Some serious thoughts about Top Gear's 13th season

I watched the ending segment again and I came up with not "an ending to TG" but rather "look what you have done to great cars and driving you stupid ecomentalists and overly controlling government bodies." but then again everyone has their interpretation of art.
yup, my idea is he was talking about the end of automotive industry that TG was based on. This could also be the end of TG eventually, hopefully not, but I can't really imagine JC talking about how awesome hybrid cars are, how beautifully quiet electric cars are....;)
James, maybe. :shifty:
 
I just wish it had more cars in it. Not challenges with old cars. New cars that people might actually buy.

Lotus Evora. Alfa Romeo MiTo. Skoda Roomster. Toyota iQ. Proton Satria Neo. Chevrolet Aveo. Perodua Myvi. Ford Focus RS. Renault Megane R26.R. Porsche Panamera. Jaguar XFR. BMW Z4. Nissan 370Z. Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst. VW Scirocco. AMG Mercedes SL65 Black.

All sixteen of those cars were featured this series on TG (in one way or another). All NEW cars you can buy. (I left out the AM V12 Vantage and the Lambo as virtually none of us on here can afford them.)

Aside from that, if you want "proper" consumer advice, you're probably better off: 1) Watching Fifth Gear; or 2) reading a car magazine that offers such advice.

BobbyV said:
but I can't really imagine JC talking about how awesome hybrid cars are, how beautifully quiet electric cars are....;)

Tesla Roadster review, anyone?
 
Aside from that, if you want "proper" consumer advice, you're probably better off: 1) Watching Fifth Gear; or 2) reading a car magazine that offers such advice.

Only problem is that the main appeal of TopGear's car tests was that you could rest assured that the presenters were giving their honest opinions about the cars. TopGear did the best car tests ever. Now the tests are either: 1) a spoof, or 2) constant powerslides around track. Again, trying to appeal to those with the attention span of a house fly.

Fifth Gear is okay for what it is, but it's kinda hokey, if you know what I mean. I don't really care about consumer advice, so much as just seeing cars tested and picked apart, and even pitted against each other. Fifth Gear does a valiant effort to do that, but it's just too cheesy and the fake banter gets on my nerves.

And magazines are okay too, but just boring for the most part. Reading Clarkson's car reviews in the Times is hilarious though.
 
I think some of it has to be down to budget cuts. It seems it's cheaper to film a car review on the test track in Surrey than it is to film a road test elsewhere in the UK. That said, I do agree, to some extent. For example, the Jaaaaaag! XFR--IMO--would've suited a road test better than a track test.
 
I think some of it has to be down to budget cuts. It seems it's cheaper to film a car review on the test track in Surrey than it is to film a road test elsewhere in the UK.

Exactly - I pointed this out somewhere else when people were complaining that all the tests were on the track!

We'll just have to wait & see if the trend continues in season 14...thank the lord there IS a season 14 :)
 
I've been thinking about the whole track vs road tests and the budget issues. And I'm not sure it's an issue. TopGear have been doing these cheap car challenges almost every episode and that requires them to do a lot of shooting on the road. They've also done a few long distance races. They even sent Hammond and Stig to Dubai or whatever, to drive the new Murci SV, Bugatti Veyron, and even a McLaren F1. That couldn't have been cheap.

They do a lot of shooting on the road. I don't think the budget issues are to blame. Fifth Gear doesn't seem to have a problem and they shoot twice as many episodes as TopGear.
 
I, for one, adore the "cocking about" pieces. One can only watch so many supercar reviews, (which I also love, of course), before they blur together in a sea of monotonous hyperbole. Even Clarkson's sharp wit and captivating metaphors aren't enough to make every review fresh. Watching the boys cocking about brings us closer to them, and dare I say it: They are more entertaining and interesting than the cars.

It's for this precise reason I felt slightly let down with parts of this season.

To be honest, the boys didn't seem as "into" it in some of the bits as in seasons past. They weren't having as much fun, and likewise I wasn't. For instance, James and Richard in the Panamera seemed positively bored, and were thus boring. It was as if they didn't want to be there. I could sense it. Of course, there were segments where the boys were all having great fun, such as the best-car-for-a-17-year-old challenge...it's just that these moments seemed fewer and further between. I guess what I'm trying to say is that some of this season felt forced, not natural. If that's going to be the case in the future, and the presenters are themselves bored with cocking about...bring back more car-centric segments, put more effort and energy into them, and don't let the show devolve into an hour-long, mediocre attempt at comedy.
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<stupid rant> Also, I did not care at all for the Vanquish bit at the end. The same helicopter shot over-and-over-and-over is beneath TG's cinematographic standards, and the message was the same, stale, doom-and-goom BS we've all been hearing for years. It was appalling to me to see TG go down this path. I would rather it remain the fun, wild escape from reality is has always been. Of all people, the gents at TG should know the future of the car is not so dreary. Every single sports/super car manufacturer is coming out with new models to supercede the old ones with better performance. We even have new entrants on the way such as Mclaren. Perhaps it's true that high-volume commuter cars may become more boring to meet mpg/emissions standards, but the future for fast cars is bright. Sure the engines may not continue to get egregiously bigger and bigger, but engineers will extract more power from them with new technology. Instead of models getting heavier every year, current chassis and body technology will be refined to finally "add lightness" for the purposes of increased performance and reduced fuel consumption. These are the types of advancements any true enthusiast has been looking for, not 4000hp, oct-turbo Z-18 monstrosities. I, for one, am looking forward to it. </stupid rant>
 
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I can understand the gripe some have with my criticism of the Aston-Martin-closing-bit. Likely, there wouldn't have been the time for a review and said moaning as well. Still, I seriously think that a differently-cut segment would have been much better while sending out the same message. I just wish I had the skills and the source material to re-cut, just to hear what you think of it.

Anyway, I watched 13x04 again yesterday. And during the Evo vs. Army bit, I realised something. I remembered the Land Rover vs. tank bit from a few series ago. I must say while I find military vehicles very impressive, I do not really like these bits very much. Still, I found myself watching the Land Rover bit completely just like the SLK vs. Boxster where Jeremy is being shot at. Those bits told a proper story from beginning to end. With the 13x04 bit however I find myself in ongoing pain. It is too over the top. Too Hollywood. Too "we did that already, so the next one has to be bigger, brighter and better".

It's like going to the cinemas. You want to see a wild action flick. Of course, you don't expect to see drama-worthy scenes that will make you cry, so you switch off your "hang on, that's not right!" part of the brain at the entrance. If the movie is too over the top however, your brain will kick in again, and you won't have too much fun. It sounds crazy, but even a rollercoaster action movie needs some realism to be good (or it doesn't take itself seriously from the very beginning, like Crank).

That said, I think Top Gear has fallen into this trap. They think they need to outdo themselves with every new bit, because otherwise, people might get bored. Thing is ... people watch and like Top Gear for what it is at that moment, and not for how much better it will be next time.
 
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Anyway, I watched 13x04 again yesterday. And during the Evo vs. Army bit, I realised something. I remembered the Land Rover vs. tank bit from a few series ago. I must say while I find military vehicles very impressive, I do not really like these bits very much. Still, I found myself watching the Land Rover bit completely just like the SLK vs. Boxster where Jeremy is being shot at. Those bits told a proper story from beginning to end. With the 13x04 bit however I find myself in ongoing pain. It is too over the top. Too Hollywood. Too "we did that already, so the next one has to be bigger, brighter and better".


I like the Land rover part more than the other
 
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