Author Topic: Jeremy Clarkson-The Good The Bad The Ugly (Read 11189 times)

takeda · « **Reply #135 on:** January 08, 2007, 05:25:45 PM »

Sure seems someone tossed all sense of humour overboard from the Mayflower.

FastFwd · « **Reply #136 on:** January 08, 2007, 05:36:25 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by vorticon
it got beat by a very sleek car with half the weight (and half the horsepower)
that costs about 5 times more than its worth.

Yeah, but that was one of the big points Clarkson seemed to be making. The American cars all weigh so much. The lighter, sleeker car beat the Roush Mustang because it was on a track with turns, where good handling and the ability to change direction quickly are important. I guess it was designed like that because their roads have more curves and you gotta have a car that can take 'em.

It wasn't just the Roush Mustang/Lotus Exige contest where excess weight lost the contest. That Range Rover versus Humvee/Cadillac was another - the Cad weighed over 4 tons! And it lost. The Humvee did a little better, but why did it stall out at altitude?

Nilsen · « **Reply #137 on:** January 08, 2007, 05:44:38 PM »

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Originally posted by Viking
You woman.

yeah i know...

would never surrender my Prada handbags to spend money on a car

My 2004 eurobox is plenty to get me were i wanna go.

Mini D · « **Reply #138 on:** January 08, 2007, 05:45:11 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by FastFwd
I guess it was designed like that because their roads have more curves and you gotta have a car that can take 'em.

LOL! Yeah, that's what all cars look like in GB.

The truth is, someone tried to make a car as similar to an open wheel racer as was legally possible to emulate a race car as much as possible. This wasn't driven by road conditions, environment or any consumer research. The arial atom was not designed for roads.

wooley · « **Reply #139 on:** January 08, 2007, 05:59:58 PM »

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Originally posted by Choocha
I wish somebody would post Consumer Reports ratings for every euro car he featured. If I recall, it goes something like this:

Lotus= **** Quality
Jag= Worse than **** Quality
Land Rover= Super **** Quality
Benz= **** Quality
BMW= ok

Funny, he never mentioned how any of those cars can absorbe a molotov cocktail thrown by angry muslim youth roiting in the streets (very important feature in euro land).

Jaguar regularly comes out near the top of the JD Power ratings. Land Rover is vastly improved of late as well (admittedly both were previously awful). Even Benz has improved from its late 90's blip.

Lotus' are...well...er...made of plastic and stuck together with glue - what do you expect

Let's face it - this is Euro jingoism for a Euro market - in much the same way as we get US jingoism for the US market over here. Yanks have no right to be offended by Clarkson until Bill O'Reilly is removed from the airwaves.

wooley · « **Reply #140 on:** January 08, 2007, 06:13:26 PM »

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Originally posted by FastFwd
The point I'm trying to make is that "japanese imports" like the cars I mentioned are the biggest sellers in America. Lazs2 is claiming that he saw a lot of boring cars on his travels in Europe. But Clarkson said the same thing about America, when he looked at that 6-way interchange. Sure, America makes Dodge Viper and 200mph Corvettes. Lazs2 is trying to make these cars sound like the norm. The sales figures tell a different story. America buys millions of jap import cars, which are probably no different from those sold in Europe/Australia etc.

You're not far from the truth, but Euro brands outsell the Japs quite heavily - Renaults, Opel (or Vauxhall), Euro Ford and Fiat all of whom occasionally throw out a cracker, but who mostly build vehicles that are every bit as dull as their mainstream US counterparts.

Lazs experience with his lethargic Fiat is exactly the same as anyone renting in the US - Dodge Neon anyone?. Out of interest Lazs, did you get a stick or auto?

Bronk · « **Reply #141 on:** January 08, 2007, 06:15:01 PM »

http://www.hennesseyperformance.com/hennesseyperformance/ItemDetail.php?Item_ID=238&cart=xzwbrqBI&DoThis=Dodge+Viper&ActionReq=Where

http://www.motortrend.com/av/features/112_0606_sf_standing_mile_viper

Don't know why they make POS like this.

Bronk

Mark Luper · « **Reply #142 on:** January 08, 2007, 06:25:29 PM »

You know, I bought me a 06 Mustang with a 5 spd manual transmission and the 4.0 V-6. I also got the Pony Package. I bought it to save some bucks not only in the purchase price but also a lower insurance rate vrs the GT.

I love fast cars but I quickly found that this one, with only a V-6 got me a ticket just as fast as the GT would have.

I use it to commute and it is also my only 4 wheeled vehicle. I have hauled rock in it, and actually got some 8' boards in it. I find it comfortable, I like the handling, and I find it to be plenty powerfull for my needs. It accelerates plenty well to merge with freeway traffic and will hum along at 80 mph all day long sipping gas at 26+ mpg.

Would I like a faster car? Sure, but only when I can afford the anciliary expenses associated with one.

1000 hp cars seem like such a waste unless you are going to put it on the track.

Mark

Neubob · « **Reply #143 on:** January 08, 2007, 06:44:26 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by takeda
Sure seems someone tossed all sense of humour overboard from the Mayflower.

Somehow, I doubt that the British would be dying of laughter if one of our loud-mouthed satirists referred to their nation as a 'garden party of rich apes', and complained about how much it sucks to be there, all the while showcasing a montage of their broken yellow teeth, vomit-inducing cuisine and testicle-curdling females.

80 minutes of insults can be funny... Just not if you're the target.

eskimo2 · « **Reply #144 on:** January 08, 2007, 07:11:25 PM »

Clarkson is an entertainer, an actor and a showman. I don’t care that his shows are rigged and his stuff might be scripted and heavily edited; he’s funny and enthusiastic.

Wolf14 · « **Reply #145 on:** January 08, 2007, 07:49:35 PM »

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Originally posted by Neubob
The fact that the H1 is out of production should be immaterial. It was discontinued years ago, and has not benefitted from the subsequent technological improvements that the Land Rover lived to see.

Looks like you can still get an H1 Alpha built to your specs with a whole bunch of goodies still. I kinda like the 6.6L turbocharged Duramax.

http://www.hummer.com

takeda · « **Reply #146 on:** January 09, 2007, 01:20:17 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Neubob
Somehow, I doubt that the British would be dying of laughter if one of our loud-mouthed satirists referred to their nation as a 'garden party of rich apes', and complained about how much it sucks to be there, all the while showcasing a montage of their broken yellow teeth, vomit-inducing cuisine and testicle-curdling females.

80 minutes of insults can be funny... Just not if you're the target.

Two words: Little Britain

Excel1 · « **Reply #147 on:** January 09, 2007, 02:27:32 AM »

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Originally posted by takeda
Two words: Little Britain

LB is hilarious, but I think that Americans who get offended by Jeremy Clarkson just don't get Brit humour and don't understand that the biggest piss-takers of the Brits are the Brits themselves.

imo tronski and eskimo2 nailed it, Clarkson is brilliant

-tronski- · « **Reply #148 on:** January 09, 2007, 03:54:43 AM »

The man is such a great taker of the piss he could almost be australian, or a kiwi!

Finally got to watch the rest of it today, and thought it was a great show. The stunts/match-ups in top gear are often geared to the ridicolous ie. Clarkson racing James and Hammond to Norway - them via the water, him in a McLaren SLR, but I thought the match ups in here were interesting. ie. The Lotus and Mustang were the same price, and it was mostly power vs. handling with the others. (And yet another exscuse to drive the Atom)

I'd say he was pretty fair with his reviews - and he did obviously love a number of the cars he drove..and it was fantastic to see the Stig (Some say that he's terrified of ducks and that there's an airport in Russia named after him, all we know is he's called the Stig).

All you have to do is watch any episode with the cool wall with the Hamster and Clarkson to see Clarkson rag on european cars, and I saw an episode where he picked the Chrysler Crossfire over an Audi TT, and Nissan 350z after a match up...and as for roaming the streets of Vegas, obviously no-one has seen Jaywalking on the tonight show...

I think takeda has got it right

Tronsky

FastFwd · « **Reply #149 on:** January 09, 2007, 06:39:35 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Mini D
LOL! Yeah, that's what all cars look like in GB.

The truth is, someone tried to make a car as similar to an open wheel racer as was legally possible to emulate a race car as much as possible. This wasn't driven by road conditions, environment or any consumer research. The arial atom was not designed for roads.

No, the car that beat the Roush Mustang was the Lotus Exige, not the Atom. And Bronk has a point, further up. ^ I have been a passenger in a similar Lotus, and it was noisy and harsh. There was no padding on the seats, that were like boards. 20 miles was plenty.

But remember, in the Brit (ie Clarkson) view, the Roush was not designed for roads - not with that fuel consumption. Would only be a niche market (if any) in Europe. Still, don't some of their Astons get 10mpg?