that some environmentalists will fly out in their personal jet, come on the show and whine and bitch about gas guzzling SUV's.

gorered.jpg


.....in a Reasonably Priced Car! Just imagine the possibilities!
 
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Allow me to second this, if I may, please...and point out a few other things.

1. If Americans LIKED American cars, then the industry wouldn't be in as sad a shape as it is today. Clarkson....have at it!

2. Did anyone in this thread catch the program a number of years ago where Clarkson came to Texas? I'm telling you people, that boy GETS us(Texans, that is).

3. I've heard it said that people here who really love cars already watch Top Gear. Rubbish--some of them MAY have caught those sad, dumbed-down, humorless episodes that ran on Discovery, but I'd be amazed if one out of a hundred thousand Americans had even heard of it. Just how many petrolheads here watch BBC Canada or BBC World? However, that's good news for the writers....all the old material can be recycled!

The best case scenario is that Discovery's original rights to the show have expired and that the BBC is negotiating with a pay channel, such as HBO or Showtime. That kind of platform for Top Gear is as close to the editorial protection they get at the BBC as they're likely to find here. The liability question though, does bother me. I can see having to do stunts (such as darts with cars) overseas and then playing them here. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of the old material replayed here in the US as it has never been seen on broadcast TV here.

As far as ASiaRPC, I'm sure there is no end of B-list actors, politicians, and various hangers-on that would kill for this kind of exposure.

And on top of everything else, there's a wealth of material to be gained by comparing driving in the US with driving in the UK and Europe.

In short....bring it on, if for no other reason than there isn't a decent American program devoted not just to testing cars...but to commenting on the joy of driving and how we are in a very real danger of losing it, not just here in the US, but around the world.

Gentlemen....where do I line up...excuse me, queue....for tickets?:mrgreen:

In my slightly drunken but relitevly still mentally with it state I have to agree with the two points you make. GIVE IT A CHANCE, and if they do film it in the US, I'll be there in the audience. Film it close to Nashville so I don't have to drive to much.
 
Everyone seems to be getting a bit wound up about this.
I am fairly certain it will simply be the usual show with the SIARPC cut and a few of the links rehashed. It would be brilliant though if they did do a full US version but I think this is a very remote possibility.
 
Didn't they try an American Top Gear before?

Either way, that is going to suck. One of the reasons why Top Gear is such brilliance is because of the chemistry between the three presenters. Otherwise, we'd end up with...well, Fifth Gear, which is as fun as watching the paint on a Hyundai dry. Not even interesting paint...maybe a shade of grey.
 
Booooo, don't waste time filming for the Yanks, make more for us! Can't believe that they now have the biggest audience of their time and they are thinking of alienating them and doing stuff for the Americans instead. Gees, if they have to have it, give them the same stuff that Top Gear shows to the UK and if they don't like it (which, like before it seems they didn't) stuff em!! (but if your going to.. make sure you take your "swag" bags and fill em with $$$ before coming home:lol: )
 
should be good if it happens. more tg is a good thing

and, now.... us brits can leech tg off the americans instead of the otherway round

as long as it keeps that "show on a shoe string" look (3 blokes, a drafty hanger and that cow boy botch job they apply to most of the challenges) then i think it'll be fine.

however i know in america, bigger is better. i've got a feeling there'll be elaborate set pieces, they'll have have pristine hair and super white teeth and it'll feel over produced.

(just look at pop idol, and extreme make over - in the UK you get your house spruced up, in the US, they knock the whole thing down and build a new one)

it'll need some big reworking of the scripts and features of the show so that it can work around the glut of cheesey adverts every 5 minutes as well. part of why top gear works so well is that, thanks to the beeb, its a solid hour of un interrupted motoring bliss, and because of that its made in such a way that it keeps you captivated for the whole hour. channel 5 realised this when they tried to put 5th gear on with only 1 short round of ads half way through.

last time i watched tv in the US, it was nascar and there were ads every 7-10minutes.
 
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the biggest threat is liability - it's advertisers. Unless they are on a pay per view channel, they will be held hostage by advertisers which will restrict any view on cars incase the car manufacturer boycotts the network.

it only works in britain because there's no advertisers, they have to make better cars to stop bad reviews - even the cityrover wasn't safe after they stopped TG From having it.

yeah, i can see the big american car names gagging to endorse a good motoringshow.

they'll see it as an extension of their advertisments, when a big car company pays your bills, you say nice things about them

in the UK, its all funded privately, they can say what they like, the car companies really cant do anything about it except fix their cars.

problem i can see is that they're gonna have a US series and a UK series, theyre alll involved with newspapers, book deals and other related tv shows (like JC's WWII ones) how busy are they gonna be?
jeremy especially would suffer, dodgy hips and lungs full of tar and he's already fucked his back from driving sideways too much. the dudes gonna run himself into the ground
 
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it'll need some big reworking of the scripts and features of the show so that it can work around the glut of cheesey adverts every 5 minutes as well. part of why top gear works so well is that, thanks to the beeb, its a solid hour of un interrupted motoring bliss, and because of that its made in such a way that it keeps you captivated for the whole hour. channel 5 realised this when they tried to put 5th gear on with only 1 short round of ads half way through.

last time i watched tv in the US, it was nascar and there were ads every 7-10minutes.
That's a very valid point. TG as it is today would not work on US TV, which is just ads with bits of TV show in between. Imagine the Ferrari F430 review in 6x08 (by far my favourite review ever). I think that last about 8 minutes, give or take, and it is a constant stream of feelgood emotions, beauty and astonishment - both visually and audiovisually - now imagine that being interrupted by 2 minutes of someone trying to sell you imitated "gold" rings for $1 which you can eat to loose weight.

It just won't work.
 
That's a very valid point. TG as it is today would not work on US TV, which is just ads with bits of TV show in between. Imagine the Ferrari F430 review in 6x08 (by far my favourite review ever). I think that last about 8 minutes, give or take, and it is a constant stream of feelgood emotions, beauty and astonishment - both visually and audiovisually - now imagine that being interrupted by 2 minutes of someone trying to sell you imitated "gold" rings for $1 which you can eat to loose weight.

It just won't work.

Well, if you haven't seen the edited versions shown on BBC Canada, I can see why you'd have this opinion. Even the UK show holds up relatively well when ads are inserted. However, I'm on board with the "no ad" policy, and that's why I think it would work best here on a pay-tv channel, such as Home Box Office (HBO) or Showtime. If you have to have ads, then breaks every fifteen minutes work fairly well. That's really the standard here.

Showtime, especially (for those of you who don't live here) has taken some excellent steps with series television over the past year or so. Personally, I think it would be a great venue for TG. The only issue here (as in the UK, perhaps) is that if you slam a manufacturer's cars too much, there won't be any cars to test.

And let's face it, GM (for example) cars come in three flavors, medium, large and oh-good-lord. Within those categories (with exceptions such as the Corvette) they're all basically the same car, whether they say Buick or Pontiac or Chevy on the side.

One thing I'd look forward to is hearing how "Americanized" European cars are when they hit this side of the pond. After all, these guys will have driven both models and should be able to tell us just what those changes are.
 
In my slightly drunken but relitevly still mentally with it state I have to agree with the two points you make. GIVE IT A CHANCE, and if they do film it in the US, I'll be there in the audience. Film it close to Nashville so I don't have to drive to much.

Nashville, hell! Make it Texas Motor Speedway in Irving, near Dallas. They'll have a great American oval (sorry, no right turns allowed) and all the beer they can drink.

Of course, it'll have to be Budweiser!:cry:

And I can just see a real American Stig...covered in ads, just like the cars!

bannerRaceCarRides.jpg
 
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As much as I'd like to see more of Clarkson, Hammond & May on the TV, "Americanizing" Top Gear seems like a bad idea to me. One of the things I really enjoy about the show now is their extreme dislike for nearly all things American and I think they'd have to water that part down quite a bit to appease the advertisers.

Now, with that said, I have a couple of ideas for stuff I'd like to see them do to piss off the advertisers.

1. Remember the Toyota Aygo football segment? Replace the euro football with yankee football. Caprices & Crown Vics as the offensive & defensive line. A suitably nimble quarterback car with an air cannon on the roof and a wide receiver car with a giant velcro net on it.

2. A "fast food" race. Each car would be decorated to resemble a food product from a fast food place. A giant triple decker cheeseburger. The greasy taco. Fried chicken. Pizza. Each car would have a trunk full of concrete added to it and the winner would be the one that made it around the track without having a heart attack..err engine failure.
 
They would make so much money.

Anyway - I was estatic at the notion - but I think I'll toss this in the "too good to be true bin"
 
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