Future Great Show Ideas For "Gear"

How about a kind of opposite of Top Gear and have a European special where the hosts go across Europe and try and find a cool cheap used European car to roadtrip across Europe? I think it would be cool, but I don't want it to come across as a blantant rip off of the America special. They'd have to do something fundamentally different to make it original. Like instead of buying a used european car, they buy a used american car stateside and import it into Europe to drive. Or maybe squeeze into some tight european super compacts and give the American public some insight into the micro cars of Europe. It would be especially funny if the hosts had no experience driving these type of cars before.

I think it would funny to see some back and forth friendly banter between Gear and Top Gear, although that probably won't happen because a good portion of the audience will have no idea what Top Gear actually is.
 
How about a kind of opposite of Top Gear and have a European special where the hosts go across Europe and try and find a cool cheap used European car to roadtrip across Europe? I think it would be cool, but I don't want it to come across as a blantant rip off of the America special. They'd have to do something fundamentally different to make it original. Like instead of buying a used european car, they buy a used american car stateside and import it into Europe to drive. Or maybe squeeze into some tight european super compacts and give the American public some insight into the micro cars of Europe. It would be especially funny if the hosts had no experience driving these type of cars before.

That'd be a fantastic idea. There are more old Camaros and 20-foot long Cadillacs in England alone than many Europeans would care to admit. :thumbsup:
 
long time TG fan and lurker here ever since I read the NBC news here.

the pilot was supposed to air tonight, but I don't see any indication of that happening...anyways, I'm increasingly excited that NBC just might not screw this up, could be a great opportunity to do something special. just wanted to post a few of my show ideas:

- re-enact some of the stunts in the toyota tundra commercials (example) - it's entertaining, and puts pickups (a very american vehicle) to the test in typical TG fashion

- import some right-hand-drive funky european cars and give them to regular people to see how weird they feel to drive, could be a topic for poking fun at the europeans

- profile this guy - perfect example of american automotive engineering talent with an enviro/green message included

- story about how "american" car companies could be manufactured anywhere but america - maybe a bit too serious for a TG-style show, but could be very informative about something many people seem to be unaware of

- visit some top mechanical engineering groups at US universities to highlight cool new research, maybe the solar car race

- rip on GM for producing plastic, cookie cutter cars, rip on the comparatively poor quality of US public transit vs europe

- tesla vs wrightspeed race!

...and of course the usual races/showcases around the country - surely there are some great driving roads here! and why not visit canada/mexico on occasion?

I think an american TG has an incredible amount of potential. I also wouldn't be surprised if NBC totally dropped the ball. (how about announcing you won't accept any advertising from car companies, NBC?)

I'm worried this is going to turn out to be a shallow, "let's blow up stuff" type show, or another "pimp my ride". here's hoping they do some research on what the typical TG fan is actually like. this show could do a great deal for the american car industry, as long as NBC picks a great team and gets out of the way!
 
- visit some top mechanical engineering groups at US universities to highlight cool new research, maybe the solar car race

Oh that's a fantastic idea, for both Gear and Top Gear. Being on a former FSAE team I think it would an awesome idea for the Gear/Top Gear guys to either go to one of these events and cover the teams or the racing or enter somehow into the event. I'd like to see Jeremy fit into an FSAE car, impossible!
 
Small car vs. big rig with a load of big SUVs and big SUV vs. big rig with a load of small cars.

A car vs. a train, airplane, and/or boat segment is mandatory.
 
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I was about to ask the same thing. The only thing I can guess is that the new camaro is using a chassis from Australia???

And the entire platform, and i wouldnt be suprised with more. America doesnt make muscle cars anymore, we buy auck ones and stick a chevrolet badge over the holden one.
 
How about a kind of opposite of Top Gear and have a European special where the hosts go across Europe and try and find a cool cheap used European car to roadtrip across Europe? I think it would be cool, but I don't want it to come across as a blantant rip off of the America special. They'd have to do something fundamentally different to make it original. Like instead of buying a used european car, they buy a used american car stateside and import it into Europe to drive. Or maybe squeeze into some tight european super compacts and give the American public some insight into the micro cars of Europe. It would be especially funny if the hosts had no experience driving these type of cars before.

I think it would funny to see some back and forth friendly banter between Gear and Top Gear, although that probably won't happen because a good portion of the audience will have no idea what Top Gear actually is.

Driving European cars in Europe wouldnt be too exciting because the show will probably be mostly about european cars because europe is where good cars come from.
 
I'd like to see the new Corvette ZR1 against an Amtrak. Show off a (hopefully) great car while displaying the uselessness of government subsidized public transportation.

How about actual stock car racing? They'd buy three mid-sized cars, strip them of everything and race them. Drag race. Oval. Road course.

It's probably a bit cliche, but I'd like to see a bike vs. car race down The Tail of the Dragon. Maybe a Ducati vs. a Lotus.
 
As we just moved from rural WI here are two ideas. First try to introduce WRC to somewhere like southwest WI. This is where we lived and the roads would be sublime for rallying. But everyone there loves NASCAR. The Smoky Mtn. area would also work.

Secondly, go deer shining in a DBS :D
 
Moto vs. car. My brother in law and I want to try a race through the mountains. He can't use pavement on his 1200 GS and I will be on pavement in the Mazdaspeed MX-5.
 
I love the idea of testing cars to perform what they're not designed for. This really brings out the versatility of these cars. I have a great idea that would make for a great show:

Premise- Take three cars that represent three different realms of performance driving. For example, a Muscle Car, a Rally Sedan, and a Track Day Sports Car. Take each car and swap their venues. For a bonus, they could pit these cars against cars that ARE suited for these venues. For Example:

1. Chew up some apexes with Mitsubishi Evo X on a race track and pit it against a Porsche GT3 RS and a Lotus Exige 240 S. See how well it can keep up with the track day toys.

2. Blaze a quarter mile with Nissan GT-R to compete with a Shelby GT500 and Dodge Challenger SRT8. Compare the high tech twin turbo AWD and chassis against the new generation of American Iron on the classic drag strip.

3. Blast up a sinuous mountain or canyon road with a new Chevy Camaro SS while chasing down the AWD rockets Subaru WRX STi and Audi TT-S Quattro. Display just how far modern technology has improved the brand new V8 pony car.

The results would be obvious (the Evo is incredible, the GT-R kills, and the Camaro still can't hack it) but also shows just how incredible these cars are in their own element.
 
fortwo vs. Excursion

fortwo vs. Excursion

I actually admire the audacity of the smart fortwo, but tire of supporters of the "car" consistently ranting against the evils of the SUV. Frankly, I pretty much agree with them, but don't really care to hear about it anymore.

The challenge would be between a smart fortwo and Ford Excursion, perhaps adding a third middle-of-the-road vehicle like a Camry, Accord, Taurus, Malibu, etc. The challenge itself would consist of a series of mundane activities (parallel parking, quarter-mile drag race, loading the cars with a set currency value of merchandise, a rush-hour commute in a big city, off roading) just to see what happens.

For the finale, create the crash test everyone wants to see. The humble, "safety-oriented" smart fortwo colliding with the largest passenger vehicle ever made. No matter the results, it will be entertaining. I hope Penske has a "car" to spare.
 
I think i Will wait and see the show so i can see what kinda show it is and then give some ideas (I hope its more like TG than like FG ;D)
 
I would like to see something like the $10000 super car challenge (don't need to quote the episode, if you here you probably know it), except less money and muscle cars. It'd be quite relevant in America, yet still open to entertainment. Just the outline of that idea, all the challenges would need to be more relevant to the cars, but I'm sure it could still be good.
 
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