Top Gear Is Back!!

LoadsaMoney said:
Thought it was a poor one at the beginning, but the caravan bit had me absolutely wetting myself, that was hilarious, he crashed into that post, reversed over someones awning, then they set the caravan a had, was brilliant when he was just throwing things that were on fire out of the windows, and one landed on that awning which went up to, i bet whoever owned that wasnt happy, and when they ran in the bushes when the police turned up. :D
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The awning thing and the van fire were obviously a setup, it was still funny but it felt very "staged" to me.

HEADRAT
 
Good episode, very little testing content, but still very entertaining. I liked the bit with Jeremy convincing viewers that ST220 wasn't common because they sold less of them than Aston Martins. Then you look at it and it's like - the shape, the look, extra skirt, pimpy alloys, but how many people out there can actually tell this is Some Special Mondeo? I don't think many people bought it because they thought "oh, that's a car that's not gonna look common on my office parking" I think most owners bought them because they are such ultimate sleepers. Real life british version of Luc Besson's Taxi, just without all the transformers stuff.

Btw, Top Gear uses Mondeos for years now for all the "on road/in move" shots. Instead of a platform on trailer them apparently shoot from the back of the hatchback Mondy as it can fit camera, camera man and a stand when its fully open IIRC...
 
v0n said:
Btw, Top Gear uses Mondeos for years now for all the "on road/in move" shots. Instead of a platform on trailer them apparently shoot from the back of the hatchback Mondy as it can fit camera, camera man and a stand when its fully open IIRC...
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I thought they used Discoveries for filming :confused:
 
Dutch Guy said:
I thought they used Discoveries for filming :confused:
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"This car (Ford Mondeo) holds a special place in my heart because when it was being designed Ford inadvertently created the best camera tracking car in the business.

You probably think, when you watch Top Gear, that all the moving pictures are taken from some elaborate pick-up truck with scaffolding and jib arms. But in fact we always use a Mondeo because it has a good, smooth ride and because its sloping tailgate, when raised, gives the cameraman a 180-degree field of fire."

Jeremy Clarkson, The Times (motoring section) November 07, 2004
 
I think on this particular episode, apart from the saloon shootout I felt it was rather poor.
Top gear treads a fine line in these all presenter sketches. Yes they are fake as hell and good fun but it can spoil it when they are made to be so preposterously unreal like this case, I just knew they would end up burning it.
I could believe them blowing up a carwash etc but I know one of the production team who said first hand that they staged the amphibious car stunt for Jeremy’s hilux to sink at the last minute.
I think they should just stick with different triple car shootouts like who can buy the cheapest Porsche/Super car and get somewhere, those I like!
 
I dont care if the hilux sinking was a fake, it was still funny and the thing was obviously dangerously unstable so it was only a matter of time.

The caravans just wasnt that funny though, fake or not. I think the accident James May had was genuine and he did look quite down. So they set fire to it to liven it all up and to justify writing it off, hooray :p

They did say in the episode they had considered junking at least one section of filiming because it was a bit crap so maybe they just decided to clump all these not so great parts together in the first episode back after the worldcup which a lot will miss anyway.
 
Even though parts of the Caravan expidition where staged I still enjoyed it, the police pulling over and the service station mishap seemed real enough..

I was woefully shocked at the Vectra's understeer, I know it was probably hammed up a bit to look as bad as possible, but it doesn't bode well, I actually thought VX may have made a genuine ST220 beater when I read EVO's shootout..
Roger nabs the keys first, and I jump into the VXR to see if it impresses on these much more challenging roads. I lead, and it quickly becomes clear that the Vectra has pace and composure to spare. The trick, constantly variable damping deals with the wicked dips and gnarled surface superbly, and front-end grip is huge - through very quick corners the STi looks like it's struggling to keep in touch. The VXR is by no means perfect, the steering is too light and you have to get past a dead patch either side of centre, but its sheer grip and strong body-control really buoy your confidence. And the way the rear of the VXR gently jinks out on turn-in to assist the front wheels is very impressive. It feels poised, with no torque-steer to speak of and supremely effective traction control. Poised? Vauxhall? Maybe I'm going mad...
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I know hammering a car around a track isn't everything, but it's a good indicator of overall performance...
 
Ahhh, there is the key. They had the traction control on, where as Top Gear had it off and full lock on. Still shouldn't be like that though. :(
 
Damn that Top Gear. I had just about managed to erase all thoughts of an ST220 outta my head. Then this thing appears and im straight off to auto trader.

Found a lovely one just 19 miles away :D
 
Wonder what the VXR estate is like, i have heard good things about regualr vectra estates as the chasis is supposedly much better
 
Ian said:
Damn that Top Gear. I had just about managed to erase all thoughts of an ST220 outta my head. Then this thing appears and im straight off to auto trader.
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lol, you and me both :)

I didn't think much of the caravan stunt. The fire bits were too staged and the AK47 was just over the top and pointless, kind of "ho ho, look at me, I've got an assault rifle to kill James May with, aren't I a rebellious soul at home with gun violence, death and destruction?!". The beginning was good, the crash did seem genuine, as did the police bit, but the preposterous finale undid the good work.

Likewise I got quickly fed up with the "muscle car" argument during the news. "Yes, it is!", "Oh, no it isn't", "Oh, yes it is!" and so on for what seemed like an hour. If I wanted to watch grown men squabbling like schoolkids over nothing, I can go down the boozer.

All in all, in relation to other episodes, I feel it missed the mark by a small way.

Still, hopefully it will be only one glitch in an otherwise outrageously funny series.
 
Ian said:
Damn that Top Gear. I had just about managed to erase all thoughts of an ST220 outta my head. Then this thing appears and im straight off to auto trader.

Found a lovely one just 19 miles away :D
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Im trying to find one to test drive before I commit to something else..
 
i await that test drive review with interest.




*secretly hopes its complete rubbish so i can get rid of the idea again :D
 
[TW]Fox said:
Im trying to find one to test drive before I commit to something else..
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They're *very* good and I think one would suit you down to the ground. It's not a sports car, it's too quiet and refined for my tastes but as an all rounder, now they've reached £8-£9k on the used market, they represent fantastic value for money.

I'm sure most Ford dealers will have a brand new one if you fancy a test drive ;).
 
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