Top Gear USA, episode 4

It just started, and there's probably going to be a thread about it, so I'll go ahead and offer an opinon:

• They're not afraid to make fun of SOME cars (e.g. the like about the RAPTOR truck running over Kia Rios) Of course, Kia is not an advertiser.
• The line about "giving crack to a rhino" reminded me of TG UK....the pseudo-sincere delivery was very similar to Clarkson saying an engine sounds "like the god of thunder, gargling nails" or that a car is "fueled by minced lions"
• I like the fact that they're mixing in some camera footage from under the truck showing the body/suspension

Yeah, it's pretty good. They dissed the SL, and that Raptor on the track is cool.

they seem to keep improving. I like Kid Rock...interesting fellow.

The Raptor is the truck that I will by when I make it big. (I hope depreciation is on my side.)

I loved the Raptor, and seeing on the track was awesome. I liked the Kid Rock segment, I was honestly surprised by his passion.... though not his intelligence (dude is GIFTED). I thought the segment with the replacement war cars was kinda lame... but other than that... I'll watch ep 5 now.

i was just impressed that Adam said that he kind of liked the Mercedes AMG.. of course, i don't think i saw a single Mercedes ad this week. there were, however, a lot of Ford commercials and both Tanner and Ruttledge absolutely loved the Raptor..

Kid Rock = Big Star?

Please, please, please stop Adam's "this is not a show where..." in the beginning.

We KNOW who the Stig is.

On TG UK you never see a clip where James May is drifting a car around the corners. It is established that (his character) cannot drive quickly. Adam could not drive a manual trans in the last episode. I KNOW he wasn't driving the Merc.

I watch last night because nothing else was on. I'm not even sure I can do that anymore.

I can't believe I forgot all about it. Do they do repeats on a certain day or can I watch it online somwhere?

I'm glad my subconscious kicked in and allowed me to totally miss it again. Shucky darn it all to heck.

Eagles were playing the Cowboys... and the g/f had White Christmas on the other tv... so we both totally forgot about Top Gear... whatever... it'll repeat...

Gimp wrote: Kid Rock = Big Star? Please, please, please stop Adam's "this is not a show where..." in the beginning. We KNOW who the Stig is. On TG UK you never see a clip where James May is drifting a car around the corners. It is established that (his character) cannot drive quickly. Adam could not drive a manual trans in the last episode. I KNOW he wasn't driving the Merc. I watch last night because nothing else was on. I'm not even sure I can do that anymore.

Kid Rock is a pretty damn big star if you ask me. 1998's Devil Without a Cause sold 11 million units...

The Mercedes was not a manual transmission car. It is conceivable that Adam could have been driving.

Platinum90 wrote:

Gimp wrote: Kid Rock = Big Star? Please, please, please stop Adam's "this is not a show where..." in the beginning. We KNOW who the Stig is. On TG UK you never see a clip where James May is drifting a car around the corners. It is established that (his character) cannot drive quickly. Adam could not drive a manual trans in the last episode. I KNOW he wasn't driving the Merc. I watch last night because nothing else was on. I'm not even sure I can do that anymore.

Kid Rock is a pretty damn big star if you ask me. 1998's Devil Without a Cause sold 11 million units... The Mercedes was not a manual transmission car. It is conceivable that Adam could have been driving.

Richard Paul "Rick" Astley (pronounced /ˈrɪk ˈæstli/; born 6 February 1966) is a BRIT Award-winning English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries.[1] Astley holds the record for being the only male solo artist to have his first 8 singles reach the Top 10 in the UK[2] and by retirement in 1993 had sold approximately 40 million records worldwide.[3][4][5]

1998 was a while ago... "What has he done for me lately?"

nicksta43 wrote: I can't believe I forgot all about it. Do they do repeats on a certain day or can I watch it online somwhere?

The History channel has been repeating episodes several times during the week, plus you should be able to watch it online at their website. "Check your local listings."

I would have preferred to see a stock Raptor, but it's still a way cool truck.

Again, Rutledge needs better writers...

1969 was awhile ago and nobody complained about Buzz Aldrin, though I'm sure far more people know who Kid Rock is than Buzz.

I can't believe "GRM'ers" are dissing this show and treating it like late-night MotorWeek. Had you never seen TGUK you'd be falling all over yourselves about how awesome it is. It beats the heck out of everything else on on a Sunday evening (PST out here so football's over before it starts). Where else am I going to see a Gullwing SL with the new SLS, a Raptor desert-racing a HALO jumper, and a Del Sol have a paint ball fight with an El Camino this week?

Get over yourselves. This show is easily 10x better in it's 4th episode than TGUK was, is easily 5x better than even current 5th Gear's, and is 1,000,000x better than anything else on US television. The hosts are growing into roles, the segments are genuinely getting funny, and the cars are being talked about in interesting ways.

I liked that they weren't afraid to pan the SLS. Considering M-B sponsors the show, it was a scathing review. I still don't enjoy Adam's dialogue; there's too much Jersey in his voice for me.

The Raptor thing was good, and Kid Rock was entertaining and rather fast around the track.

The replacement army vehicle bit kinda sucked, though. I'm sure they had fun, but it seemed like the segment was only half planned.

Javelin wrote: Get over yourselves.

Did you notice the posts in this thread have been generally positive?

Good show last night Liked Kid Rock

Raptor looks really good. AMG is off the chain. I will take it.

HALO jumper was awesome

Paintball was fun

Good stuff. I actually thought Tanner was funny at points.

I enjoyed. It is good mindless entertainment and I would say it was the best thing that I watched all night. My judgement is that the hour seemed to go fast. To me that means it was worth it.

I think whoever got Kid Rock booked was a right in the sweet-spot with the target demoraphic. Did you notice that they allowed Kid Rock to call the Suzuki a POS even though Suzuki likely gives the car for free in exchange for "promotional exposure." Heck, Suzuki likey pays to be there.

Yes, the paintball thing was filler. It seemed like an attempted episode that likey resulted in some interuption (like a 3rd car breaking down - note there were only two) so it was highly edited and harvested for some redeeming qualities.

Gimp wrote:

Platinum90 wrote:

Gimp wrote: Kid Rock = Big Star? Please, please, please stop Adam's "this is not a show where..." in the beginning. We KNOW who the Stig is. On TG UK you never see a clip where James May is drifting a car around the corners. It is established that (his character) cannot drive quickly. Adam could not drive a manual trans in the last episode. I KNOW he wasn't driving the Merc. I watch last night because nothing else was on. I'm not even sure I can do that anymore.

Kid Rock is a pretty damn big star if you ask me. 1998's Devil Without a Cause sold 11 million units... The Mercedes was not a manual transmission car. It is conceivable that Adam could have been driving.

Richard Paul "Rick" Astley (pronounced /ˈrɪk ˈæstli/; born 6 February 1966) is a BRIT Award-winning English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries.[1] Astley holds the record for being the only male solo artist to have his first 8 singles reach the Top 10 in the UK[2] and by retirement in 1993 had sold approximately 40 million records worldwide.[3][4][5]

1998 was a while ago... "What has he done for me lately?"

I'm not trying to argue, but he recently released his 8th album "Born Free". No I did not buy it, no I am not a superfan, but he definitely deserves the same opportunity to be on Top Gear as a Hobbit and a retired Astronaut.

And in deference to your argument, I would not be opposed at all to Rick Astley being the "Big Star in a Small Car" for episode 5...

Do you think he'd make it all the way around? Or would he roll it?

mndsm wrote: Do you think he'd make it all the way around? Or would he roll it?

I lol'd

mndsm wrote: Do you think he'd make it all the way around? Or would he roll it?

+1 internets

Gimp wrote: Kid Rock = Big Star? Please, please, please stop Adam's "this is not a show where..." in the beginning. We KNOW who the Stig is. On TG UK you never see a clip where James May is drifting a car around the corners. It is established that (his character) cannot drive quickly. Adam could not drive a manual trans in the last episode. I KNOW he wasn't driving the Merc. I watch last night because nothing else was on. I'm not even sure I can do that anymore.

This is NOT TG UK this is TG US a DIFFERENT SHOW!