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[02x06] August 28th, 2011

[02x06] August 28th, 2011

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Viper007Bond

Viper007Bond

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Please stay on-topic. That means discuss the episode not torrents or anything else.
 
Rutledge Wood said:
POWEEEEEEER!
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I got some strange looks from the family when I fell out of my chair at this line (they don't watch TGUK)
 
8. I was between 7 and 8. Just one to many cheap car challenges for my taste. The episode seemed well done, but once again, rushed. Have you notice that they seem to be phasing back in the actual tracks tests? Also, the number of times they mentioned something that happened on a previous episode makes me believe that they are trying desperately to make the characters stick in the mind of the audience (this entire season has been about that). Season three, I predict, will have a lot more track tests, and a lot less establishing character.
 
Overall a good episode. That Cadillac sure is a beast. It seems that during the course of this series they are bonding much better than they were during the first. And oh yes, Tanner isn?t nearly as annoying as he was during series 1. For me Rutledge has gone from being a total retard in the last episode to actually be quite sneaky with the chioce of the Festiva. Just like Captain Slow I adore small underpowered cars. Adam is actually my favourite presenter so far because of his stubbornness with buying American no matter what. It is an American series no?

And oh yes, did anyone else notice that the car park where Tanner tries to get his car going in the beginning is the same as they are arriving to in Santa Barbara. And the back window is broken in the beginning too. Hello editing department. :lol:
 
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"POWER!" I loved that part, too.

Fantastic episode. :nod: I do like that they are character-building; it'll make these guys stick in viewers' heads better. I also like that we're finally getting some car reviews back in the mix.

Though, my Dish guide said Tanner was going to review the latest Impreza this ep. I'm not disappointed, though. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised the description was wrong and we got Rutledge and the Caddies! :D
 
Second season has been pretty good and relatively consistent. The only problem I have is that it's too heavy on the challenges. I'd honestly like to see them once every few episodes rather than one every episode. All the presenters have hit their stride and their personalities really come through on the pre-taped segments. I am a bit afraid that the hosts end up showing one side of their personalities but so far, I'm just enjoying the show.
 
shellygrrl said:
Though, my Dish guide said Tanner was going to review the latest Impreza this ep. I'm not disappointed, though. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised the description was wrong and we got Rutledge and the Caddies! :D
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My guide said the same thing. I knew it was wrong, however, just from the ads.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

I actually like all the challenges.

Caddy episode I loved it. Esp. that part when Rutt points to the headliner and said WHY!!!!

Sig test of the Caddy. Enjoyed it. Tanner did alright for the voice over.

BSSC Rutt seams to be getting the hang of it. A long ways to go but he's alot better then in past episodes.

Biggest complaint is the time slot. It really should have a 90 minute slot not 60.
 
I really loved this episode -- I agree that they're doing too many Cheap Car Challenges this season, but I think that's a great thing so long as it doesn't become the trend for future seasons. The cheap car episodes allow the hosts to be out, joking around, and showing off their personalities. Plus, I think the chemistry between the three has really come about from all the time spent shooting episodes together (not just Adam off reviewing some car, Tanner doing some race, Rut interviewing someone, all separately). It's good to load up on this kind of stuff early to get the show into gear.

As for this episode --

- I have to start off by saying how completely thrilled I was that Ferrara bought a Crown Vic. Is there any car in recent American history (say, 80s-90s) that is used and abused the way Crown Vics have been? Taxi Cabs, Police Cars, Government Fleet Vehicles, etc. The Crown Vic is the gold standard in cars that work hard and simply refuse to die. You could probably devote an entire episode just to the Crown Victoria and have plenty of material to go on.

- Festiva-Pong at the stoplight was brilliant. Service!

- Is anyone shocked that Ferrara's car would have a crowbar in the back? Even though I saw the outcome (him smashing a window instead of using the hanger) coming a mile away, it was still funny when he calmly bashed the window in and opened the door of Tanner's Merc to declare himself the winner.

- Rutledge in an inflatable Alligator-turned-Hazmat suit channeling Jezza and yelling out "POWER!!!" I teared up a little. (Not really, but still liked it).

- Tanner buying a Merc / BMW / Jag is becoming predictable, but I don't really mind. I do enjoy the fact that he seems to be a bit of a germaphobe (wiping the wheel down early in the ep). Hopefully that's played up in the future.

- Ferrara "Line of the show" (rapidly becoming a trend): "Of course it's got blood and puke, it's a cab." or "This car carries human beings, human beings have fluids, sometimes they get out. No big deal." I can't decide. I LOL'd on both of them.

- BSSC was kinda weak, but I might be biased because I think Maroon 5 sucks. I'm not sure Rut is the best choice to do the interviews, as it always seems like he's a little too "aww shucks, you're famous" with the guests.

- Liked the Caddy film, thought it was very cool to incorporate the old-school El Dorado into the peice. The GT2 film from last week is a tough act to follow, though. Glad to see the Stig back this week taking the car on a power lap. Surprised the wagon scored better than the 2-door.

Overall, a solid 8 from me this week. It's amazing how quickly this version of the show has turned around from last season. I'm ready to see them take on some more challenging material beyond the simple beater / cheap-car stuff.
 
My only complaint (keeping in mind that I don't bother to watch BSSC at all) was the premise of the Cadillac piece. The CTS-V has come with a Corvette motor in it since the 2004 model year (6 years ago!), to play it as "wow, look at this! Caddy's are COOL again!" seemed to me like the writers were out of touch with current car trends. I doubt they really are, it's just the easiest way to do a Cadillac piece and it seemed like like a concept that was phoned in. Rutledge did well with his presentation, however.

Some of the cheap car bits were over-the-top goofy and predictable, but that's what I've come to expect.
 
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I hate to say this, but I was rooting a bit for Tanner in this one. That's because my Dream Used Car is...a 1989 190E. Blame it on some fond memories I had of driving one on the autobahn when I lived there at that time. However, I definitely wouldn't buy one that looks worse than my 1990 Dodge Shadow did after it was sideswiped by a truck.

Another good episode all around (with the exception of BSSC; I've never heard anything by Maroon 5 and don't plan to). They're definitely on a major roll here. This show is making the critics look more obtuse and idiotic with each episode.
 
Pretty nice and funny episode but the editing was bad :( As Herran already pointed up, in the scene where Tanner can't start it's car it already has the broken window. Also while Rut is power sliding in the Coupe CTS-V the camera shows the exterior of the Wagon CTS-V doing that for a few seconds, rly?!
 
So who else here was waiting for Adam to bust out the tire iron (or, as it turned out, crowbar) and just break the window to get in, because that's exactly what *they* would have done for that challenge?

Caddy's "New Edge" styling may be old news, but to the American public, Cadillac is still thought of as a 90-year-old man who can't see over the wheel of his Fleetwood with the turn signal on for twelve miles as he drives 40 miles an hour in the left lane of the freeway; Rut and the producers were trying to get the general public to see that Caddy *has* gone back to being the sort of car that Cadillac *should* be.
 
VladyF said:
Pretty nice and funny episode but the editing was bad :( As Herran already pointed up, in the scene where Tanner can't start it's car it already has the broken window. Also while Rut is power sliding in the Coupe CTS-V the camera shows the exterior of the Wagon CTS-V doing that for a few seconds, rly?!
Click to expand...

At the 16:39 mark it's the exterior of the CTS-V Sedan, no wagon there though I haven't looked at all of the sequences yet. Yes they have the other cars later in the clip, but showing the sedan in the middle of the Coupe's "performance display" and before they've even shown the other cars is a clear mistake. Combine this with the editing snafu about the Merc and I'm not impressed with the editing staff's work on this one. I also got a kick out of the "world's first wagon supercar"....when the big German 3 have been making them for a decade or better. I think they all had 500+hp in the previous generation of their cars.

The Caddy XLR, the machine that is actually comparable to the Ferrari California, would be a more honest duel. Lest we forget the anemic XLR (a sad 320hp Northstar V8 for the 90k+ base price, though a 440hp V model came later) was Caddy's highest price machine (by an extra 30k over the CTS-V models) and the California is Ferrari's cheapest model made for the wealthy women of the western seaboard. Though the XLR no longer in production (last year for it was 2010, a whopping 1 year older than the V models tested) is clearly why.

As usual, their desire to make me think it's Top Gear UK by throwing in the cheap car challenge always makes me feel like I'm being short changed. It's never as witty, creative or as funny as the original. I don't mind them copying a winning formula, but if they can't make it as good I'd appreciate it if they varied it enough to make it their own.
 
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anyone alse notice a point in the show where (i think) Rut is doing a voice over while they show the outside of the car driving and if you look at him he is saying something completely different. Lol, oops!
 
I gave it a 7, beautifully shot again. The production values this year have been very good. I did get a bit bored with the cheap car challenge. Regarding the CTS-V segment, is this the commercialization creeping in that we all initially worried about?

New Cadillac commercial released this week.
 
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