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Post by chrisfinch on Apr 19, 2005 8:11:45 GMT
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bs
Chief Marshall
Posts: 82
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Post by bs on May 7, 2005 17:11:03 GMT
i think its an ok programme but i dont think they should say they are testing out a new car then just thrash it round a track they should do proper tests on the cars and show the good and bad points about them.. and also try to appeal to the market thats not full of supercars maybe test out some mid range cars..
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Post by Revolution 9 on May 7, 2005 18:11:38 GMT
I see what you mean, but to be honest I think Top Gear is more about entertainment than about real journalism. Real journalism would involve reviewing cars properly rather than just going as fast as you can down an airfield in them then giving it to a professional racing driver to play with on a racetrack, and maybe reviewing cars that are relevant to ordinary, working class people who're never going to afford 99% of the cars on that programme, but that would be real journalism, whearas Top Gear is more about entertainment value, i.e. watching them doing ridiculous things with cars, driving cars that none of us will ever have the opportunity to own, watching The Stig pounding powerful cars around a test track, which isn't journalism really but it is entertainment,
Certainly I don't really value Clarkson's opinion as a journalist (nor does the magazine I think, because he doesn't seem to write a great deal for them, all the rear motoring journalism gets left to much less well known journos who don't appear on the telly), but he is good as an entertainer, even when he's saying something that some people don't agree with and probably doesn't know what he's on about, he's still a good entertainer, he's got a definate presence and a character all of his own, whearas I dare say if the programme was filled by talented writers who knew a great deal about cars but weren't doing exciting stuff and didn't have the same on screen presence, less people would watch it. The other presenters have that sort of presence as well, Hammond seems to get left to all the reports involving classic cars, seeing as he's a sort of retro enthusiast, he even has a very impressive Dodge Charger, and James May has that sort of upper-middle class stereotype-of-an-englishman thing going on a little with the accent and his sense of humour, which add to their presence on the stage, even if they're not neccesarily doing anything that's particularly relevant.
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Post by Curt on May 7, 2005 19:19:25 GMT
I couldn't agree with you more rev9. I personally find the new concept Top Gear have chosen over the past few years much more entertaining than their old style which was just driving cars around lanes and motorways commenting on different factors of the cars (i.e. interior, handling etc).
Whereas now they have certain sections of the show still with that style, but the majority is much fun to watch with them doing all sorts car related. The Toyota pickup they did for a series of weeks, putting it through as much pain as possible was a brilliant idea and very entertaining. Now they have guest interviews and track times, which are fun to watch also.
If I wanted to find out basic information about a car I was interested in buying I would go to a dealer instead.
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Post by Vivski on May 28, 2005 7:57:13 GMT
TopGear is the best show on TV. Well, we don't get it in Australia, but I download it. It's awesome!
Would be a terrible shame if it was dragged. Great show, so entertaining, great for caravan haters, great for the motorsport enthusiast and they actually do give you a lot of good information about the cars.
Look in the newspapers and they'll tell you how many cup holders the car has, how many kW the engine puts out, and they'll rave about the car if they're paid enough by the manufacturer. But TopGear give you the reviews from the driver's perspective. I don't care how many cup holders a car has! I want to know how it feels to drive it, what the gearbox is like, the throttle response, etc. And to get that info in an entertaining way is a bonus.
And for the record, The Stig is my favourite driver of all time.
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Post by Curt on May 28, 2005 8:05:31 GMT
Last Sunday was the start of the new series, and its just as brilliant. They were playing football with 10 Toyota Aygo's, while talking about how good its acceleration is whilst trying to score a goal . In the end the cars were a right state. They also tried to get the new Land Rover Sport away from a British Tank ;D.
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Post by mattwrc on May 28, 2005 8:20:32 GMT
the tank part was great found it very amusing when they were following each other around the tree
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