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Jeremy is fricken entertaining, smug as he may be. I love his car reviews, and while we know he favors certain manufacturers he still does good reviews on the ones we think he hates. Plus the guy is hysterical driving the cars, has virtually no cares in the world, not scared to drive really hard and do the occasionally dumb thing. The new McLaren at Spa was maybe one of my favorite tests.
Also there long episode trecks across a country or continent are usually excellent. Baghdad to Israel? That was entertaining.
I've never seen the British version of Top Gear, I'm not home to watch TV that much anyways, but it sounds like it's on one of those satellite TV channels, which I don't have or need. I only have expanded basic cable with maybe 50 channels.
I do watch the American version. However I don't think it's a substitute for the British version of the show, which is absolutely fantastic! The chemistry between the members of the cast is amazing, and has been stated Jeremy Clarkson is hilarious with his wit.
On the American side, I've watched every season. It's never peaked my interest like the UK version, mostly because the challenges are a bit boring (i.e. "We're gonna see how tough these cars are, by putting them in a drag race" ... again....and again....and again!). For a while, it almost appeared that EVERY episode was going to feature a drag race, and that's just boring as hell. I'd also like to see how well the host can handle things on their own, similar to the UK version where I can watch Jeremy do a test, or Richard, or James and the guys might show up in the same episode for one final challenge...sometimes not...I also think the Stig is sorely lacking.
The best episode I've seen in the serious was about a week ago involving a race to the grand canyon. While not AMAZING it was the most "uk-like" episode I've seen. They're still a bit Politically Correct for my taste compared to their UK counterparts...but it's still not a "bad" show, just not as great as the original.
And my BIGGEST complaint is hearing Tanner yell about "HOW AWESOME IT IS" everytime he drives a car in a race...I love his driving ability, but the "It's GOT SO MUCH POWER" just annoys me...and since he seems to do most of the one off tests, that seems to get annoying quite frequently...and he's not JC.
I don’t find the three guys on Top Gear USA very un-likeable. They seem like TCL flunkies who you’d find waxing ecstatic about Miatas, watches and craft beers.
IMO Roadkill on YouTube is what Top Gear USA should have been. It's a lot better show
Interesting you should say that because nobody in this forum regularly demonstrates such contempt for his fellow Americans as you do. So maybe they're onto something.
Seems you need a class on reading comprehension. I stated that "they" meaning the people creating American versions dumb things down. I am an American and would hope there are many that share my thoughts. There isn't much worth watching on TV as it is let alone them creating some stupid American version of a show that is good in Europe, Asia and elsewhere.
I don’t find the three guys on Top Gear USA very un-likeable. They seem like TCL flunkies who you’d find waxing ecstatic about Miatas, watches and craft beers.
Who are you on TCL?
Quote:
Originally Posted by h_curtis
See there are some that agree. A dumb down version of a good British show.
The British show is quite dumbed down, heavily scripted, and they ran out of good ideas a number of seasons ago and are now on the same old recycled crap they've been doing for years. TGUS is on the rise and getting better every season (and it's only on season three, season three of TGUK was in a similar position) and they are finding their own voices with the chemistry getting better and better.
I'm not sure if it can be considered a "Reality Show", but I get a kick out of watching those 3 guys do a lot of things I would not do to my truck or car..
I watched the one last night (Tuesday June 17th, 2014) which had 3 cars from the 1980s, and I was really surprised the 1987 Camaro IROC Z-28 Tanner Foust drove, with the 305 TPI engine, was only rated at 175 horsepower(???) I thought it was a little over 200.
There was one short bit when those guys were going through I believe Long Beach, CA, and one of them said "Watch out there's a cop".. LOL.... and Erik Estrada (from the show CHiPs) happened to be sitting on his motorcycle with a grin on his face! So they tend add a little bit of comedy in the show as well.
I'm a 3rd gen guy, and you're right the numbers seem off...
The 305 Tuned Port Injected (TPI) engine was rated around 225 horsepower (Net @ Engine) and the 350 TPI was rated about 240 horsepower. The same engine in the corvette was supposedly rated at 245-250 horsepower. The 350 was an "optional" engine for the Firebird Formula/Trans Am and Camaro IROC-Z, but was only available with hardtop cars and an automatic transmission (T-Top car's got the 305 and had the option for the 5-speed manual).
There were several other versions of the 305 available during different model years, which were typically available in everything from the base model car to the performance cars. These engines were typically rated at 170-205 horsepower depending on which model you had, but they included the very very common Throttle Body Injected (TBI) 305 or the more rare 4bbl carb 305.
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