Top Gear Show/Site Suggestions

Brazil!

Brazil!

I've decided to put all of my Brazil posts from 'the next epic race, where would like them to go' thread in one place.

The original idea for this, which I idiotically deleted, was to go to Brazil to use new European cars that are no longer being produced in Europe, but are still being produced in Brazil. I added an American Chevrolet Blazer into the mix in the post below:

http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/the-next-epic-race-where-would-like-them-to-go-42164/page-12/#post1676236

http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/the-next-epic-race-where-would-like-them-to-go-42164/page-11/#post1659626

http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/the-next-epic-race-where-would-like-them-to-go-42164/page-11/#post1635255

http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/the-next-epic-race-where-would-like-them-to-go-42164/page-10/#post1611569

http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear/the-next-epic-race-where-would-like-them-to-go-42164/page-8/#post1600213


http://forums.finalgear.com/automotive-news/homeless-man-builds-himself-a-car-so-he-can-find-work-48905/

Rhys Millen slides up a mountain Video: Pikes Peak hero takes Hyundai coupe and travels mostly sideways up Brazilian mountain road

Brasil.gov Portal

Iguazu falls:

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Chapada Diamantina:

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S?o Paulo:


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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44026478/ns/world_news-christian_science_monitor/

Praca do Papa, Belo Horizonte

Praca_do_Papa,_Belo_Horizonte.jpg


Belo Horizonte


Solar City Tower (Future 2016 Olympics building, supposedly)

[video=youtube;-jiNfvitbWA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jiNfvitbWA[/video]

Rio?s slums get another look amid economic development


Sao Paulo?s ?Big Worm,? an elevated highway, must go, urban planners say

In Brazil's Slums, Economic Inequality Tackled With Technology

36 Hours in Bras?lia

TV Shows: Planet Food - Brazil Features
Gaucho Barbeque & Rio Grande do Sul vineyards


Rio de Janeiro: Brazil?s tourist magnet now has less to fear

I'll add some more reasons to go to Brazil into this post later on.
 
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1) The new 991 911 Turbo tested against a 1997 911 Turbo S 993 and its air-cooled Porsche aficionado owner. It would also be interesting to see a lap time for both cars, to see how technology has moved things on.

2) A magazine interview of MotoMan who has been making a quality show with a good selection of vehicles and some interesting industry guests.

3) I'd like to see something in the news on the folly of riding a motorcycle (600cc or larger) to save money. Yes, a motorcycle can save you some money on petrol but, when it comes to maintenance, tires, gear and depreciation, that savings can be, and usually is, wiped out.

4) Top Gear resurrecting a British make that no longer exists, like Austin Healey, then going on to design and build a close to production ready concept car that could be revealed at an actual auto show.

5) I haven't spoken with the family behind this business for a number of years, however, I thought that the products they've been making would be of interest to some of the folks at Top Gear. http://www.bottorf-fabrication.com/
 
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Can The Stig beat David Coulthard's time in the SLS? It would be interesting to see a challenge that involved David Coulthard setting a lap time in the same car on the same day, so that everything is fair regarding conditions. If DC is faster than The Stig, it would be amusing to see him trying to explain to The Stig how to do it faster. The lap time of 1:16.3 in the SLS makes it seem like DC would be faster than The Stig since The Stig's lap time in the Ferrari 458 Italia was 1:19.1

 
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1) It's probably way too late in the game for this one, but it would be quite humorous to test Horatio Pagani's claim that the Huarya is reminiscent of a jet taking off by having the presenter testing it go straight from being in a jet taking off to testing the car. It would be awesome if someone famous, like Bob Lutz, could be the pilot.

2) A review of the new Mazda Skyactiv engines.

http://www.insideline.com/mazda/3/2012/2012-mazda-3-skyactiv-g-first-drive.html

3) BMW M5 vs. Audi S8 vs. Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9 on a road trip in France.



4) Somehow talk BMW into allowing the show to review a new BMW 328i which could then be put up against the Ford Mondeo Titanium X

The next part of this idea goes to Crazytown, but that's where I'm from, so I've decided to include it anyways:

Since there has been talk of raising the national speed limit in Great Britain to 80mph Top Gear could try to talk someone in the government into closing part of a road like the M6, so that a top speed test of the cars could be conducted. This could be done at a spot where Top Gear thinks the speed could be unregulated, a less traveled, more desolate stretch of motorway that nobody wants to drive slowly on.






5) A James May review of the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento where the car is delivered by a Chinook helicopter to THE NURBURGRING. If a Boeing 787 Dreamliner could somehow be incorporated into the review, that would be excellent as well.

The review could also be made better by Richard having a chance at operating the controls of the Chinook, and having the pilots of the 787 allow James to fly for a moment.

6) A Pacific Rim episode featuring the new Korean cars that are very surprisingly good. This would have to include the new Hyundai Veloster. I would also love to see Hammond drive a Kia Soul Hamstar edition

 
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Copypasta'd (h/t narf for that one) from the discussion thread for the India special. :)

Next year, a trilogy of specials. Each presenter chooses a car, cheap or otherwise, either one of their own or a borrowed new one from a manufacturer, and goes their separate ways. Yes, their separate ways. They each go to a different country (Jeremy goes to one, James to another, and Richard to a different one), they take a small film crew with them, drive some fantastic roads, focus on the locals and the surroundings, and share their experiences along the way.
 
Hello, this Saturday at the Simeone Museum in Philadelphia, PA USA, January 21,2012 is the first demonstration day of 2012 , American V8's. Available for up close viewing and photo taking will be the Cunningham, GT40's (2 of them) the Allard and the Grand Sport Corvette . You can go to the Simeonemuseum.org for more information. If you click on the youtube link on the simeone site, you can see our latest video with Dr. Simeone himself recapping 2011's events, the museum winning the International Motoring Museum of the Year,and the V8
Demo day with a few shots of the engines and cars to be on display. A video recap of the demo day will be on youtube in a few weeks for those of you out of the area or country to see.
Frank (volunteer at the simeone)
 
1) Toyota GT 86 vs. Subaru BRZ vs. Mazda MX-5 on a road trip, then going on to meet up at a racetrack where The Stig could do a timed lap in a sporty Kei car that the presenters would try to match or beat.

2) A James May review of the 1997 Toyota Supra turbo ('97 because, if I remember correctly, the '97 was faster than the '98).


This could also devolve into a competitive thing involving the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 and Nissan 300ZX twin turbo as older Japanese sports cars that could be bought more cheaply as used today (although that may be debatable for the Supra).
 
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Anyway your test idea is OK, however, using an MX-5 that was first built in 2005 to a 2012 Toybaru is a little unbalanced...give it 12 months, then test the all new 4th generation MX-5 with your Subtoys.:)

Whatever the view, the new Toyota's and Subaru's are not convertibles, perhaps a KIA Cerato Coupe would be a better idea...or whatever it is called where you are.

I have driven (very briefly) the updated Mazda 3 (Auto) with Skyactiv Engine and i-stop here in OZ and they are brilliant new engines, 25kg lighter than the Ford/MZR, 20-25% better fuel economy and a little more grunt...should I say torque.

Europe gets these in their Summer 2012.
 
They should make a special about post-USSR countries, such as Russia, Kazakhstan (and other -stans), Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, The Baltics etc., that should be great. Also, the scenery in LV and other countries is just amazing. And that could be interesting too to see how we have developed (or fallen into a deeper hole, such as in Belorussia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) since the dark days of USSR.
And I can imagine Jeremy swearing about the smooth (actually, I wasn't going to say "smooth", I was going to say "rubbish") roads.
 
Anyway your test idea is OK, however, using an MX-5 that was first built in 2005 to a 2012 Toybaru is a little unbalanced...give it 12 months, then test the all new 4th generation MX-5 with your Subtoys.:)

Whatever the view, the new Toyota's and Subaru's are not convertibles, perhaps a KIA Cerato Coupe would be a better idea...or whatever it is called where you are.

I have driven (very briefly) the updated Mazda 3 (Auto) with Skyactiv Engine and i-stop here in OZ and they are brilliant new engines, 25kg lighter than the Ford/MZR, 20-25% better fuel economy and a little more grunt...should I say torque.

Europe gets these in their Summer 2012.

The next MX-5 will likely have a smaller displacement Skyactiv engine and supposedly won't go on sale until 2014. The GT 86 and BRZ are basically the same car, so it would be interesting to see how similar/different they are under different nameplates. Beyond that, they are destined to become autocross/trackday toys, which is what the MX-5 currently is, and the autocross/trackday young person who buys an MX-5 is one of the target markets that their makers were aiming for.
 
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Here is one more reason to do a Russia/ex-USSR Special ? the Chechen tradition for a wedding convoy to take a honorable place behind newlyweds' car by all means. Looks like a TG challenge to me.

 
1)Somehow find a way to buy Hammond a property in Daytona Beach, titled in his name, to legitimize his being a secret American.

If he had a craphole house in Daytona Beach, he could go to Bike Week and to Daytona International Speedway. There have been a lot of foreclosures in Florida, so property there is very cheap right now. Some houses can be had for less than $30,000 but I'm sure that they are probably located in scary neighborhoods.

It would be really funny if, on the show, Jeremy could produce the deed and title to the house and have pictures of it. I'll leave it at that and let others elaborate on the rest, if they wish to use any of this crap idea.


Here is an example of a somewhat inexpensive house
. I have no idea what kind of neighborhood it's in.

I was actually going to write a different, better idea than this, but I forgot what that was. I guess I'll add a part 2 to this later.

2)Top Gear driving a Le Mans racer. If possible, it would be awesome for a video to be done around the track, or at least down the Mulsanne Straight (at a high rate of speed). Since Tiff drove in Le Mans, maybe he could be involved in this. Since Tiff drove a Lister, they could be involved in this somehow. The Lister history (which could also include the Lister Jaguar model that was on the Top Gear coffee table at one point) could be glossed over.

ListerJaguar.jpg
 
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2) A James May review of the 1997 Toyota Supra turbo ('97 because, if I remember correctly, the '97 was faster than the '98).

- That's Tiff, and "Big Hair" Clarkson slobbering on the NSX while introducing it.

- The Supra is a '94-96 as it has the launch style head and tail lights. The 97-98 cars had darker reflectors, and the 97 in particular had a special edition badge on the front fenders. They all had the same 320 hp out of the box.
 
Anywho, a few things I'd like to see that are actually feasible / legal / generally sane:

1) Special on Toyota, as a cautionary tale of how one of the most innovative, quality-minded car builders in the world has been reduced to building utter dreck like Camrys and Priuses and 47 kinds of SUV. Start with the 2000GT, which is where the magic started, on through the Africa Rally and GT-Four Celicas, the ~20 year dynasty that was the Supra, a revisit on the indestructable pickup, and an overview of the MASSIVE racing effort they once supported before they bet, and lost, the farm on F1. If done right it could be easily as interesting as the Lancia episode.

2) Revisit of the Atoms versus Bikes. Only with real bikes rather than 600cc toys, people who can ride them properly, and a track that isn't heavily biased toward corner braking. This is something Fifth Gear did much more even-handedly, and made for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

3) Another US episode focusing on the car modification culture we enjoy here. Clarkson touched on this in the SIARPC interview with Matt LeBlanc. By "modification" I don't mean the ridiculous sort with ridiculous 30" wheels and fart can exhausts. I mean turbocharged Lambos, Vipers, Ford GTs, the litany of utterly insane modified Porsches that tend to roll around, etc.

4) An episode on the standing mile craze, featuring some of the insane cars from #3. The Texas Mile event is a good place to look, featuring dozens of cars that can rape and pillage a Veyron without really trying.

5) TG:UK vs. TG:US. Ideally in the US so they can shoot and otherwise explode things without the UN showing up.

6) Another team race akin to BritCar. Remains the best episode of TG ever.
 
- That's Tiff, and "Big Hair" Clarkson slobbering on the NSX while introducing it.

- The Supra is a '94-96 as it has the launch style head and tail lights. The 97-98 cars had darker reflectors, and the 97 in particular had a special edition badge on the front fenders. They all had the same 320 hp out of the box.

I'm surprised that I even need to say this, but I know the difference between Tiff Needell and James May. The video I posted is of Tiff reviewing the Supra Turbo.

The Supra may have had the same output for all the years it was made but, if I recall correctly, the 98 model took a couple of tenths of a second more to reach 60mph. I can't remember why this was, but I'm sure that I have a magazine from 1998 somewhere that says why (yes I've kept magazines since before then. No, I'm not digging them out). I think that I also remember reading that Toyota didn't sell the '98 model in the UK.
 
I'm surprised that I even need to say this, but I know the difference between Tiff Needell and James May. The video I posted is of Tiff reviewing the Supra Turbo.

I realize. Why would you want Slow to review a car he probably hates?

The Supra may have had the same output for all the years it was made but, if I recall correctly, the 98 model took a couple of tenths of a second more to reach 60mph. I can't remember why this was, but I'm sure that I have a magazine from 1998 somewhere that says why (yes I've kept magazines since before then. No, I'm not digging them out). I think that I also remember reading that Toyota didn't sell the '98 model in the UK.

They're all the same save for relatively minor cosmetic and electronic differences for their respective markets. The only significant difference between the cars is in the "Export" model for the US and UK and the Japanese model. The JDM cars make slightly less power (280) as they use ceramic turbine wheels in the turbos. All of the cars, from 93.5 through 02 are indentical in their respective markets. They were sold through '98 in the US/UK markets and through 02 in Japan.

The only differences of note are:

- JDM cars make slightly less power as mentioned.
- UK/Euro cars got the hood scoop, air snorkle to feed air from the scoop between the turbos (this was done to prevent head cracking during prolonged high speed driving-- e.g. autobahn), and the active front splitter featured in that video. (US cars did not have either the scoop or splitter)
- All the cars got OBDII and hence different computers, a second o2 sensor, and various other gunk in 1996. For that reason the 1996 US cars are all automatics. The manual ECU was not completed in time.
- In 1997 there was a minor facelift to all of the cars with updated head and tail lights, front signal lights and other minor stuff. The 97s also feature a small 15th Anniversary badge on the front fenders.
- In 1999 the JDM cars got VVT on the intake cam which slightly improved torque.

I know the car quite well. I've owned a couple over the years. :)
 
I want every in-car piece to camera during the GT-86 review to be carried out while drifting the car.
 
1)Inviting James Hansen to be a part of the Vauxhall Ampera review, which must absolutely be conducted :D by Jeremy.




2) If Top Gear go to Brazil (something I wish for on a daily basis), I would like to see a review of the Ferrari F12 done there, so as to incorporate the stand out colors of the buildings, the birds and the sky. It could be interesting to challenge a Brazilian F1 driver to a Kart race on his home turf, as a part of this review.



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I stole this out of the blog of some random person, it said Paraty, Brazil

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