Watching back episodes on Streetfire, so I'm not caught up to everyone else yet. Just watched the trucker episode. Even though they totally copied what the British show did, I found the US version much funnier.
"America!"
"You hit a car!"
"It was a New Yorker, not really a car."
Chris_V wrote: Rutledge is now a regular on another car forum I'm on and he's a stand up car guy, very much like a lot of the guys I know in real life. And he's having a blast doing the show, which you can tell on screen.
He needs to be HERE.
Chris_V wrote: yeah, the UK stuff is just as staged and fake. TG is for entertainment purposes only. I *like* TG UK and TG US. But I take it for what it is: the opposite of Motorweek. And it's good to finally have a fun car show on US TV that isn't something bad like the last version of Knight Rider... Rutledge is now a regular on another car forum I'm on and he's a stand up car guy, very much like a lot of the guys I know in real life. And he's having a blast doing the show, which you can tell on screen.
Is it just me, or have you been gone from here for ages???
I agree, he'd be right at home on this forum. I wonder what's keeping him from joining.
I'll never get tired of watching the Cadillac jump from one of the earlier TG US episodes.
Puh-lease, TGUK destroys plenty of cars just for the hell of it. And it's usually good entertainment. I particularly remember cackling very loudly when they "road tested" the 3-wheeled Reliant Robin. Seriously, I could watch those things fall over all day long.
Margie
I'm a southern California Corvair guy, and I thought it was pretty good. Don't be too fooled about destroying a classic. There is a good chance the Corvair was pretty crappy. You can tell in the closeup of the engine emblem that it has a cheap respray on it (lots of orange peal). There is a fair chance it was a bondo queen. It also was not in very good mechanical shape because it should have been about as fast (or faster) then the pinto when they took off for the road race (it barely moved).
The car they wrecked in the demo was not the same car. The first car is a 63 and the demo car was a 62 or 61. You can tell by the front emblems, which are different (split on the first one, one bar on the second).
Almost all the stuff in the show is pretty contrived, but that is the same as the UK show. There was no one in the Susuki when it flipped, and Corvairs are not THAT easy to spin, especially at lower speeds.
The interplay between the hosts is pretty honest, as it is in the UK show. I found the egg throwing slalom pretty funny because it seemed to have the most honest dialog.
Maroon92 wrote: I'm not sure my DVR picked it up. I'll have to torrent it. I forgot to watch for the first time since the show started. I still like it.
No need! History.com has the latest episode for free streaming for a week, every week. I watched last night's new episode this morning.
Ian F wrote: A few of my MINI friends went ape when they destroyed a very nice classic Mini in India during the current season (not shown on BBCA yet). Hammond's purchase and restoration of "Oliver" is cute, but even that was somewhat staged. You know there is no way it was a surprise to him when they brought it over.
Huh? First, the "classic" MINI, was an 90's one, not a real old-school one. Those cars are dirt cheap in the UK.
Second, Hammond is the one who paid to have Oliver brought over. He was not "surprised" by it. In fact, he tried to keep a secret so he wouldn't get made fun of.
aircooled wrote: The car they wrecked in the demo was not the same car. The first car is a 63 and the demo car was a 62 or 61. You can tell by the front emblems, which are different (split on the first one, one bar on the second).
Thank you! (How did NOBODY notice that all three cars were clearly alive behind the hosts during the show as well??!?!?). Just like the "4x4" Miata, Maverick, etc. every car had a stunt double. The Pinto in the demo derby was an earlier car (small bumper) as well. Honestly, it looks like three Samurai's were used as well.
Noticed, but didn't feel the need to comment as that can easily be done with the sequence in which the scenes were shot. If I noticed correctly in the early interior shots, I think the 'Vair was an automatic, which would make it slower than refrigerated molasses. Back in the day, my '63 had the one-year-only 3.07 final drive w/4-speed, and it was slow, but the powerglides were REALLY slow.
I'll just drop this here...
N Sperlo wrote: I'll just drop this here...
HEY, they proved that it still runs.
Side note, streetfire has episode "segments" but auto plays the following segments of an episode
Marjorie Suddard wrote: ..... I particularly remember cackling very loudly when they "road tested" the 3-wheeled Reliant Robin. Seriously, I could watch those things fall over all day long. Margie
The Reliant Robin reminded me of Artie Johnson on the tricycle from Laugh In.
Just sayin'.
In reply to N Sperlo:
Why not, it's been dropped everywhere else
The key thing I took away from that episode was the very quick glimpse of a red RX-7 in the junkyard.
I could tell it was an S4 because of the black body molding. However, it looked to have S5 mirrors on it... which means it could have been an 89 GTU, a Turbo car or somebody could have just put the aero mirrors on it. Unfortunately, the hood was up and I couldn't see if it had a scoop or not.
I was cursing the fact I record it on "normal" quality instead of HD when my wife threw a pillow at me and said I was the only human being she knows who could have identified an RX-7 from .5 seconds of screen time.
I am finally watching the Truckers episode and damn near crying from laughing.
Not fer nuthin', but the UK show just dropped a perfectly good E30 and Saab 900 from a crane this week.
Wanton destruction of cars is part of the Top Gear formula,in all it's forms.
Also did you see the interior of that Pinto! 
i am super excited for next weeks episode with the off roading minivans
failboat wrote: i am super excited for next weeks episode with the off roading minivans
That sounds exciting although I find it humerus how everything its scripted, likely even down to the cars they choose. I'm sure they've got it all planned out. Entertaining none the less.
It appears Tanner has an Errorstar.
I guessed weeks ago that Adam would bring one of those, or something equally obscure that you never see anymore.
According to our local newspaper, a local 4WD tour company shop was given 12 hours to make mods to all three vehicles - not much time, especially for vehicles not really supported by an off road aftermarket. I'll be very interested to see how this one turns out. I've heard they drove Ophir Pass, which is a piece of cake, but I've also heard they went at least part way up the Ouray side of Engineer Pass, which can be pretty rough. As Kimi would say, wewillsee...
gamby wrote:Chris_V wrote: yeah, the UK stuff is just as staged and fake. TG is for entertainment purposes only. I *like* TG UK and TG US. But I take it for what it is: the opposite of Motorweek. And it's good to finally have a fun car show on US TV that isn't something bad like the last version of Knight Rider... Rutledge is now a regular on another car forum I'm on and he's a stand up car guy, very much like a lot of the guys I know in real life. And he's having a blast doing the show, which you can tell on screen.Is it just me, or have you been gone from here for ages??? I agree, he'd be right at home on this forum. I wonder what's keeping him from joining.
yeah, I've heen gone from here for a while. Life and moderating another forum got in the way of getting back here. And I'd suspect Rutledge has his hands full with time constraints. I'd love to see him over here as he'd fit right in with his car projects.
failboat wrote: It appears Tanner has an Errorstar. I guessed weeks ago that Adam would bring one of those, or something equally obscure that you never see anymore.
Bet you one of them brings an AWD Caravan or a 4wd Astro and gets accused of cheating.
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