Roadster on Top Gear

[vfx]

Those of us in the US with basic cable have been watching two year old episodes of TG on BBC America. I think we now are caught up.

Last night. Monday December 8th at 6PM Pacific time, BBC aired Top Gear as a season opener. The episode included some Prius bashing (Battery ingredients come from Canada, making the car is more wasteful that a Hummer Strike that it was regionalized to a Land Rover). And then a fun 5 car Supercar race each with only one gallon of gasoline. The Ferrari got 1.7 miles to a gallon.

Is that the same episode that was aired Sunday Dec 7th in the UK?

 

[dpeilow]

No, that was Series 11, which went out in June.

 

[graham]

*grumble* hopefully there will be some way of watching the Tesla episode more quickly

 

[vfx]

No, that was Series 11, which went out in June.

Someone has to post the Tesla segment the next day.

 

[dpeilow]

I will do my best to get it on here Sunday evening. This may cost me a bunch of flowers or dinner... :wink:

I should be getting back from the Race of Champions around the same time as Top Gear is on.

If I am not able to (PVR fails to record, for example) then I have access to a second PVR the next day or the guys at FinalGear.com are usually pretty quick to post Torrents.

 

[Kardax]

*grumble* hopefully there will be some way of watching the Tesla episode more quickly

It'll be on YouTube quickly, and then get deleted, and then someone else will upload it, then the BBC will knock that one out, ad infinitum

The BBC needs to do what CBS does with Survivor; put it online a couple days later with commercials embedded. They get their money and we get to see it anytime we want

-Ryan

 

[dpeilow]

The BBC has some deal with YouTube to get revenues somehow.

The Fifth Gear stuff I uploaded was spotted and they sent me an email saying that an ad would be inserted at the start and revenues would go to the production company (North One). So no one is losing out really.

 

[stopcrazypp]

The BBC has some deal with YouTube to get revenues somehow.

The Fifth Gear stuff I uploaded was spotted and they sent me an email saying that an ad would be inserted at the start and revenues would go to the production company (North One). So no one is losing out really.

I heard they were starting to do that, having the content owners just get ad revenues from clips other users posted. Much better than just taking it down.

If youtube fails then there's always Final Gear, but it's a torrent and it's annoying to have to download the whole show in higher quality when I don't mind streaming it in lower quality and skipping parts I don't care to watch.

 

[dpeilow]

For historic reference. (I had never seen this before - must have missed that week back in 1997).

 

[graham]

Great find! I had not seen this before either!

I thought it was a reasonably fair coverage of both the strengths and weaknesses of the EV1. I hope the upcoming episode on the Roadster is fair as well.

 

[vfx]

On the whole, balanced, but the "Most stressful ever" comment and the horror music was over the top dramatic. All made up for with the final line.

Thanks for bringing it.

 

[TEG]

For historic reference. (I had never seen this before - must have missed that week back in 1997).

Hmm... The mobile phone comparison being used back then...

 

[doug]

BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Top Gear, Series 12, Episode 7 (new series)

Episode 7 (new series)
14 Dec 2008, 21:00 on BBC Two

Synopsis:

Motoring news and views from the usual team.
James May travels to California to take a look at what is being hailed as the future of motoring, the hydrogen-powered Honda Clarity. Meanwhile, out on the test track Jeremy Clarkson has a high-voltage encounter with the Tesla, a battery-powered super-car, and Richard Hammond takes an affectionate look back at 50 years of Touring Car racing.

The star in the reasonably priced car is none other than Tom Jones, and there are some festive fun and games in the studio to boot.

This episode sounds like a keeper.

 

[vfx]

the Tesla, a battery-powered super-car

This bodes well.


(I think)

 

[dpeilow]

A couple of times I have had to drive for more than 5 miles with the car's computer showing 5 miles left. This was after several fuel stations unexpectedly being shut. I can tell you, it is very stressful. I can see where he was coming from with this.

 

[vfx]

A couple of times I have had to drive for more than 5 miles with the car's computer showing 5 miles left. This was after several fuel stations unexpectedly being shut. I can tell you, it is very stressful. I can see where he was coming from with this.

Yeah, we all have stories where we were so out of gas that we were "running on fumes" or shockingly put 17 gallons in a 16.5 gallon gasoline tank. But AFAIK this was sensationalistic boogeyman theater.

 

[WarpedOne]

I can tell you, it is very stressful.

Inhere lies yet another upside to electric cars. Batteries don't like to be empited to absolute 0 charge so carmakers design the system to normally discharge only downto certain level where it starts to show the batteries as empty. But they arent, they could still be holding 20% or even more of charge. Using it will somewhat damage the batteries, but you will come home. Gold reserve :biggrin:

 

[malcolm]

BBC - Top Gear - The Show - Production Notes

Meanwhile, Jeremy will be conducting a curiously quiet power test of the new and much-hyped all-electric supercar, the Tesla.

Not long to wait :biggrin:

 

[vfx]

Not long to wait :biggrin:

The suspense is killing me!

 

[graham]

The suspense is killing me!

Me too... I will be traveling for the next couple of weeks, and hope my hotel room will have a reasonable enough Internet connection that I might be able to catch this!