[16x02] January 30th, 2011

[FruityLexia]

The context of the Australian bit was that it was already aired prior to the most recent (and last apparently) seasons of TG AUS. It was the first episode with the two newer hosts and Steve and it was all meant to be a loose comparison of car culture between the two countries.

IMO if they took it "seriously", TG AUS would probably lose anyway because two of the 3 guys don't have extensive driving experience and would probably be outclassed by the TG UK trio.

Sure, Ewen and Shane aren't race drivers but Ewen's a motoring journo and Shane's into old cars.
Not exactly Adam Ferrara types there....

 

[The Spie]

And they stated that the VH Charger R/T, XB Falcon and Monaro that the Aussie presenters all turned up in with their version of events were all American.

Wrong. You totally took that scene out of context. For those who haven't seen it or don't remember it, in the AUS version of the arrival, the three AUS hosts turn up in the cars listed above. The UK hosts turn up in an Aston, a Jag, and a Bentley, and Clarkson proceeds to brag about their "wonderful British cars." Jacobsen points out, rightly, that Aston is owned by the Kuwaitis, Jaguar by the Indians, and Bentley by the Germans. Clarkson then points to the AUS cars and says, "American, American, American." In other words, he's referring to the corporate ownership of Ford and Holden, not where the cars were built or the parts sourced.

 

[RobertK]

Gave it a 7. Couldn't really give it anything better because I never got into the spirit of that TGUK vs TGAU thing, and half the episode seemed to consist of it. But that might be just me.

Another small complaint - a few years ago, the Top Gear staff loved the Ford Focus. By now, it's just good enough for a ten second part of the news as "some car". This reinforces my impression that the Top Gear presenters have started to care about cars mostly when they have at least 500bhp and are lower than a badger's badger (probably because their personal income has elevated them above the level of "normal" cars).
Which is - IMHO - sad, because below the supercar segment of the market there have been a lot of great new additions which doesn't seem to find a spot in TG anymore, because they had to fit in yet another Ferrari or Porsche.

I still love Top Gear - I'm just starting to wonder where to get my weekly dose of (normal) cars when they continue their current trend.

Regards,

Robert

 

[M3_Powered]

Another small complaint - a few years ago, the Top Gear staff loved the Ford Focus. By now, it's just good enough for a ten second part of the news as "some car". This reinforces my impression that the Top Gear presenters have started to care about cars mostly when they have at least 500bhp and are lower than a badger's badger (probably because their personal income has elevated them above the level of "normal" cars).
Which is - IMHO - sad, because below the supercar segment of the market there have been a lot of great new additions which doesn't seem to find a spot in TG anymore, because they had to fit in yet another Ferrari or Porsche.

Very true

 

[the Interceptor]

I'm sure that the guys still appreciate good cars whichever class they may belong to. The problem lies somewhere else: Top Gear is not about cars anymore, Top Gear is about Top Gear.

 

[Colinzio]

6/10. Veeery average.

There were upsides like the Ferrari review or the news. But the "Ashes" challenge was just "recycled" from TGA, even though they had some different bits...

But... A german Guest

 

[pink piranhas]

I am going to have Mexican for lunch today because I just can't get it out of my mind.

I do not know the caliber of Mexican food available in the UK, but that could have a lot to do with James's remark. Otherwise I just do not understand it esp coming from someone who seemed to enjoy sheeps brains. BTW, Taco Bell is not mexican food. I do not know exactly what kind of food it is, but it is definately not mexican.

I second the "Taco Bell is not Mexican food". If I for some reason want something sort of like Mexican quickly, I go to the"Magic Cactus" AKA Taco Time.

 

[calvinhobbes]

8/10 from me, despite Boris Becker... I just can't stand that man.

 

[kurthest]

I second the "Taco Bell is not Mexican food". If I for some reason want something sort of like Mexican quickly, I go to the"Magic Cactus" AKA Taco Time.

Whats wrong with making it yourself?
At least you'd know exactly what you're eating..

 

[Plissken]

TG Ashes - Good fun apart from the inevitable staging. Would have preferred the Aussies to have had equal equipment, it seems a hell of a long way to fly them just to continually take the piss. Wanted to see how the three Aussies stacked up again the three Brits, especially with the drifting and stuff. Can they actually drive? End race, the car was very cool, the result was bollocks. Liked the James/tree thing at the end.

GTOs - I enjoyed that a lot and I don't like Ferraris all that much. The 250 GTO was just utterly gorgeous but when that 288 GTO was spitting flame, I almost had a crisis. Could see JCs point about the 599 GTO, it didn't look like fun at all.

Mexican bit (largely cut BTW from the repeat) - aside from the opening "Tortilla" gag, it just seemed a bit gratuitous. Especially as it was coming from Hammond. Clarkson you kind of expect it, but the Hamster just seemed to be indulging in a spot of humour and it was coming off as casual racism.

Becker was good.

All in all, some cracking one liners "It isn't a car, it is a wild animal. Actually, it is a bastard" I thought was hilarious. So overall, one of the better episodes.

 

[Icedvovo]

As an Aussie I prefer the TGA Ashes opener with the muscle cars.

I'm curious as how this ep bodes for the future of TGA.

Did they get it aired early in the series while TGA still 'theoretically' exists, or was it shot it the arm to promote a future TGA series?

Dunno.

 

[Amie8]

TG Ashes - Good fun apart from the inevitable staging. Would have preferred the Aussies to have had equal equipment, it seems a hell of a long way to fly them just to continually take the piss.

The whole point of the cheating thing is that this was described as an "Ashes" special, (which is a series of cricket matches between England and Australia, for the benefit of those who are neither English nor Australian). England has a long history of getting whupped by Australia in the Ashes series, so the only way we could win the TG challenge was to stack the odds in our favour. It was a sort of back-handed compliment. However, since that film was made, England have trounced Australia in an actual Ashes tournament - which was a bit unexpected.

 

[shellygrrl]

Hello sherrygirl, you hava touch a very good point.

The truth is, Top Gear is only shown in BBC Entertainment, with 2 episodes per week (both shown twice). The reality is that very few people may acknowledge the presence of this channel, even less TopGear, and most of them, saw it first in Youtube.

I'm almost certain that 95% of people complaining never had heard before yesterday the name TopGear. And now, most of them are demanding that the show must apology and some others are demanding its cancellation, they even created a Facebook group page (106 members by now).

The problem here is that this may stigmatize the BBC brand in Mexico.

I just hope that things settle down.

I hope so, too. I'm getting quite tired of it all.

 

[MarxOutThere]

Although: In the 'Ashes" rally race 'James' did actually cut an inside corner in the pass which was outside of what was the marked course. So, even there, with 'James' at the wheel it was still a botched result.

Shane J's first crack about the state he left the prison van's cubical was partically funny considering his pervious claim to fame .

 

[victorloya]

Getting worse..

Getting worse..

Well.. just to give you a little update..

The media in Mexico is still reporting this incident as news. Between yesterday and today it has been showcasted in all newspapers, and major tv and radio broadcasters: MVS, Teleformula, Milenio, Imagen Radio, to name a few.

Some newspapers, tv and radio broadcasters are taking comments from Jeremy Clarkson as background: "Jeremy Clarkson asked in 2008 to bombard Mexico". Jeremy said that in an article when he suggested it as a solution to the global economic crisis, blaming USA and Mexico for it. But all the media is taking this as some kind of racial erradication.

There's even an interview with the creator of the Tortilla (Mastretta MXT), Carlos Mastretta, who was also offended by their comments, and not happy because they didn't discuss the car and just took a photo from the Internet and said many acid comments.

And worst of all, the same media, is taking as authentic the comments from this man, whose twitter account is @RealJamesMay. I think is just some stupid man who seized an opportunity, and didn't count that some stupid media would magnify his stupid comments.

I blame the media for all this mess.

 

[xTEENEKx]

Powerade says:

 

[rps]

Talk of a lawsuit

Talk of a lawsuit

Now they might be in some real trouble. A Mexican woman is threatening to sue the BBC: Article in the Telegraph

Also the timing might be politically embarrassing to the UK government:

[The MPs] want the BBC to apologise as a "matter of urgency" before Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg visits Mexico later this month so there is "no interruption to the excellent political and economic relations that the two countries currently hold".

Joking about Mexicans is different from joking about Germans, Frenchmen or Australians, because Mexicans actually have problems with racist prejudice.

I suppose they will apologize in the next episode but I don't know if that will be enough to make the story go away.

BTW, does anybody knows if all the jokes were in the script ? Richard Hammond might be in trouble for things that Jeremy wrote

 

[rps]

Boris was more entertaining than I thought he would be. Do you think nothing will come from the speeding admission in Italy way back?

Probably nothing because it was about 25 years ago. Statutes of limitations, amnisties, etc. If he was talking about something done last month, it might be different.

I was not sure what he was refering to about how UK cars having their pedals the wrong way?

It is a bit difficult to explain without drawings, but I think what he meant is this: in a car with the steering wheel in the left side, you have 4 positions for the feet. From left to the right:
- the rest position for the left foot on the wheel arch
- the clutch pedal
- the brake
- the accelerator

Now, in a car with the steering wheel in the right side, you can't just use the same positions, since the accelerator would be on the wheel arch without space to travel. So the accelerator would need to shift a bit to the left. Then the other pedals either move also a bit or have to be more closely spaced (and I don't know if there is space for the left foot rest).

So it is a bit different (anyone wants to search for pictures of the footwell of the same car model in left and right steering ?). Although, since every car model is a bit different in pedal spacing and shape anyway, you can argue that it was more of an excuse than a real problem.

 

[rps]

Ok, two Golfs, one with the steering wheel in the left:

and other on the right:

Not very illustrative pictures (not the same angle), but it was what I could find quickly.

 

[Icedvovo]

Clarkson's been bagging Australians and their cars for years. I think our media is simply too disorganised to take action.

Personally, I like Mexican cars. My Xj Jeep was assembled there and it's great little truck.