[03x04] September 4th, 2012

[Pratalot]

I'd rate this among the best TG:US so far to date. Very entertaining and the cinematography during the kayak race was outstanding...esp in HD. Well done.

 

[blkhks]

I enjoyed it. Yes it's been done by TGUK (a couple of times). But who cares. I imagine that most haven't seen the TGUK episodes (those following FinalGear not included) so it is new to the TGUS audience.
And who would have thought Adam brings a SuperDuty? Definitely a US spin to the challenge.

But yeah, the commercial recaps are wearing very thin.

 

[LoudMusic]

Not to change the subject or anything, but ...

Portland! Woohoo!

Those shots of Portland were really great. They must have been here several months ago, judging by the skies. It was 73 and not a cloud to be found yesterday - and pretty similar for the past month.

I've probably driven that route a dozen times in my S2000 and Wrangler to see my friends in San Francisco. It's more fun in the S2000 Those guys stop a lot more than my wife and I do. We usually stop once for lunch and gas, and again just for gas as we near the city.

I also question whether or not what we were seeing was filmed in chronological order. Some of the terrain and sights seemed out of sequence.

If you ever have the opportunity, DRIVE CA-1 AND HWY-101. You will not regret it.

 

[equiraptor]

Nah, the idiot was talking about 04x04, not the Basel-to-Blackpool race in 12x04...

Ah, I haven't seen the early episodes in... a very long time (except for series 1).

...oh, wait, that means that TGUK ripped off itself. No, no, no! That can't be possible! Only TGUS rips off TGUK!

Clearly a wormhole has been found. We must hurry to repair the damage before the universe implodes!

 

[Kimura]

Great episode, I wasn't expecting an F-350, that was hilarious.

I thought the fuel economy segment was just right, not too long or short and wasn't boring.

The race was pretty epic too, with some impressive cinematography. I liked how they introduced a new Stig. I hope Stig in general becomes little more prominent like he is in TGUK.

As an aside, Rut's been getting much better at presenting himself, and the team as a whole has good chemistry.

I will echo others' sentiments that the recaps need to be cut down. If they must do them, do one for each segment. What bugs me more are the commercial breaks though, especially the last one which occurred abruptly right after the race started. Why not have it timed to occur between segments so it at least seemed well timed? They need to make the breaks better timed and so they don't ruin the flow.

 

[tjcaustin]

I also question whether or not what we were seeing was filmed in chronological order. Some of the terrain and sights seemed out of sequence.

A lot of the pans/drive-bys are filmed by a different crew after the fact, I would assume like UK does.

 

[Lynxfx]

I really didn't like this one as much. I found myself getting bored compared to previous episodes. The kayak race was filmed beautifully but even that got boring to me.

Gave it a 6, lowest score from me this season.

 

[Wing Nut]

Now we just need to have History work on those post-commercial recaps. I understand why they have them (a lot of other networks do it as well), but they really need to work on condencing them so they don't take so much of the show's time.

It seems we all find them annoying! Assuming you're like most viewers and comfortably sitting down watching TV, it beats me why we need the pre-ad 'What's coming up next' clips. And I find it even more bewildering why the same primary audience would need a 'What you've seen already' post-ad recap? Add the likelihood of a PVR being used, and there's even less excuse for this nonsense. It seems the TV network broadcasts this show on the assumption most viewers are constantly flicking channels throughout the entire hour and not sitting patiently on the couch waiting for the damn ads to finish.

Makes me wonder if anyone at the History network has ever sat down and watched any of their shows

 

[That American Girl]

I enjoyed it. Yes it's been done by TGUK (a couple of times). But who cares. I imagine that most haven't seen the TGUK episodes (those following FinalGear not included) so it is new to the TGUS audience.
And who would have thought Adam brings a SuperDuty? Definitely a US spin to the challenge.

But yeah, the commercial recaps are wearing very thin.

I was half expecting him to show up in an old station wagon just for the Hell of it. Surprised that any of them made it.

 

[TopGearNorthAmerica]

Y'know, I think this is one of the best TGUS eps they've done or will ever do.

The fuel economy challenge? Different from TGUK because of the nature of the cars; unlike the Blackpool challenge the choices were truly contrasty. A used car vs. a new fuel-efficient (but heavy) vs. a double-fuel pickup. And there was much better by-play between the presenters as they fought their own fatigue and boredom.

But the cinematography and pacing of the "car vs. kayak" was what made that episode. With a little re-cutting they could -- and should -- show it as part of TGUK 19, that's how good it was.

 

[caro]

Way too much challenges. Actually there`s nothing but challenges in it...

 

[nurkov]

that's crazy just get any modern, european diesel car and do it easily, I do it every week with 55 mpg average

 

[equiraptor]

that's crazy just get any modern, european diesel car and do it easily, I do it every week with 55 mpg average

Great, now get them to pass US emissions standards and get Americans to buy them. Also remember diesel and petrol are priced differently here from there, making marketing the car on cheaper fuel costs more challenging.

I'm not trying to judge whether US emissions standards are better or worse than EU, just noting that they're different, so work is needed to pass them even if the car already passes EU standards.

 

[narf]

He does have a point though, the current US Passat TDI gets 30% more one-tank-range according to fueleconomy.gov than the 528i, hence would easily do that trip without breaking any needle-on-empty-related sweat.

 

[equiraptor]

And what was Rut driving? A Passat TDI. Yes, it's not a new one, but it's not like they ignored the fact that diesel cars exist. And the race wouldn't have been entertaining if multiple cars could have made it without concern. It is entertainment, after all.

But the idea that you can just grab any European diesel car in the US is just... wrong. They're not available here, and there are many, many factors driving that.

 

[narf]

You could have made it longer with longer-range cars to maintain a veil of excitement.

Why not include a lorry with half a cubic metre of fuel? Doing more than 5mpg without a trailer sounds reasonable.

 

[equiraptor]

A truck or semi cab (it is a US show after all) is far less approachable to the typical person than the pickup Adam used. A normal driver's license here lets you drive the F350 and similar light trucks. But when you get into the heavy trucks and commercial vehicles, you're getting out of the "every day person" stuff, so it becomes less relevant. Yes, I know, they did the semi episode, but that was a separate challenge, not a "How far can we go in cars we can actually get our hands on" challenge.

They had a diesel car. They had a light truck. Then they threw in "something else" just to have something else there. Was the "something else" a good car for the challenge? Nope. Did it fit with Tanner's persona for the show? Yup. The point - a diesel car is a fuel sipper - was made.

 

[narf]

How 'bout a cargo ship? Round the world without refuelling :lol:

 

[jfuh]

The best Top Gear US so far, I think TGUS is definitely coming into it's own now.

 

[theiceisalie]

Should've just gotten a Volt, a Prius, and a Leaf and do it that way. Also, Rutledge Wood was stupid in this episode once again.