Top Gear Mistakes/Gaffs

GauravA42

GauravA42

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Canberra, Australia
So I thought I'd make a thread about the mistakes/gaffes/errors that have gone to air on Top Gear. (not talking about outtakes). Despite being the world's greatest car show, they aren't exactly perfect.

I thought id start with something really obvious, but feel free to be pedantic;

In multiple episodes in Season 15/16 Jeremy has referred to th manufacturer Pagani as 'Zonda', ie 'What the hell are Zonda going to do.' It made a bit of sense seing as it was their only model till recently, but even while talking about their new car the Huayra (why-eera), he still continued to do so. Silly, and even a bit funny, but for some strange reason it always bugged me a tad.

Then again its all part of the entertainment. :lol:

Anybody find any major errors in the show? any simple things that bug you? Please Share. :)
 
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"Larn-ce-a" - it's "Larn-cha" for Pete's sake!
 
Still employing Richard Hammond......... :whistle:
 
Jeremy telling James that there had never been a Mercedes rally-car. (Botswana-special).

Mercedes_300_SEL_AMG_rally_car_by_Partywave.jpg


^ IIRC this was one of the first ever (if not *the* first) AMG-car(s).

and the W123 was also used in rallying

mb_w123_rallye_sahara_desert.jpg





Also: I remember JC talking about the R8 V8 when he first reviewed it, stating that "it doesn't have the Lambo V10 ... and it never will".

A few months later Audi launched the R8 V10 which had ... a Lambo-derived V10 (which JC also mentioned in his review of that car). :D
 
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In the Vietnam special, when Jeremy is at the side of the road, he says "If somebody said would you like to hop to Hanoi, yes I would" then hops off into the distance.

But actually Hanoi was the place they later ended up in 'by accident' after the train journey, when they were supposed to be going to Halong Bay.

It's a minor gaff, but it proves that the train 'mishap' was planned (which obviously we know anyway).
 
I knew this would turn into a 'let's launch insults at the Top Gear format' thread. Come on! That's blatantly not what this is for :rolleyes:.
 
Just remembered another:

JC's (excellent) review of the Golf V GTI. He makes a good point about the original's styling being great because its sporting details are like great makeup: There, but not so as you'd notice. And then uses a rather vulgar, "pimped" silver Mk I GTI with gold BBS-wheels to prove his point .. :D


^ Fast forward to 2:27
 
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LiamC said:
In the Vietnam special, when Jeremy is at the side of the road, he says "If somebody said would you like to hop to Hanoi, yes I would" then hops off into the distance.

But actually Hanoi was the place they later ended up in 'by accident' after the train journey, when they were supposed to be going to Halong Bay.

It's a minor gaff, but it proves that the train 'mishap' was planned (which obviously we know anyway).
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Could have easily have been a slip of the tongue. Hanoi and Halong are actually pretty similiar. My mom can not even call us kids the right name and she has known us for years.
 
Clarkson kept referring to "Lake Lausanne" in the 612 race--it's "Lake Geneva". I was surprised someone as well traveled as Clarkson would get that confused.
 
skylock said:
Could have easily have been a slip of the tongue. Hanoi and Halong are actually pretty similiar. My mom can not even call us kids the right name and she has known us for years.
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Disagree--I think they knew damn well that train was going to Hanoi. I never noticed Clarkson's slipup there though.
 
controlspecimen said:
Disagree--I think they knew damn well that train was going to Hanoi. I never noticed Clarkson's slipup there though.
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So you're surprised about Clarkson calling Lake Geneva a different name because he is so well traveled but then ignore that belief when he mentions hopping to Hanoi?
He's well traveled and has been to Vietnam before, he'd know about major cities in the country.
 
Topgearfanatic said:
So you're surprised about Clarkson calling Lake Geneva a different name because he is so well traveled but then ignore that belief when he mentions hopping to Hanoi?
He's well traveled and has been to Vietnam before, he'd know about major cities in the country.
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Lake Lausanne doesn't exist (unless you want to use the English translation of its Medieval French name for some reason). Someone in the Vietnam Special thread posted a map of the Vietnam rail network and showed there is no train from wherever they were going to Ha Long--Hanoi was the only possible destination. So the drama with May was bollocks.
 
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I'll ignore James' incredible gaffe on Apocalypse regarding a certain car with a certain number of cylinders in its engine and go for Richard's reference to the largest city on the Orkneys as "St. Kirkwall". Whoever Kirkwall might have been, I'm sure he'd have appreciated Pope Hammond canonizing him.
 
And I just remembered another one:

Don't remember which episode it was in, but being a bit of a movie-buff, this always bothered me.

JC talks about a car and likens its acceleration to "Dr. Strangelove". He specifically said "It's like that scene where Peter Sellers is astride the nuclear missile".

Mistakes:
1. That wasn't a missile, it was a nuclear bomb, dropped from a B-52
2. Peter Sellers was nowhere to be seen in that scene. The character riding the bomb was Major "King" Kong, played by Slim Pickens.
 
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