So is "Top Gear" ever going back on air in the states

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i have a feeling that american TG will be boring and all the cool kids and ricers at our high school will love it...
 
yeah, most of the guys here just care about the imports and tuning and musclecars. pretty much things that they can actually concievably buy. Its alot more about status and Looks and pseudoluxury than performance and sport. Street racing, at least here in San Antonio, is all about status and image an little else. thats why pimp my ride and those shows are so popular

Thats prolly why theres a huge market here for supplying cheap, plastic colorful strap ons for honda civics and the like
 
a US or Canada challenge/race with car vs whatever wouldnt work because it's illegal to make it fun. if JC speeds in sweden or france or where ever, people laugh quietly, but he has never been shown speeding in the UK on the show, and for obvious reasons. if TGUSA decided to race a ##### against...say a saleen S7, the saleen would be going a max of 75mph from point A to point B, unless they got a police escort.
and that would be utterly lame, as shown in the various US/Canada Cannonball Runs / Gumball Rallys :(

if you took legalities out, yea the US would be fine for fun in straight lines as well as some hidden remote mystical "twisty mountain roads" ;)
 
RapedApe said:
It's not "Top Gear" w/o Clarkson and company! :yucky:

Bruno, a professional drag racer with casual tales of crashing at 230mph. John, the super keen jock, blessed with quaint ?sir and m?am? good manners that only Americans can do. And, Johnny, a former reality show winner with a nice line in wierd humor.

Screw that.
 
Well the drag racer won't make a damn comment about handling on any car, and probably won't be very entertaining. The only pro drag racer that seems to have a personality is John Force. "Johnny" is there to 'urbanize' the show, look for to lots of "thats tight" and "mad crazy yo!" The other guy is going to be a piss poor attempt to replicate James May.

I can't see the show being all that good. They need to pick car guys that have a personality, not just people that may fit a profile similar to the 3 we enjoy seeing on tv every Sunday.
 
I'm optimistic but I do have a few reservations.

No live audience - I can't see it being the same without an audience.

The Hosts: Bruno, John, and Johnny ? Unless the drag racer is there for comic relief it sounds like a pretty weak bunch. I wonder how good any of these hosts are at driving a car around a circuit. If they can?t powerslide they?re worthless.

The Cars ? I sure hope they find some more exciting cars for the actual series than they did for the pilot? Charger, and Mustang? WTF?

I really hope this series turns out well because I would love to see it on TV, but I too am worried that it will turn out to be too sponsored, too scripted, and won?t have the guts to really lay down the truth for fear of Discovery Channel losing advertising dollars.
 
I'm willing to give the presenters the benefit of the doubt. Imagine, if you will, that the situation was reversed - Top Gear was wildly popular in the States, and Top Gear UK was being piloted. The presenters chosen for Top Gear UK were:

Jeremy Clarkson - Tall man with a spotless driving record and a big ego. Doesn't even know how engines work. Little or no racing experience.
James May - Not a big fan of speed, sort of frumpish, drives an old Bentley. No racing experience.
Richard Hammond - Short man who was a public radio host. No racing experience.

I would have thought they were going to be crummy presenters, but look how good they turned out to be! To use an old cliche, you can't judge a book by its cover.
 
Hmm not sure how I feel about this "American" version of Top Gear. I don't think that it can match the original series. We will Americanize it like everything else, I guess if it good enough for the rest of the world it's not quite good enough for us. Plus like No Boss said it will probably have a "Car and Driver TV" feel to it. I'm happy yet sad, but we will have to wait and see how it turns out. Besides what awesome cars do we have over here that have not been choked to death by all the emissions standards and any other standard that the goverment slaps on vehicles.
 
Well after hearing this I personally hope the show bombs out and they stick to the original BBC Top Gear. I'm sick of the rest of the world pandering to the USA cause they still live in their bubble world [no offence to the yanks here :)] but honestly....what in the BBC version is so hard to comprehend?

Why is it that the show is broadcast uncut and unedited in other nations of the world but needs to be re written completelly for american audiences? Honestly.....if I was american I'd be pissed that they thought I was unable to understand the intelligent banter of Clarkson, Hammand and James. Surely it's not just the format of the show, but the presenters that make it such a hit? Will they be able to replicate the stunning cinematograpy of the original series too, or will it look like any other show over in the US, perhaps even shot in NTSC low DEF?

I remember what they did to coupling......and reading all the US comments about how the UK version killed the american one. I see history repeating itself again :thumbsdown:

If we end up getting the US version here in Aus i'll kill someone!! :twisted:
 
Top Gear is more than just abt cars . James , Clarkson and Hamond are really good presentors first and it just happens they talked well abt cars too. so the point of taking three good drivers and making a car show is kinda pointless . Imagine a show with Schumacher , Kimi Raikonein(sp?) and alonso , ya they will drive cars really fast but will it be entertaining ?

also the political correctness is also gonna hurt the american version also the fact that it will be funded by commercials so they will have to kinda make sure they don't piss of their sponsors.

also there are not that many supercar companies based in europe , TopGear never really tests cars that people drive (only once in a while)

I still hope it turns out to be good.
 
homerbeer said:
Well after hearing this I personally hope the show bombs out and they stick to the original BBC Top Gear. I'm sick of the rest of the world pandering to the USA cause they still live in their bubble world [no offence to the yanks here :)] but honestly....what in the BBC version is so hard to comprehend?

Why is it that the show is broadcast uncut and unedited in other nations of the world but needs to be re written completelly for american audiences? Honestly.....if I was american I'd be pissed that they thought I was unable to understand the intelligent banter of Clarkson, Hammand and James. Surely it's not just the format of the show, but the presenters that make it such a hit? Will they be able to replicate the stunning cinematograpy of the original series too, or will it look like any other show over in the US, perhaps even shot in NTSC low DEF?

i dont if know you've heard, but us north americans get way different cars then you people accross the pond. i've never seen half of the brands they talk about in top gear in real life
 
[no offence to the yanks here :)]
Isn't 'yanks' supposed to be offensive :roll: not that i mind

The problem i've found is, alot of people here dont like the original top gear at all, i've shown it to soo many people, so many car fans and if it s not fast forwarding through the news, Star In a Reasonably Priced Car, and cars they dont have in America, its asking if they have the new honda civic or a car with that one body kit or the new mustang. and none of them liked the mustang video anyways.
 
wooflepoof said:
The problem i've found is, alot of people here dont like the original top gear at all, i've shown it to soo many people, so many car fans and if it s not fast forwarding through the news, Star In a Reasonably Priced Car, and cars they dont have in America, its asking if they have the new honda civic or a car with that one body kit or the new mustang. and none of them liked the mustang video anyways.

That's funny, here in Canada, almost everyone I show it to becomes an instant fan! I've even got my friends' girfriends hooked on Top Gear! :lol:
 
I havn't seen anyone not like Top Gear after I show them an episode, any episode. Of course my friend's aren't ricers.

There is a very good reason for why America is very different than Europe, it's called the Atlantic Ocean.
 
The only people i know who are hooked completely are my roommates and a few die hard car fans like me(us).


Im thinkimg if its awful, we can always flood the Discovery channel with complaints and suggestions until they fix it up proper
 
matt_shaw said:
homerbeer said:
Well after hearing this I personally hope the show bombs out and they stick to the original BBC Top Gear. I'm sick of the rest of the world pandering to the USA cause they still live in their bubble world [no offence to the yanks here :)] but honestly....what in the BBC version is so hard to comprehend?

Why is it that the show is broadcast uncut and unedited in other nations of the world but needs to be re written completelly for american audiences? Honestly.....if I was american I'd be pissed that they thought I was unable to understand the intelligent banter of Clarkson, Hammand and James. Surely it's not just the format of the show, but the presenters that make it such a hit? Will they be able to replicate the stunning cinematograpy of the original series too, or will it look like any other show over in the US, perhaps even shot in NTSC low DEF?

i dont if know you've heard, but us north americans get way different cars then you people accross the pond. i've never seen half of the brands they talk about in top gear in real life
but seriously, the cars here are sooo much more uninteresting than the cars they get over there. I mean who cares about the Chevy malibu? overseas they get "insane" cars like the Citroen C4 and C6. What are some cars here that you are dying to seen on TG one day as a review? American truck or SUV reviews (mainly Jeeps) are lacking, but that is about it. There are a few Acuras and Infinitis that i'd like to see get tested, and i cant really think of any others.
Consider the cars that they get over there that we dont get here. TVR's, Morgans, Nobles, Caterhams, Westfields, etc are very hard to find here. and we dont even get Pagani's, Koenigseggs, Weissmans, or Spykers at all.
 
I don't care if it's mostly about muscle cars, but I would like better presenters. I want a cast who is going to be critical of the car of its short falls and most of all I want someone to know what they are talking about. C'mon, one of the guys is a former reality show winner! God, the stupid network heads are ruining TV as we know it. I guess it I'll be really upset if it's bad and popular, because I'll be talking about the REAL Top Gear w/ one of my friends and someone at the bar will turn to me and say "oh, yeah that show with all those awsome corvettes".....oh dear.....
 
BlaRo said:
And just for the record twoquickcapri, the Charger is built on an LX platform developed by Chrysler, not by Mercedes. It just has a few bits from Benz.

Yes the the charger is base on the LX platform and so is the 300 and new Challenger coupe. But the LX platform is based on the former Mercedes-Benz W210 platform. Also its made in Canada. So A German owned and designed car thats built in Canada. How does this car help the American(USA) people. So I ask what makes it a American (USA) car. The only thing good about the car is they use union (UAW) worker to but it together. :?
 
I want to say that I'm looking foward to the show, as they will know that an F150 doesn't only mean Lightning and that Mustang doesn't only mean GT (Cobra in 07 baby, 475hp!) plus they'll actually appreciate torque

The original was amazing because the show wasn't about real world comparisons - Car vs. public transportation, Land Rover Sport vs. Tank, random tests on 1500 'quid' Porsches, etc. The light-hearted approach to cars with hosts that drive the cars for the reasons we drive them - for fun - makes the show a real gem. And with other US opinions, the people that I show the original to hate the presenters, but do appreciate a lot of the locations and the cinematography

The US show will DEFINITELY be bogged down with sponsors, just like every other car show in the US. Motor Trend, Horsepower TV, Trucks, etc, are all about modding or rebuilding your car with 'easy bolt-on parts from our sponsors'. Already, the show is designed for the 'reality' audience by having this john from a reality show.

And last but not least, there will be plenty of cars to enjoy in the US. Maybe not as many as in the original show, but for a really short list: Ford GT, Viper, Corvette Z06 (obvious 3), Mustang GT/Cobra, Evo 8/9/+, Impreza STI, G35 (world Skyline), All the Benzes, BMW's (including M5 and M6, but not the boring diesels), That Vette-based Caddy, Caddy V-Line, Dodge SRT Line (SRT-4, SRT-6, SRT-8, you know the deal), Jeep SRT8, Magnum+Charger, Miata MX-5, Pontiac Solstice (and other derivations like the Saturn version), MR2 (wait, I think that's dead), Next GT-R (everyone gets that one), 350Z, M45, ...
 
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