Here it is, the final episode of Season 12 of Top Gear, the Vietnam Special. You've read the preview and now it's time to watch the episode. It airs on the BBC at 8pm GMT or 3pm EST. Expect the episode to be posted here this evening as soon as a good streaming copy is available.
Top Gear Vietnam Special - Part 1
Part 2
Top Gear Vietnam Special - Part 2
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Clarkson Responds to Tesla
Last week I posted an article about Tesla's concern with Top Gear's representation of their roadster losing power, being pushed into the garage, and having its brakes fail. (Article here)
... Clarkson denied the programme ever showed the car had stopped running.
It turns out the car was pushed into the garage because those are the regulations at the track that cars are not allowed to be driven into the buildings.
Here are some of Jeremy Clarkson's quotes:
... Clarkson denied the programme ever showed the car had stopped running.
"We never said once that the car had run out of power. The car had to be pushed into the warehouse because you are not allowed to drive cars into a building.
"We calculated that it would have run out of power after 53 miles but they can't argue with that because that is a fact."
And speaking about the allegations of misrepresenting the brake failure, the outspoken presenter: "Nobody gives a flying fuck how the brakes failed. Whether it was a blown fuse or not, they were still not working."
A spokesman for the BBC admitted that the car had not run out of power, but said: "Top Gear stands by the findings in this film and is content that it offers a fair representation of the Tesla's performance on the day it was tested."
A spokesman for Mr Clarkson said he did not want to comment further.
Full article here.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 9 ?? (S12E09)
So Top Gear Season 12 Episode 8 (Vietnam Special) is coming up this Sunday on the 28th but so far there is no word on if this will be the last episode of the season.
Previous seasons have had anywhere from 6 to 10 episodes.
Do you know if there will be an Episode 9 of Season 12 or even an Episode 10?
In the mean time, catch up on the old episodes from Season 12 before Sunday's new episode.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Complete Season 12 of Top Gear Links
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Ep 1 (S12E1)
With episode 8 still a week off, here is the first episode of the season for you to watch. With this episode now posted, the full Season 12 of Top Gear is now on the site.
Top Gear Lorry truck challenge season 12 - full ep
Jeremy heads to the test track with the new Porsche 911 GT2 and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4.
In another “how hard could it be?” adventure, the boys are given £5000 to go out and buy a cheap lorry (semi-truck) to be used in a series of challenges.
Star in a reasonably priced car: broadcaster and journalist Michael Parkinson
Top Gear Lorry truck challenge season 12 - full ep
Jeremy heads to the test track with the new Porsche 911 GT2 and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4.
In another “how hard could it be?” adventure, the boys are given £5000 to go out and buy a cheap lorry (semi-truck) to be used in a series of challenges.
Star in a reasonably priced car: broadcaster and journalist Michael Parkinson
Friday, December 19, 2008
Who would you have as hosts?
With Top Gear America moving to cable hopefully, there is a possiblity that the hosts may change from those originally anounced. Who would you like to see host Top Gear America?
Currently the announced hosts are:
Adam Carolla
Tanner Foust
Eric Stromer
Leave your thoughts in the comments.
I think Jay Leno would be a good lead host in the style of Jeremy Clarkson.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tesla Cries Foul On Top Gear's Test
All may not be as it appears with Jeremy Clarkson's test of the Tesla Roadster for Top Gear.
As we saw in Episode 7, Clarkson raved about the EV's sublime acceleration, but ultimately decided the Roadster doesn't live up to the hype because the two cars Tesla sent over for the test ran out of juice after 55 miles, needed 16 hours to recharge and broke down.
Or did they?
Tesla spokesman Rachel Konrad dropped us a line to clarify a few points in Top Gear's test.
First and foremost, she says, the lithium-ion batteries in the two cars never went dead. In fact, they never fell below 20 percent charge. "They never had to push a car off the track because of lack of charge or a fault," and it isn't clear why the segment included footage showing exactly that, she said.
She's also puzzled by Clarkson's claim that the car needed 16 hours to charge. She says "the vast majority" of people who have a Tesla in their garage -- and there are now more than 100 of them -- "have much faster systems that recharge from dead to full in as little as 3.5 hours."
As for the breakdowns, well, Clarkson engaged in a bit of hyperbole. At one point in
the segment, Clarkson is shownn behind the wheel of a Roadster that comes to a halt because, he said, the engine overheated. That followed a brake failure in the other Roadster.
Konrad says the brake failure was nothing more than a blown fuse that was promptly replaced. "The Roadster was back up and running literally within minutes," she says. "They were never without a car, and the Top Gear testing did not put the Roadster's reliability or safety in question whatsoever."
Konrad didn't know the story behind the overheated engine -- Clarkson did flog the car mercilessly -- so she referred our question to UK sales manager Don Cochrane because he was present for much of the Top Gear filming. We'll let you know what he says.
Despite his technical complaints, Clarkson was impressed enough by the Roadster to declare himself a "volt head" and say "it is snowing in hell" because he had such fun driving it. "This is amazingly high praise from Clarkson, whose entire schtick is to savage even his most beloved petrol-guzzling sports cars," Konrad says
From Wired.com
As we saw in Episode 7, Clarkson raved about the EV's sublime acceleration, but ultimately decided the Roadster doesn't live up to the hype because the two cars Tesla sent over for the test ran out of juice after 55 miles, needed 16 hours to recharge and broke down.
Or did they?
Tesla spokesman Rachel Konrad dropped us a line to clarify a few points in Top Gear's test.
First and foremost, she says, the lithium-ion batteries in the two cars never went dead. In fact, they never fell below 20 percent charge. "They never had to push a car off the track because of lack of charge or a fault," and it isn't clear why the segment included footage showing exactly that, she said.
She's also puzzled by Clarkson's claim that the car needed 16 hours to charge. She says "the vast majority" of people who have a Tesla in their garage -- and there are now more than 100 of them -- "have much faster systems that recharge from dead to full in as little as 3.5 hours."
As for the breakdowns, well, Clarkson engaged in a bit of hyperbole. At one point in
the segment, Clarkson is shownn behind the wheel of a Roadster that comes to a halt because, he said, the engine overheated. That followed a brake failure in the other Roadster.
Konrad says the brake failure was nothing more than a blown fuse that was promptly replaced. "The Roadster was back up and running literally within minutes," she says. "They were never without a car, and the Top Gear testing did not put the Roadster's reliability or safety in question whatsoever."
Konrad didn't know the story behind the overheated engine -- Clarkson did flog the car mercilessly -- so she referred our question to UK sales manager Don Cochrane because he was present for much of the Top Gear filming. We'll let you know what he says.
Despite his technical complaints, Clarkson was impressed enough by the Roadster to declare himself a "volt head" and say "it is snowing in hell" because he had such fun driving it. "This is amazingly high praise from Clarkson, whose entire schtick is to savage even his most beloved petrol-guzzling sports cars," Konrad says
From Wired.com
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 8 (S12E08 S12E8) - Preview
Here is the preview for Top Gear Season 12 Episode 8 (S12E08 S12E8).
FULL EPISODE HERE Now Streaming for Free
Full-Metal Top Gear
Top Gear is taking a break next Sunday to make way for some traditional festive billiards, but don't worry: we're back at 8pm on Sunday the 28th and we've got something special in store.
We'll be treading in the footsteps of Coppola, Stone and Kubrick as we journey into the heart of darkness with our very own Vietnam-based movie.
In one of our craziest challenges yet, the presenters will be trying to travel the length of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in just eight days. As you'd expect, our movie involves rather less theologising about man's inhumanity to man and the futility of war, and quite a lot more mucking about with old motorbikes. Also, we're reliably informed that it almost definitely does not feature an overweight Marlon Brando in a poorly-lit cave.
So, make sure you've armed yourself with what's left of the mince pies and Christmas chocs, settle-in and enjoy - it's going to be a belter.
This episode airs Sunday December 28th and will be posted on the site later that night.
For now, watch some episodes from Season 12.
FULL EPISODE HERE Now Streaming for Free
Full-Metal Top Gear
Top Gear is taking a break next Sunday to make way for some traditional festive billiards, but don't worry: we're back at 8pm on Sunday the 28th and we've got something special in store.
We'll be treading in the footsteps of Coppola, Stone and Kubrick as we journey into the heart of darkness with our very own Vietnam-based movie.
In one of our craziest challenges yet, the presenters will be trying to travel the length of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in just eight days. As you'd expect, our movie involves rather less theologising about man's inhumanity to man and the futility of war, and quite a lot more mucking about with old motorbikes. Also, we're reliably informed that it almost definitely does not feature an overweight Marlon Brando in a poorly-lit cave.
So, make sure you've armed yourself with what's left of the mince pies and Christmas chocs, settle-in and enjoy - it's going to be a belter.
This episode airs Sunday December 28th and will be posted on the site later that night.
For now, watch some episodes from Season 12.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 7 (S12E7 S12E07)
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 7 Touring Car Tribute
Part 1 of 2
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 7 Part 1 of 2
Check the main page for the next parts.
Part 1 of 2
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 7 Part 1 of 2
Check the main page for the next parts.
Streetfire will not have an embeddable link until tomorrow likely.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
NBC Cuts Top Gear USA Due To Knight Rider Failure
NBC Cuts Top Gear USA Due To Knight Rider Failure
Taken from Jalopnik.com
Due to the failure of Knight Rider and expected production costs, NBC has decided to pass on Top Gear USA. The BBC's shopping the US rendition of the hit show to interested cable outlets.
Although the Top Gear website's claiming they took a pass on the Peacock, our sources at both NBC and the BBC tell us the brightly-colored feathered network passed on an opportunity to tie up the show after the failure of the new Knight Rider series and expected high production costs associated with the show.
So, rather than tie up the franchise with a deal or an extension, they've cut Top Gear USA free to search for a new home. Top Gear's website claims interested parties are available on cable and to expect a deal shortly. We remain hopeful they'll be able to find a backer with enough money on hand to really do the show right.
Due to the failure of Knight Rider and expected production costs, NBC has decided to pass on Top Gear USA. The BBC's shopping the US rendition of the hit show to interested cable outlets.
Although the Top Gear website's claiming they took a pass on the Peacock, our sources at both NBC and the BBC tell us the brightly-colored feathered network passed on an opportunity to tie up the show after the failure of the new Knight Rider series and expected high production costs associated with the show.
So, rather than tie up the franchise with a deal or an extension, they've cut Top Gear USA free to search for a new home. Top Gear's website claims interested parties are available on cable and to expect a deal shortly. We remain hopeful they'll be able to find a backer with enough money on hand to really do the show right.
What a shame. Hopefully we'll still be able to see the show early in the new year.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 7 - Tesla Roadster Tested
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 7 (S12E7 , S12E07) - Touring Car Tribute Preview Airing December 14th, 2008
Wow, a Tesla Roadster Test
On this week's festive edition of Top Gear, Richard Hammond straps himself in for an affectionate look back at fifty years of Touring Car racing. For half a century, this excellent racing formula has brought us some of the coolest cars, closest racing and biggest crashes of all time. Hammond will be getting behind the wheel of some of the most iconic cars from throughout Touring Car history, including the Sierra RS500 and Jaguar Mk II.
Also, James will be jetting off to California to check out the hydrogen-powered Honda Clarity, which is being hailed by some as the bright new future of motoring. But will Mr May be convinced?
Meanwhile, Jeremy will be conducting a curiously quiet power test of the new and much-hyped all-electric supercar, the Tesla.
Back in the studio, Jeremy will be joined by Welsh singing legend Tom Jones and the presenters will be gathering around the Christmas tree for some Yuletide fun and games
Watch it here now.
Wow, a Tesla Roadster Test
On this week's festive edition of Top Gear, Richard Hammond straps himself in for an affectionate look back at fifty years of Touring Car racing. For half a century, this excellent racing formula has brought us some of the coolest cars, closest racing and biggest crashes of all time. Hammond will be getting behind the wheel of some of the most iconic cars from throughout Touring Car history, including the Sierra RS500 and Jaguar Mk II.
Also, James will be jetting off to California to check out the hydrogen-powered Honda Clarity, which is being hailed by some as the bright new future of motoring. But will Mr May be convinced?
Meanwhile, Jeremy will be conducting a curiously quiet power test of the new and much-hyped all-electric supercar, the Tesla.
Back in the studio, Jeremy will be joined by Welsh singing legend Tom Jones and the presenters will be gathering around the Christmas tree for some Yuletide fun and games
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 2 - American Muscle
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 2 (S12E2 , S12E02) American Muscle Full Video. Description below the full video.
Top Gear American Muscle Car Holiday Trip Episode
Jeremy reviews the Abarth Fiat 500 with a 1.4L Turbo.
Part one of American Holiday Trip to Salt Lake Flats in Utah and they enter the SpeedWeek Drag Races, they arrive in SanFransico and pick up three american muscle cars: Jeremy drives a Corvette ZR-1, James drives a Cadillac STS V Series, and Richard drives a Dodge Challenger SRT8 (which he had to purchase since Dodge decided they werent going to provide a vehicle for the film).
Star in a reasonably priced car is Will Young.
Part two of the American Muscle Car Holiday Trip
The three presenters go from Reno,NV. to the salt flats in Utah along the I-50(Longest road in the middle of nowhere, where Vanishing Point was filmed)
And then they enter there vehicles in a standing mile run on the salt flats to see who can hit there target times based for each vehicle
Top Gear American Muscle Car Holiday Trip Episode
Jeremy reviews the Abarth Fiat 500 with a 1.4L Turbo.
Part one of American Holiday Trip to Salt Lake Flats in Utah and they enter the SpeedWeek Drag Races, they arrive in SanFransico and pick up three american muscle cars: Jeremy drives a Corvette ZR-1, James drives a Cadillac STS V Series, and Richard drives a Dodge Challenger SRT8 (which he had to purchase since Dodge decided they werent going to provide a vehicle for the film).
Star in a reasonably priced car is Will Young.
Part two of the American Muscle Car Holiday Trip
The three presenters go from Reno,NV. to the salt flats in Utah along the I-50(Longest road in the middle of nowhere, where Vanishing Point was filmed)
And then they enter there vehicles in a standing mile run on the salt flats to see who can hit there target times based for each vehicle
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Be A Top Gear USA Intern
Top Gear US is getting their website up and running at topgear.com/us and are looking for interns in the NY area to help out. Here are the descriptions and how to apply:
Do you:
-Live in or around New York City?
-Attend a college or university that will give you course credit for an internship?
-Have opposable thumbs?
-Love cars more than you heart your little Sister?
-Install a fiber optic backbone to more quickly torrent new "Top Gear" episodes?
-Fantasize about slaving over TopGear.com minutiae for free while drinking bad coffee?
If you answer yes to most of these questions, you might be the right guy/girl for us. You'd start in January.
Musts:
-Feel confident whipping through the creation and processing of documents and spreadsheets.
-Be able to distinguish a Caterham from a Catera.
-Love fluorescent-lit cube farms.
-Really, really want to be here.
Big Pluses:
-Web publishing experience
-Photoshop, Flash, and video-editing skills
-Be able to distinguish a Lancia Fulvia from a Lancia Flavia.
Deal breakers:
-You'd rather watch that other show with Gear in the title
-You'd rather traipse around a mall than a junkyard
-You don't have an opinion about the worst car ever made
Drop us a note at topgear@bbc.com with "Internship" in the subject line, attach a resume, and let us know where you are, what you're doing and why we'll love you.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Top Gear USA will be airing
The latest news on Top Gear USA can always be found here.
On last week's The Adam Carolla show a caller asked Adam if there was any recent news. Adam, the lead host, said that he still hasn't heard anything from NBC about an air date. No news from NBC makes it look unlikely that January will be the start of the series.
Today Jeff Zucker said that NBC will be looking at cutting the hours that they program in prime time by possibly only programming 2 hours a night instead of 3. Not a good time to be joining the schedule with them trying to cut back on their budget. With Leno probably taking every 10pm slot during the week, there won't be many openings for Top Gear USA to fit in.
Come on NBC, air the show. It's popular in the UK and Australia and will be in the USA
On last week's The Adam Carolla show a caller asked Adam if there was any recent news. Adam, the lead host, said that he still hasn't heard anything from NBC about an air date. No news from NBC makes it look unlikely that January will be the start of the series.
Today Jeff Zucker said that NBC will be looking at cutting the hours that they program in prime time by possibly only programming 2 hours a night instead of 3. Not a good time to be joining the schedule with them trying to cut back on their budget. With Leno probably taking every 10pm slot during the week, there won't be many openings for Top Gear USA to fit in.
Come on NBC, air the show. It's popular in the UK and Australia and will be in the USA
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Top Gear S12E6 Season 12 Episode 6 (Part 2 of 2)
This is the sixth episode of Season 12 of Top Gear called Soviet Showdown. Great episode as usual, I still don't think the Soviet's have made a great car yet.
This is the second and final part of Episode 6
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 6 Part 2-2
This is the second and final part of Episode 6
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 6 Part 2-2
Top Gear S12E6 Season 12 Episode 6 (Part 1 of 2)
This is the sixth episode of Season 12 of Top Gear called Soviet Showdown. Great episode as usual, I still don't think the Soviet's have made a great car yet.
Part 1 of 2. Second part up in minutes.
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 6 Part 1-2
Part 1 of 2. Second part up in minutes.
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 6 Part 1-2
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 6 - Preview
Coming tomorrow is the new episode of Top Gear (S12E06). In the mean time here is what's advertised for the show titled Soviet Showdown.
Workers rise up and rejoice as this week's peoples' edition of Top Gear takes a peek through the Iron Curtain at some motoring miracles from the Eastern Bloc. Comrade Clarkson and Chairman May will be doing their patriotic duty by trying to find the finest example of Soviet engineering, before pitting it against a rival built by the downtrodden workers of the decadent West.
Normal service will resume as Richard presents a power test of the insane Veritas RS III - a brand new Teutonic supercar that proves the Germans really do have a sense of humour.
Meanwhile, Clarkson will be conducting an extremely thorough road test of the new Ford Fiesta. Trust us; you don't want to miss this one.
And as if that wasn't enough, London Mayor Boris Johnson will be making a second appearance as our star in a reasonably priced car
Normal service will resume as Richard presents a power test of the insane Veritas RS III - a brand new Teutonic supercar that proves the Germans really do have a sense of humour.
Meanwhile, Clarkson will be conducting an extremely thorough road test of the new Ford Fiesta. Trust us; you don't want to miss this one.
And as if that wasn't enough, London Mayor Boris Johnson will be making a second appearance as our star in a reasonably priced car
Come back tomorrow for the complete episode of Top Gear Season 12 Episode 6
Friday, December 5, 2008
Preview of the first episode of Top Gear USA?
Could this be what we can expect in the first episode of Top Gear USA when it premieres in the new year?
This is the first episode of Top Gear Australia, the first export of the Top Gear series. Overall quite well done and as Jeremy Clarkson said, "We're loving it, even though your funny accents make you hard to understand."
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 3
Watch this episode from earlier in the season (Season 12 Episode 3) to get ready for a brand new episode on Sunday.
This week: Building a sports saloon out of a Renault Avantime, James May meets Mika Häkkinen, Mark Whalberg drives a reasonably priced car, and the Toyota I-Real is tested.
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 3 - full episode
Check back later for this weeks episode.
This week: Building a sports saloon out of a Renault Avantime, James May meets Mika Häkkinen, Mark Whalberg drives a reasonably priced car, and the Toyota I-Real is tested.
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 3 - full episode
Check back later for this weeks episode.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Who is Eric Stromer?
Eric Stromer, one of the new hosts of Top Gear USA, appears to not have much of an automotive background.
He is a sponser for GM (GM sponsors his home repair tips), drives/drove a Toyota Camry Hybrid, is a regular guest on Adam Carolla's radio show (another one of the hosts who will be profiled shortly).
He was a regular of some Home Repair shows on TLC. Oh yeah, he's a singer/songwriter.
That's pretty much all that can be found about the host of an upcoming AUTOMOTIVE show.
What are your thoughts? Is he 'over his head'?
Monday, December 1, 2008
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 5 (2/2)
This weeks episode (Season 12 Episode 5) part 2 of 2. This is the real episode of Top Gear S12E5
This week: Powerboat VS Ferrari Daytona, Find the best bus for British city streets, Testing the Lexus IS-F and BMW M3 (Two beautiful cars)
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 5 Part 2-2
Check back later for next weeks episode.
This week: Powerboat VS Ferrari Daytona, Find the best bus for British city streets, Testing the Lexus IS-F and BMW M3 (Two beautiful cars)
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 5 Part 2-2
Check back later for next weeks episode.
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 5 (1/2)
This weeks episode (Season 12 Episode 5) part 1 of 2. This is the real episode of Top Gear S12E5
This week: Powerboat VS Ferrari Daytona, Find the best bus for British city streets, Testing the Lexus IS-F and BMW M3 (Two beautiful cars)
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 5 Part 1-2
Check back later for next weeks episode.
This week: Powerboat VS Ferrari Daytona, Find the best bus for British city streets, Testing the Lexus IS-F and BMW M3 (Two beautiful cars)
Top Gear Season 12 Episode 5 Part 1-2
Check back later for next weeks episode.
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