[17x06] July 31st, 2011

[17x06] July 31st, 2011


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I think including Ben in the story was a very conscious choice in the edit.... [snip] ....It actually would've been easier to edit him out

You make a good point.

As H?k? said above, Ben may actually still be the Stig. Now THAT would be genius.

Maybe thats exactly what they want us to think. :shifty:
 
Nice episode. Ben Collins appearance was a shock, you could feel the tense atmosphere with Hammond. I liked the electric car challenge it was not funny but entertaining like a car show. The Aventador piece was good but Hammond's logic was insane.
 
It was a great episode, still not convinced about the electric cars though. The technology in the Aventador looked very cool.

The film about the soldiers was very moving, I hope they are able to get to the Dakar rally. Regarding Ben's appearance in the film, he has written a short blog on his website about the film and his involvement in the project.
http://bencollins.com/articles/filmandtv/2011/08/507
 
They've never done a special within the summer series. Specials are usually filmed during that time.
oh that's odd, i've seen every episode of new TG and never noticed that xD thanks for that shellygrrl
 
After all, H2 still gets somewhat of a bad rap, even here on these forums where people should know better, due to the Hindenberg incident. It wasn't the H2 causing it to burn so fast in that case, it was the fact that the idiots that built it thought that the shiny was more important than non-flammable and they basically painted the thing in thermite.

Mythbusters busted that one a while back - (1) actual thermite would have made the thing too heavy to get off the ground and (2) while the mixture actually used DID contribute, the thing would still have gone up without it.
 
I liked the electric car challenge it was not funny but entertaining like a car show. The Aventador piece was good but Hammond's logic was insane.

I agree on both! Why is it, that when they go "back to basics" (like that electric car challenge) - you get the feeling, this is the Top Gear I want to be watching?

I think the case with the Aventador was that the car is literally so good, they had to find something negative to say about it. But that's the most mind-boggling conclusion I've ever heard...especially coming from Hammond, who nearly WAS killed in a fast car.

Overall, in my opinion eps 2 and 3 were the best (especially ep3, which was "vintage TG", nothing but cars in an interesting fashion), but I also liked the train bit. Well, before there were fires and accidents. :p
 
Liked the episode, and liked the series overall.

Aventador seems like a really awesome car. Looking more than fantastic, and what a laptime... Insanely good car that.

Touching end segment. It's surpisingly to see how much a human beeing can go through and in the end still make jokes and have a good time with friends. Hope they make it to the Dakar.
 
The electric car review was actually quite nice.

They are delightful brilliant little cars that have become immensely practical if you can life with with the pitfalls of ... well, owning a battery powered car. Those are well known and documented, so this doesn't coma as a shock to anyone who is bright enough to actually afford one.
Especially Nissan should stop their PR QQ. There is a solution to the charging. Shai Agassi proposed a system where you simply drive upto a petrol station, switch in a fully loaded battery pack, leave your knackered ones behind and off you go. Frankly, it's the car manufactor's fault if they do not want to commit to standardized and quickly exchangable battery packs. The tech is there and has been for years.

Loved the Aventador. It aced the track. Looks brilliant. Sound brilliant. Can't afford one :(

Who funded the Dakkar thing? I'd hope it is 100% government funded because, frankly, the state is heavily indebted to those great guys. I'm waiting for an official to look them in the eye and honestly explain that it was actually worth it that they got shot to bits and watched their mates die. All that flag-waving and support the troops talk is simply appaling when you can't even do that. At least this time they don't get spat on and called murderers when they got home. Thank god for the small things.
End of rant
 
There is a solution to the charging. Shai Agassi proposed a system where you simply drive upto a petrol station, switch in a fully loaded battery pack, leave your knackered ones behind and off you go. Frankly, it's the car manufactor's fault if they do not want to commit to standardized and quickly exchangable battery packs. The tech is there and has been for years.

A more promising option is the relatively new tech of "electrical fluids." Drivers would simply pull up to a fluid station, plug in a nozzle that would extract spent electric fluid while replenishing with fresh stuff. The station would then recharge the fluid on site to be sold again later. Apparently the battery design on the vehicle side is quite simple. MIT has already moved the tech towards commercialization. This, to me, seems to be the best short-term solution. Even still, we're looking at a few years out for real-world testing.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/flow-batteries-0606.html
 
Its funny. The people saw the disabled bay, but missed the entire last segment. It alone was worth the 10. I hope they stick with them to the Dakar.
 
Very solid end to a very good series, very car-related as well, I found myself surprised.

Lambo, I really enjoyed Hammond's review even though I don't agree with him on the emotions bit. I tend to side with Clarkson, when he said that the Murcielago was so unpredictable at the limit that it was far to scary to approach the limit and therefore you drive the car to 50% of its potential. This time the Aventador let's you utilize the car's capabilities, while sounding awesome and looking magnificent.

Electric cars, surprisingly very balanced for Top Gear. I fully agree with James that batteries are crap, because everything that runs on batteries is nearly flat or currently recharging. The piece really did feel like "old Top Gear," but they still managed to inject just the right amount of humor into the story, well done. I love when Jeremy and James get together to do a film.

Star and news were entertaining, lols here and there, not bad.

The last soldier piece was very moving, during the whole piece I was half-expecting Richard to drive the Wildcat, so we'd hear "I'm a driving god again" :). My best wishes for those guys, will be keeping an eye on them when watching Dakar.
 
I always sort of dread the last show of the series, not because I'm overly sad it's over (it's just a TV show), but because the last in the series generally seem rushed and half done, like they've left the worst till last.

This was okay however. Lamborghini was interesting. I find it annoying when they talk about KM/H though. MPH please, for us thickos.

News, I don't remember too much of it other than the story about Hamilton doing what Hamilton does best (moaning) and May's alternative anthem. Made me laugh as I feel embarrassed when the British anthem comes on. It seems so dull compared to other nations.

Electric car feature was good and showed if nothing more why electric cars are not the future. It bugs me when environmentalists bang on about electric cars being the future, when they're clearly not. In terms of technological development, the electric car is a massive leap backwards for human kind, however good they are for the planet.

Guest feature was okay. I was expecting Cowell, so a little surprised by Walsh. He's alright though. Bit of shameless plugging for X Factor though. Yawn. Shows why this feature is pretty dead, as most guests they have on now seem to be about plugging a new film, or album or show or whatever. It also shows why I prefer racing drivers on the show who have nothing to plug. :p

The last film was a bit depressing really, but inspiring too. Good luck to them at Dakar. A good note to end on for what has been a good series. Hopefully X Factor hurries up and finishes now so the next series can start.
 
Great episode, though I'm really sad that it was the last in the series... it seems they're never long enough. What a shock it was to see Ben Collins! Can't wait for next season!!!
 
I gave this episode an 8 it was a good episode to wrap up another successful season for top gear. Also it was good to see the old Stig (Ben Collins) doing the right thing with the soldiers time trial rally. Even after what he did to Top Gear its good to see Top Gear give him another chance and have him back on the program. And for this I now have even more respect for Top Gear
 
I gave it an 8. Liked the Lambo review well enough and understand Richard's comments about how its worse by being better. Similarly, I'm a fan of the Dodge Viper, and I fear what emasculation it will go through by having to adhere to new federal mandates on traction control and fuel economy.

The electric car review was also nice. They didn't just lambast the electrics, they demonstrated their concerns. Sure, electrics are really not meant to be used for anything beyond short trips, but their concerns are genuine for most Americans. I live in rural Kansas, so my short daily commute alternates with long drives down the highways and dirt roads we have here, so an electric would never work for me. To own an electric, you have to have a place you can safely store the car while it charges, so that lets out people who live in urban areas as well. Basically, electric car owners need to live in the suburbs and if you can afford to live in the suburbs an electric car probably isn't high on your list.

I've never liked the star car segment, mostly because I'm American and I just don't know who most of these people are. But even when they are American, I just don't care. I'm glad Tom Cruise has a P-51 Mustang and a Virus, but its not at all why I watch Top Gear. Cut that long-ass segment out and give me more reviews. Tons of new cars are produced every year and the manufacturers rarely keep them from being reviewed, so give me more of that!

The last segment was very heartfelt, and it was nice to see Top Gear showcasing these survivors and their recovery efforts. Also nice to see Ben Collins. After reading some of the comments and articles here about that conflict, I wonder how much of it was 'real' and how much was faked in the interests of promotion? Surely Collins book sold better because of the court case than without it (who here has read Perry McCarthy's 'Flat Out, Flat Broke' after all?), and I imagine Top Gear might have gained a few more viewers who were curious about what the producers would do to fill the gap. Honestly, the East Coast special and some of the last series was a bit ruined by the vitriol loosed on Collins. We get it, he told all and left you in a bind and smarting from the court case, now move past it and get back to making the show!

All in all, it was a very good end to a pretty darn good series, better than the last series by far. I would have liked to have seen a cheap car challenge (and not one where they all buy the same car and we find out the last owner left snot everywhere. Ugh!); according to history this odd-numbered series should have had one.

And of course, it was too short. It would be nice to have a series go for more than six episodes and not rely on specials to fill the gaps. Oh well, TGUS is on now and doing rather well, so I have that for the next few weeks. Maybe when its done, TGAustralia will be on and I can get 6 weeks out of it. By then, it'll be time for TGUK again. This is my ultimate plan once I achieve world domination: an ever-revolving lineup of Top Gear around the world to keep me entertained 52 weeks a year.
 
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Just finished watching this episode.
It was good, not the best but I did really enjoy it. It really felt like this is what Top Gear is all about. All in all it was a good series but I just wish they had more episodes because 6 just isn't enough. Here's hoping for some special or 'Epic' challenges and trips later in the year.

P.S. Random but I was literally eating a Werthers Orginal when it was referenced during the news.
P.S.S. Those tattoos weren't real were they? Just making sure lol.
 
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only got round to watchin it just now, awsome episode!! love the lambo, elctric cars was fun and the soldiers were amazing, love the bit where hammond says "dont tell him anything, he'll put it in a book" about ben collins :lol:
 
Finally got around to watching this. Excellent episode, full of quality content. 9/10.

One thing worthy of note, the Peugeot iOn does not have an engine at all. I'm sure that everyone was probably aware of that already, though.
 
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