[18x05] February 26th, 2012

[18x05] February 26th, 2012


  • Total voters
    282
Great episode! I couldnt expect that Jezza didnt like THE BLACK very much.

The Saab segment was awesome!
 
James and JC segments are the best! JC retains a the perfect amount of silly, but it seems to be less forced and more organic. Episode was a solid 9!

PS - would love a night panel button... too bright a dashboard on very dark roads is annoying... also annoying that you can dim the whole dash, but the high-beam light shines out like a beacon!
 
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Very good for me, 9.

The women did help the score a little.
 
Yes, Matt Smith does look like an insect on a hotplate, but it's that quality that got him the job on Doctor Who in the first place. He always comes across as a thoroughly nice bloke.

EDIT:Sorry, meant to quote RaphEmer

Definitely very 'insect on a hotplate' when being interviewed but he does seem fairly down to earth. Not the best dresser, mind you, but that's forgiveable. :p
 
Does anyone actually know what the EXTRA button in that SAAB was supposed to do?
 
I read that last night but managed to forget it. That's Mondays for you.
 
Quite good episode. My only complaint is they did not show enough of the older SAABs. I wish they had spent more time talking about the early two stroke cars, they did not even mention the rallying/motorsports history of SAAB in the 50's and 60's.


True, they left out some interesting facts. For instance, I kind of expected them to put this one to the test:

"The 5-speed Saab 9000 Aero will streak from 50 to 75 mph faster than a Ferrari Testarossa or a Porsche Carrera 4."
 
My own 9-5 (3rd one, 1st one saved my life from a crash, 2nd one sold due to moving country) has done a quarter of a million miles (250K), and it drives great, I have done multiple thousand kilometre trips and I don't particularly worry about a break down on the road.

9-5's do have a couple of typical problems that unfortunately are of the kind that leave you stranded. Crankshaft position sensor, fuel pump, ignition cassette.
 
Skoda vs Jet-Powered Man: It wasn't that great of a race...but I sure enjoy watching the Skoda getting flung about.

News: Funny as always.

C63 Black vs MC Stradale: A pretty good comparo. I want a .gif of Clarkson's face when he hits the Maserati's "Race" button. Hilarious.

SIARPC: Don't know who he his, don't watch Dr. Who...one of the rare times I skipped this segment.

Saab Tribute: VERY well done.
 
I've got give that my first 10/10 of the series.

The Maserati/Merc segment was good all around. I've got to say, that black Maserati looks amazing, and the yellowness was just :lol:

The Skoda segment was meh, nothing special.

But the best part was the Saab bit (even if they did diss my latest obsession - the Saab 900 Turbo Convertible).
And :lmao: at classic Jezza.
 
I was kind of bored. Maybe Ive been watching TG for too long but it was a bad case of deja vu. Especially the Skoda race part. And while Jeremy is often full of it, telling us a car is undriveable and also bad on the track and then its really fast is annoying. For the previous version he did not like the hard ride. Now they make it softer and drift prone and its a problem again. And in any case, havent AMGs always been ridiculously powerful tail happy cars? And Im not sure if I missed it but I had hoped for at least a joke out of Hammond and his bet of playing with himself in the car and not ignore it :/ . The Saab segment was on the other hand very interesting.
 
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Hammond segment getting a little repetitive. The rest was excellent, although the BMW mention at the end of the SAAB segment annoyed me a little. Otherwise, very well done, back on form. 8/10
 
Good episode, first time I've watched and seriously enjoyed the SIARPC segment. Couldn't stop grinning through it. Matt is such a great choice for being the Doctor and that 5 year old screwball attitude he has. Just wished I had seen the bits cut out.
Saab bit was great as all Jeremy and James stuff is. News great as well. Only bit I found a bit bland was Hammond and the rocket guy.
One of the best episodes in a so-so series.
 
Unfortunately, here lies the fallacy of 'reputation'. Toyota had good rep? until their 'brake gate'

Within the Saab community, we have a saying that 100K miles is just breaking in. My own 9-5 (3rd one, 1st one saved my life from a crash, 2nd one sold due to moving country) has done a quarter of a million miles (250K), and it drives great, I have done multiple thousand kilometre trips and I don't particularly worry about a break down on the road.

And within the community there are drivers of the 9000, 900 etc with even higher mileage than me. We've had million mile Saabs too.

These are over-engineered cars that can take a LOT of abuse, but they do have trim fitting issues that comes with age. And they appreciate a good service rather than being neglected. (what car don't?)

Just look how many 9000 series are still on the road, compared to Alfa 164, Fiat Chroma, Lancia Thema (These 4 all shared the same chassis and some components, only the Saab was built to last the harsh winters). How many German/ Japanese cars from that era still runs?

Publications like Consumer report count ANY small items breaking as a negative, say a broken cup holder, I would rather have a properly over-engineered drivetrain and chassis AND safety features.

Saab invented the SAHR whiplash protection system, it was YEARS before the Japanese caught on the idea and advertised the hell out of it as if they came up with it.

I don't want to get into an argument about Saab here, but their electronic systems are not known for being reliable. I did some research (I was looking into 2005+ cars) and they had numerous problems with all kinds of fiddly electronic parts that didn't seem like it would be worth the trouble. While I could probably live with it and fix things that had cheap replacement parts, the problem is when you go to sell it if crap doesn't work you lose out on a lot of potential buyers.

The mechanical bits weren't too concerning to me, but the electronics that govern them are sketchy.

As a point of reference, we ended up with a 2005 Ford Explorer, loaded to the hilt that's just about to cross 100k miles. It only had 70k miles on it when we bought it, and so far other than oil and tires, the only thing I had go wrong was the EGR valve. $90 and 15 minutes later and it was trouble free. Only problem is that its 4-liter V6 sucks gas worse than my 6-liter GTO.
 
Again a solid episode. 8/10. Gave it a 9 just because it is so nice to have classic top gear back.

Hey, a mad Dutchman at least tried to save Saab. It really was GM causing the final bankruptcy by not allowing Saab to be sold to the Chinese. The Chinese were willing to invest in it.

Was anyone else captivated by the blonde woman standing just to our right of Matt Smith? :D
I kept thinking what is that girl from Heroes doing there?
 
And Im not sure if I missed it but I had hoped for at least a joke out of Hammond and his bet of playing with himself in the car and not ignore it

I remember it differently. When it was first suggested, Hammond was not included in the bet at all, even though he mentioned "having to do it while pleasuring himself", or words to that effect.
 
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