Wow! He really doesn't like Top Gear
I almost felt bad for the hamster (he's not a real hamster). Almost.
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Model S on Top Gear?
- Thread starter Rob Fairman
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Wow! He really doesn't like Top Gear
I almost felt bad for the hamster (he's not a real hamster). Almost.
Clarkson does mock Porsche (Hitler mobile if I'm not mistaken) but of course Hammond more than makes up for it. In any case, I wasn't referring to the opinions expressed (though clearly these could be damaging for a small company) I was referring to their test drives where they do what appears to be a serious review. If they showed a Porsche apparently mechanically failing and implied that it was defective - but then the car company found out that it was scripted and they had faked the problem, I'm thinking that most companies might have pause to kick back at TG. There is a line here between the complete pantomime that they do for some things and the quasi serious reviews they do where one could reasonably assume that whether they refer to under steer, braking, acceleration or whatever, they are not making it up. I guess the argument that Top Gear could make for the roadster situation (and possibly did make) is that running out of juice is a real possibility - even if it didn't actually happen to them. Presumably if they wanted to, they could have "Brodered" it if they wanted to but saved themselves the time required to do enough donuts. Either way it was never going to come out as a complete triumph. The law suit may have served to make Tesla look humorless but it also may have helped to raise publicity around the actual range of the cars and to allow Tesla to address some of the errors in the TG piece. Of course any JC sycophants would never be swayed anyway.
I would imagine that if Top Gear tested a Model S P85D that they would run it around the track a few times and then do their official race when the cars systems have been slowed down. The guys would make fun of the car because it is protecting the batteries and point out how you don't have to protect a gas engine. They don't like electrics in comparison to their precious rumbling ICE's. They are biased against hybrids and electrics and that is not going to change even with an incredible car like the Model S.
I'm with other posters and believe it is all for the best that Top Gear never do a review of any Tesla again.
And I like the show and watch it regularly....
I'm with other posters and believe it is all for the best that Top Gear never do a review of any Tesla again.
And I like the show and watch it regularly....
Say what you will about Top Gear, but it's the BBC's most successful export, and (I think) the most watched 'factual program' in the world (yes, I see the irony in that). So although Tesla is demand-constrained, the actual brand awareness still seems to be low (there's still not a week that goes by when I don't have the 'What car is that/It's a Tesla Model S/Who makes it?/Tesla {confused look ensues]). I think it's a shame that TG seems to be actively ignoring Tesla, part of me has some faith that both sides (Tesla and TG) are big enough to move on from the Roadster piece, but maybe not.
I think the best we will get is the very positive review of the car by Top Gear USA.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
If they ever get around to reviewing the Model S, TG will (hopefully) not feature JC:
BBC News - Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear host, suspended by BBC after 'fracas'
BBC News - Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear host, suspended by BBC after 'fracas'
And more: Top Gear series postponed and future hangs in the balance after Jeremy Clarkson “punches producerâ€
Rest of the series has been pulled. Typically when it comes to a star vs. the BBC, the star loses....Clarkson has had a few lucky escapes (he doesn't bother/offend me, but the BBC has to go to great pains to be impartial and acting in the public/licence payer's best interest). The BBC now owns the rights to TG having purchased the controlling stake from JC, and the brand is larger than Clarkson, so this could well be the final nail in the coffin for him. It's a shame in some ways, but the program will live on.
Rest of the series has been pulled. Typically when it comes to a star vs. the BBC, the star loses....Clarkson has had a few lucky escapes (he doesn't bother/offend me, but the BBC has to go to great pains to be impartial and acting in the public/licence payer's best interest). The BBC now owns the rights to TG having purchased the controlling stake from JC, and the brand is larger than Clarkson, so this could well be the final nail in the coffin for him. It's a shame in some ways, but the program will live on.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
A big part of what I liked about TG was Clarkson's oafish antics. I frequently disagreed with him, but I find it pretty unlikely the show will be better without him. The failure of TG in pretty much every other market it's been attempted is proof that the primary ingredient was the chemistry between the hosts, which is sure to be lost when searching for a replacement. I know there's still a lot of raw feelings here over the Roadster fiasco, but I know I'll miss the show.
Yep it's a real shame, have to say I was disappointed to hear the news.
We of course have no idea exactly what he's done now, but it must be pretty serious for the BBC to have deemed it necessary to cut the schedule mid season (apparently the studio bit normally gets filmed on the Wednesday before the show goes to air) so it's very last minute.
Personally TG has inspired me to do some pretty crazy things with cars: I've driven a Hummer up a glacier, bought £500 cars with my friends play bumper cars then do 000 mile road trips (car engineering is pretty impressive!), blast through the alpine tunnels just to lap the Monaco GP circuit then drive home, rent a Holden stuff it full of camping gear to go hiking in Oz, and this year's planned trip is to drive from the UK up to the Arctic circle raceway).
Really for me the car part was secondary, it was the mix of adventure and fun the trio obviously had on these challenges that I will miss the most.
I really don't care how fast a P85D might do their track!
And on that bombshell...
We of course have no idea exactly what he's done now, but it must be pretty serious for the BBC to have deemed it necessary to cut the schedule mid season (apparently the studio bit normally gets filmed on the Wednesday before the show goes to air) so it's very last minute.
Personally TG has inspired me to do some pretty crazy things with cars: I've driven a Hummer up a glacier, bought £500 cars with my friends play bumper cars then do 000 mile road trips (car engineering is pretty impressive!), blast through the alpine tunnels just to lap the Monaco GP circuit then drive home, rent a Holden stuff it full of camping gear to go hiking in Oz, and this year's planned trip is to drive from the UK up to the Arctic circle raceway).
Really for me the car part was secondary, it was the mix of adventure and fun the trio obviously had on these challenges that I will miss the most.
I really don't care how fast a P85D might do their track!
And on that bombshell...
Agreed. This all (allegedly) went down last week, so I guess tensions are still running high and the 'producer' reported him. The BBC, being what it is, has no option but to take it seriously. The show will survive, with or without him, but it'll be different for sure. There's no shortage of middle-aged loutish presenters though, so you never know, the replacement might work out better! Personally I'd be sadder if Hammond left, but even he seems to be spreading his bets with a bunch of other shows, including his best impression of Attenborough (slow, meaningful talking) on the recent nature show (I forget the name).
As much as I like the show and each presenter (I think TG is one of very few reasons remaining to own a TV), I think there's future for the show ONLY if the new presenter will try to find his/her own voice. I think that failures of all TG spin-offs can be directly attributed to hosts trying to live up to the level of JC, Hammond and Dr.Slow.
I think this is a great opportunity for the show to make a significant and lasting change. I think if they need to replace JC, they need to make as big of a change as they can, so nobody would want to compare the new host with the old one. For example: JC isn't really a driver -- find a racecar driver. JC likes POWERRRRRRR and muscle cars -- find someone who prefers best-handling cars. JC is extrovert -- find a introvert with self-deprecating humor. JC is a guy -- find a girl. Etc. etc.
I nominate Sabine Schmitz as a replacement for JC.
fluxemag
Member
Top Gear without Clarkson will be like Two and a Half Men without Charlie Sheen. Nobody watches the show for Hamster or May. Being such a huge machine that it is, they'll try to replace him and keep it going. I suppose if Top Gear USA can stay on the air, anything is possible. Fifth Gear is a decent show if you like more seriousness and better drivers.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
I'd like the replacement to be a young woman as well with Hammond and May now the veterans. It'd be a great new dynamic.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
William13
Active Member
JC would love to have a Porsche break down on his watch - he'd use up the entire show making fun of that moment....pretty unlikely and the public wouldn't find it plausible so it wouldn't 'entertain' . Like I have said earlier, to me (and many others) its a mixture of knowledge and entertainment; heavy on the entertainment. And, if people are considering a 100K purchase for an auto, at best it *might* serve as a source. I cant help but restate that its identical to looking at John Stewarts "The Daily Show" - same mixture of knowledge and entertainment and if that was where one gathered their news exclusively to form opinions, they wouldn't be accurate. Moreover, they look to this show to laugh while their getting informed - yet a further parallel to TG because both are shows for Entertainment.
TM was correct in setting the record straight; however, seeing some of the seething comments on this thread about the show being some sort of spawn of satan shows me that the perspective is off a little on the shows offering.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
And to be clear, May, Hammond, and Clarkson all publicly agreed that if any one of them is fired or quits, they're all leaving the show. They may or may not follow through, but they've all confirmed the agreement. The timing here is interesting, because all three of their contracts are up at the end of this month. Sky has been conspiring to steal all three of them for some sort of new motoring show for some time now, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Was just having a discussion about this with my son and we were talking about examples of the type of character that might work. One that I came up with was Chris Evans (Ginger Guy) who is a car enthusiast and almost as abrasive as JC when he wants to be. Not sure how many North Americans know who he is but he's been on Top Gear a few times.
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