James May's Cars of the People

The third ep wasn't terrible, but it certainly lacked the charm and sheer interestingness of the first two. Side-tracking into what seemed like a ten-minute Volkswagen commercial seemed really out of place to me.
 
Only just started watching these over the last couple of weeks, watched episode 2 yesterday and the road in the old R4 footage seemed immediately familiar.

Screengrabs:

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Photo from the FG Roadtrip last year (near Sospel in France):

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Same road? I think it's highly possible. :)
 
Same road? I think it's highly possible. :)
99% sure it is. The trees adjacent the road have changed, but everything else is too similar to be anywhere else.

A gentleman does not motor about after dark - Joseph Lucas 1834-1903
We used to refer to Lucas as the 'Prince of Darkness' <_<
 
Series 2 premieres Sunday, 24 January 2016 at 9pm on BBC Two

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James May discovers how the car became an everyday part of normal people's lives.

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Series 2 Episode 1 of 3

James reveals the cars that turned post-war Germany and Japan into motoring powerhouses at the expense of Britain and the US.

On his travels he encounters classic E-Types, Mustangs and the German and Japanese upstarts that were to conquer the world.

He also has an unfortunate encounter with an Austin Allegro - the car that helped destroy the British car industry.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06z98k4
 
Thanks for that.
 
Can't wait ... ! Not sure I could have suffered too much more of this CHM-less cold turkey.
 
Good stuff, looking forward to this. It's nice to see a Land Rover in that top picture too.
 
Well said James........... ;)

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Wait a second, Final Fantasy theme?
 
He passed the place where my broken Land Rovers go in Rockingham, which is about 10 minutes away from me. Presumably at the same time he filmed the Dolomite scene at Rockingham Speedway.
 
Now that he's moved on from just people's cars to the global car industry as a whole, this series is turning into a rehash of Clarkson's Motorworld. Being that this is from a uniquely James May perspective, this is not a bad thing, just one that's slightly familiar.
 
Nice, occasionally quirky, selection of music in the sound track. It would seem likely that JM enjoyed watching Open All Hours (Nurse Gladys Emmanuel did drive a Morrie) and often listens to The Unbelievable Truth :thumbup:
 
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Found that episode pretty boring. Cars of the People was significantly more engaging when he focused on cars instead of broad swaths of the industry as a whole.

Also, sorry Mr. Allegro Designer, it was never going to look like that fanciful (and yet still pretty ugly) design you made. The bigger heater didn't have anything to do with how the front fascia was shaped.
 
I quite liked it, thought that whole take his and damon's lap times and average them or whatever was a good idea. And the whole top trumps rant was funny too etc.
 
Now that he's moved on from just people's cars to the global car industry as a whole, this series is turning into a rehash of Clarkson's Motorworld. Being that this is from a uniquely James May perspective, this is not a bad thing, just one that's slightly familiar.

I think you mean Clarkson's Car Years and yes in a way you're right but as you say a version from May's perspective is welcome and of course the industry has changed a lot in the last 15 years so there are other things to talk about.

Motorworld was the one that looked at car culture in different countries.
 
There *are* a few TG people in the end credits (one-armed Kiff, for one). I think TG's production values spoiled me; I couldn't help thinking that a couple of helicopter / drone shots would've helped the Jaguar-Datsun race.

Yes, there's a rehash of some Motorworld themes, but James comes across as sincere yet bumbly (which is a bit more palatable and what the typical BBC viewer is in the mood for), and that shot of the BMW factory at the end (not to mention Toyota City) was definitely a revelation.
 
I think you mean Clarkson's Car Years and yes in a way you're right but as you say a version from May's perspective is welcome and of course the industry has changed a lot in the last 15 years so there are other things to talk about.

Motorworld was the one that looked at car culture in different countries.
Ah true, thanks for the reminder; there were elements of Motorworld too with his international travel, so that must be why that came to mind.
 
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