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I certainly think I have a bit more respect for NASCAR now. Having seen cars like this: doing things like this:  on the hill at Goodwood, I can imagine a grid full of them must sound absolutely incredible, if nothing else. I think a trip to a NASCAR event might now have a place on my bucket list.
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Feb 5, 2012 22:58
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I liked that Le Blanc knew the rollcage would stiffen up the car.
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Feb 5, 2012 23:22
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VolumeOverTalent posted:I certainly think I have a bit more respect for NASCAR now. Having seen cars like this: The sound is insane. I live near a small track where the lower-level NASCAR series run (700-750HP) and it is insanely fun to watch and listen to. Very impressed with Tonight's episode. LeBlanc's lap looked VERY smooth as well..pretty drat good driver.
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Feb 5, 2012 23:57
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PUNCHITCHEWIE posted:but the main theme of the show is actually exploring class differences, which is a big part of why it never took in in America. What are you even basing any of this on? It is absolutely not about "exploring class differences" and the reasons it doesn't work in America are many and have nothing to do with class.
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Feb 6, 2012 00:13
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Holy poo poo the ending of this episode had me in tears! Ahahaha I won't ruin the surprise but it's fantastic.
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Feb 6, 2012 00:18
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Chinese stig is the best stig cousin to date  
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Feb 6, 2012 01:02
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sigtrap posted:What are you even basing any of this on? What doesn't work in America, Top Gear, or do you mean the dynamic of Top Gear USA? I'd be interested in hearing some of the stuff that doesn't work too.
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Feb 6, 2012 01:07
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All I could think during the SIARPC was "Geez, that means this article exists". Which is the world's least interesting thought for anyone more observant than me.
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Feb 6, 2012 01:50
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Anyone else feel like Matt LeBlanc didn't want to be there or seemed disinterested? What he was saying sounded like he was interested, but he delivered it like he didn't care. I will say it was one of the few SIARPC I was actually interested in. I thought it was just because I only like the American guests. But then that guy in that Fergie band was on and it was just boring.
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Feb 6, 2012 02:08
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Great episode! Cars were great, LeBlanc looked really jet-lagged or something, China piece was fun. And I didn't know that those NASCAR cars had no fancy electronic aids or telemetry or anything, which contrasts starkly with F1. Apparently the next episode won't be as car-centric, which is fine with me. I do appreciate the team mixing it up.
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Feb 6, 2012 04:50
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My only problem with the Chinese piece is that it wasn't long enough or in depth enough.
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Feb 6, 2012 04:54
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NASCAR races are great to watch. They're like the Top Fuel dragster little brother races, the cars are extremely loud and you can feel them coming by. They also come flying by every 30 seconds or so and are really cool to see in person vs. a panning tv, especially while drunk.
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Feb 6, 2012 04:55
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sbaldrick posted:My only problem with the Chinese piece is that it wasn't long enough or in depth enough. It probably could have been a mini special where they all go around looking at what China has to offer. But they probably realized that would be incredibly boring (there's no super cars, and there's no cheap car challenge) and made it a segment instead. Though I guess they could do a cheap car challenge. You get a few thousand pounds, and you have to buy a new car and they see which one lasts the longest.
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Feb 6, 2012 05:01
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Cojawfee posted:Anyone else feel like Matt LeBlanc didn't want to be there or seemed disinterested? What he was saying sounded like he was interested, but he delivered it like he didn't care. I will say it was one of the few SIARPC I was actually interested in. I thought it was just because I only like the American guests. But then that guy in that Fergie band was on and it was just boring. I heard him interviewed on a US radio show and he sounded even less interested. Just the way he is I guess.
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Feb 6, 2012 05:07
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Cojawfee posted:It probably could have been a mini special where they all go around looking at what China has to offer. But they probably realized that would be incredibly boring (there's no super cars, and there's no cheap car challenge) and made it a segment instead. Yeah, I was pretty disappointed they didn't do more travelogue stuff. Though I suppose getting permission to do handbrake turns at the summer palace is tricky.
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Feb 6, 2012 05:11
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Cojawfee posted:It probably could have been a mini special where they all go around looking at what China has to offer. But they probably realized that would be incredibly boring (there's no super cars, and there's no cheap car challenge) and made it a segment instead. You think they would have at least compared those Chinese copies to their Western counterparts. My guess was that they were also somewhat hampered by the state in their coverage.
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Feb 6, 2012 06:22
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Ganon posted:I heard him interviewed on a US radio show and he sounded even less interested. Just the way he is I guess. He was probably drunk.
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Feb 6, 2012 06:27
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Ak Gara posted:He was probably drunk. Probably hung over.
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Feb 6, 2012 06:33
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What the gently caress was up with the random numbers and letters the Chinese named their cars? Overall a good episode, the NASCAR bit was actually quite cool, the Mercedes was ridiculous, the Chinese Reliant was amazing and I never would've guessed LeBlanc was a bit of a petrolhead. Looked like he hadn't slept for 48 hours, though. Also (although without citations) the Wiki tells me that Ryan Reynolds is going to be this week's guest, I don't really know about that.
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Feb 6, 2012 10:44
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The ending was hilarious and, god, that SLS roadster...
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Feb 6, 2012 13:52
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The Chinese sure love their Audi's don't they? I liked the contrast in this shot. Basically the whole "XF 150 ZK-4" review had me in tears.  Also, Matt LeBlanc was very funny and a great driver.
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Feb 6, 2012 14:59
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Mister Kingdom posted:But would Clarkson buy an American muscle car? He loves the Merc SLS, which if the rumors are to believed was SUPPOSED to be the the 3rd gen Viper, but Daimler couldn't let Dodge have a car that was better than one made with superior GERMAN engineering, so they killed it and stole the platform. I know, its a stretch, but even Clarkson himself compared it to an American Muscle car. Hell, if you pay attention, even May has redneck tendencies..On the american special while they are trashing Jeremy's car, he makes a comment that makes you think he actually liked third gen F-Bodies. Oh and now an American is the fastest on the TG boards...  Wonder how quickly they are going to get Jay Kay back?
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Feb 6, 2012 17:06
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angryhampster posted:Very impressed with Tonight's episode. LeBlanc's lap looked VERY smooth as well..pretty drat good driver. I'd love to see a segment/episode around getting in a bunch of the top-tier celebrities in and running them against a retired/semi-retired pro or two as ringers. I hear Rubens Barrichello has some free time on his hands these days...
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Feb 6, 2012 17:16
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Rated PG-34 posted:You think they would have at least compared those Chinese copies to their Western counterparts. My guess was that they were also somewhat hampered by the state in their coverage. That was my guess too, don't bad mouth our cars too much. Still I wanted to seem them drive the crazy mini thing.
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Feb 6, 2012 20:41
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I was really happy it didnt turn out to be a 'shooting fish in a barrel' NASCAR segment. There's enough of that shite from people on this side of the pond who have never watched a single race. I'm guessing someone in Top Gear is a NASCAR fan because it did a lot more than just scratch the surface and was quite a bit more in depth than what i was expecting. Kudos, guys. Also gently caress you Clarkson. I'm still laughing from the very end of the show, that was a top class moment of comedy.
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Feb 6, 2012 21:26
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I'm not a big NASCAR fan but the TGUK put together a really good piece on it. I thought it was really well done not only for the English, but for American fans to watch as well.
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Feb 6, 2012 21:54
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It actually managed to make NASCAR seem kind of...fun.
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Feb 6, 2012 21:58
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rawrr posted:It actually managed to make NASCAR seem kind of...fun. The Montage helped with that I think, also not showing 1 million laps.
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Feb 6, 2012 22:00
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Pretty solid episode. I actually liked LeBlanc. Chill dude, good driver. Chinese stig = best stig. (well african stig owns too)
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Feb 6, 2012 22:20
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Mighty Horse posted:He loves the Merc SLS, which if the rumors are to believed was SUPPOSED to be the the 3rd gen Viper, but Daimler couldn't let Dodge have a car that was better than one made with superior GERMAN engineering, so they killed it and stole the platform. I wouldn't be surprised if this was true. Speaking of the Viper, I was disappointed by the huge Viper "reveal" quoted in the news section that ended up being some white lines on a black background. Very anti-climactic. I like the SLS, but I kind of agree with TGUS in that the back just sort of "runs out of rear end." The rest of the car looks great and oh god the sound of that engine is awesome.
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Feb 7, 2012 00:57
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Wow, I would LOVE a "Chinese Car Challenge". Like, they're given a list of cars and told to pick one for a challenge, and then they are given the Chinese version of the car. There's gotta be a way to do that.
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Feb 7, 2012 00:59
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Crankit posted:What doesn't work in America, Top Gear, or do you mean the dynamic of Top Gear USA? I was referring to making a Top Gear USA that is more similar to the UK original. One difference right up front is the fact that the networks in the states are ad-revenue supported, so from what I understand a lot of your flexibility for saying "The new Chevrolet _____ is a complete pile of poo poo" goes out the window. Even though it's LEGAL to say that (within reason) GM still has their lawyers on the phone in nothing flat, threatening to pull all their advertising (and that of their corporate holdings). So, if you don't have complete freedom to 'tell it like it is' then you're stuck having to be positive about almost everything. That said, I haven't seen much TG:USA. The point is, saying that the main theme to TG is "exploring class differences" is ridiculous. Some of the humor might indirectly spring from that, but suggesting that, in essence, they all sat around a board room table at the BBC and said "You know what we need? A show about class differences. We can use automobiles as a metaphor!" is silly.
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Feb 7, 2012 01:34
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Palpatine MD posted:The Chinese sure love their Audi's don't they? Yeah IIRC the A6 is basically the official government car--kinda like the crown vic in the states.
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Feb 7, 2012 03:23
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All the Chinese cars with the ridiculously long name badges (i.e. ZK4-145CXFR 400FXB) looked like they were using the same font, namely the trunklid letters from VWs between like 1999 and 2006. Like they had an enormous container shipload of those letters and numbers and just passed them out to all the domestic carmakers to get rid of however they felt like.
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Feb 7, 2012 03:25
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I work at a bike shop where we see a lot of Chinese motor scooters in for service, and the thought of cars made in that mold terrifies and despairs me. They are universally horrible and I pity their owners. Another guy at the shop spent some time in central/south america, and tells the story that he saw in action down there a segment of the Chinese motor industry. He would say that if you've got X number of dollars, something in the few tens of thousands, you can hook yourself up with an east Asian supplier and just tell them "I want a shipping container full of Harleys" and they'll just send you one. Who knows how they make it, but it'll be a copy of a Sportster or whatever. Right off the bat when you open up your shipping container of Harleys, 30% of them won't work, 30% of them will never work, and you can sell the rest locally and still make a profit.
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Feb 7, 2012 03:37
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Solid episode but the SLS review annoyed me. The "they just don't make them like this anymore in this horrible eco friendly world" schick has been going on for 5+ years now and...they still make them like that.
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Feb 7, 2012 04:56
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Data Graham posted:All the Chinese cars with the ridiculously long name badges (i.e. ZK4-145CXFR 400FXB) looked like they were using the same font, namely the trunklid letters from VWs between like 1999 and 2006. Like they had an enormous container shipload of those letters and numbers and just passed them out to all the domestic carmakers to get rid of however they felt like. Haha, yeah, and there's incentives for using as many as possible. Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I work at a bike shop where we see a lot of Chinese motor scooters in for service, and the thought of cars made in that mold terrifies and despairs me. They are universally horrible and I pity their owners. drat. I think it sucks that the price disparity between China and whoever consumes their poo poo is so great that this poo poo flies, as it is obviously not very optimal from a resource point-of-view. Maybe if things weren't so dirt cheap we'd take a little bit more care of them, and actually expect them to work instead of just tossing them because it's not worth the hassle to do anything else. I recently bought a tarp for the equivalent of one (1) US Dollar. That includes 25% VAT, profit, pay for the dude selling it to me, and it was made, sown, packaged, stuffed into a container, shipped from China to Europe and trucked the rest of the way. That's not really sustainable.
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Feb 7, 2012 09:04
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I got a laugh when they introduced Hammond as the pace car driver to... a couple claps. I keep forgetting that outside of our little community on the internet and their 6 min segment on 60 minutes almost two years ago they are virtually unknown over here.
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Feb 7, 2012 09:08
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Killbot posted:I wouldn't be surprised if this was true. Speaking of the Viper, I was disappointed by the huge Viper "reveal" quoted in the news section that ended up being some white lines on a black background. Very anti-climactic. As for the review it was what I expected, he said similar stuff about the regular SLS in the America episode didn't he?
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Feb 7, 2012 09:25
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The UK is a society shaped by class differences in many ways so their television shows have elements of it. It's a source for great jokes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpvOBxZdOYg
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Feb 7, 2012 10:41
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