Top Gear Hosts Announced

Dan Allen · Feb 13, 2016

James Cook said:
The new Top Gear will not be as popular, possibly won't last long before being cancelled. The original trio made Top Gear. Without them it's just another motoring show. Yeah, the cars are cool but it was the chemistry between the hosts with their personalities, humour, controversies and antics that made the show. Top Gear was entertainment first and foremost. I don't see the new line-up getting close, although I am a fan of Evans.

They're not the original presenters... People forget that.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(1977_TV_series)

James Cook · Feb 13, 2016

Dan Allen said:
They're not the original presenters... People forget that.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(1977_TV_series)

The 'old' Top Gear and the 'new' Top Gear are different things really. It used to be a more serious motoring magazine show but with Clarkson in charge it was all about entertainment. This is the Top Gear most people around the world know, and in this context, Clarkson, Hammond and May are the original crew.

Dan Allen · Feb 13, 2016

James Cook said:
The 'old' Top Gear and the 'new' Top Gear are different things really. It used to be a more serious motoring magazine show but with Clarkson in charge it was all about entertainment. This is the Top Gear most people around the world know, and in this context, Clarkson, Hammond and May are the original crew.

Either way, I sincerely hope the new show leans toward the "old" format. At least it's actually about the cars, and not some overprivileged moron hooning around the world whilst insulting the locals.

My 2 cents.

Jake Fangio · Feb 13, 2016

Dan Allen said:
Either way, I sincerely hope the new show leans toward the "old" format. At least it's actually about the cars, and not some overprivileged moron hooning around the world whilst insulting the locals.

My 2 cents.

And let's not forget the racism either,oh yea it's just a joke.I really hope James May dump's the other two clown's and does his own thing.I've got time for Mr May.

the_sigman · Feb 13, 2016

Shall I ask what made Top Gear pick Jordan? What is going to make him good in Top Gear? His presenting, his mechanic or his driving skills?

James Cook · Feb 13, 2016

Manolis Sigoulakis said:
Shall I ask what made Top Gear pick Jordan? What is going to make him good in Top Gear? His presenting, his mechanic or his driving skills?

Out of work since BBC lost the F1 contract.

Grand Tourist · Feb 13, 2016

Jake Fangio said:
And let's not forget the racism either,oh yea it's just a joke.I really hope James May dump's the other two clown's and does his own thing.I've got time for Mr May.

Oh please. ... racism? Such a misused term too many times these days. His humor is top shelf and cynical but it takes a bright mind to see the wit in stead of the insult. I just googled his "insults" and I am humoured by... , well, actually all of them.

Jake Fangio · Feb 13, 2016

Sunny Sky Speed said:
Oh please. ... racism? Such a misused term too many times these days. His humor is top shelf and cynical but it takes a bright mind to see the wit in stead of the insult. I just googled his "insults" and I am humoured by... , well, actually all of them.

You have your opinion and that's fine.But please don't call me stupid.It takes a bright mind like yours you mean,because you interpret his so called wit in a different way.So what's witty about this famous saying by Clarkson,eeny meeny mo catch a ni***r by the toe.That's not wit it's juvenile and racist.I work in a multi cultural work place and they are offended by Clarkson and his little giggling gimp Hammond.

Grand Tourist · Feb 14, 2016

Clarkson likes to exagerate just to point out some people don't need to be that uptight and cranky about their origin or culture. It is exactly that attitude that a lot of people are fed up with...." I am black, I am muslim, I am brown, I am hindoist, I am this and that and I am offended by everything that touches my believes, habits and culture even if it is just some silly joke....it is getting really really tiring and that is exactly why intelligent humoristic people tend to over exagerate bordering to the insulting because "they" just don't get it. They are numbed and blinded by their own believes, pathetic really. I am white, I am Belgian, come on make a good smart insulting white joke and I promise you we will all have a good laugh and have no hard feelings, doing just what we always have been doing without threats or pointing fingers at anyone.
Now this is getting too political and off topic so I call this a day. Learn to have a piss with yourselves and your culture and you will not be offended that easily.
No sympathy really from my end, sorry. My apologies however for insinuating your lack of intelligence.

MoerasGrizzly · Feb 14, 2016

Sunny Sky Speed said:
Clarkson likes to exagerate just to point out some people don't need to be that uptight and cranky about their origin or culture.

Which is a privilege one can only truly afford if you don't have a origin or culture other people get cranky about. And people get cranky about other's origins or cultures all the bloody time!

As a more general rule (I'm ambivalent towards Clarkson's humour): Something being a joke does not itself mean that that joke is above scrutiny. You could say "It's just a joke", but that is not an excuse for that joke being in bad taste.

Kevin Knorpp · Feb 14, 2016

I'd like to hear what people would do (not for debate regarding what would be best / most successful ; but for fun, i.e. what would YOU do with the show if you could do anything you want?) with the show format and specific topic examples.

I, for one, would eliminate the stupid (cross-country or scavenger hunt or car vs helicopter etc) races they do although the most of the races on some kind of track (even the silly ones if need be) were OK at least by comparison.

I would also devote enough time to historic vehicles and racing to be able to educate the audience about the beauty of historic golden age racing.

I'd also cover and commentate the !?&@$ out of Goodwood as much as I could legally.

MoerasGrizzly · Feb 14, 2016

Heh, one of the moments I liked the most of Top Gear is when they build a Diesel car to burn their home-made Diesel in the 24 hours of Silverstone, as well as their specials. The Ambitious but Rubbish things.

Grand Tourist · Feb 14, 2016

Kevin Knorpp said:
I'd like to hear what people would do (not for debate regarding what would be best / most successful ; but for fun, i.e. what would YOU do with the show if you could do anything you want?) with the show format and specific topic examples.

I, for one, would eliminate the stupid (cross-country or scavenger hunt or car vs helicopter etc) races they do although the most of the races on some kind of track (even the silly ones if need be) were OK at least by comparison.

I would also devote enough time to historic vehicles and racing to be able to educate the audience about the beauty of historic golden age racing.

I'd also cover and commentate the !?&@$ out of Goodwood as much as I could legally.

I would lose the special shows with second hand cars driving through tough terrain. I would keep the shows with super cars challenging beautiful mountain roads.
I would enter more endurance events with custom build cars.
I would introduce a historic race car to the Top Gear track to use for the guests to set a fastest lap in stead of the reasonably priced car. Guests would all be historic race champs or living race legends.
I would organize more car vs bike challenges.
I would organize more drag races with a wider variety of vehicles.
I would introduce "the beauty and the beast " challenge, like the Speed 12 Cerbera TVR vs the Enzo Ferrari for instance.
I would highlight the true era of GT racing, by showcasing GT1 series race cars and lining them up with their production versions.
I would organize a Top Gear Speed event for the Top Gear fans and their sports or tuned cars.
I would organize a Top Gear GT Academy for sim racers similar to the Nissan GT Academy.
I would hold a TG day for Sponsors.
I would showcase one sportive family car for dads with normal wages like me.
I would organize a Stig vs Legend challenge in a former F1 car.
I would end the show with a YouTube super car fail vid.
I would introduce the news section each episode.
I would take two open wheelers to a less famous track each episode as publishing aid for that track and let two local pro or semi-pro racers hold a sprint race.
I would introduce 2 hyper car episodes each season.
I would probably run out of funds

Dan Allen · Feb 14, 2016

Jake Fangio said:
You have your opinion and that's fine.But please don't call me stupid.It takes a bright mind like yours you mean,because you interpret his so called wit in a different way.So what's witty about this famous saying by Clarkson,eeny meeny mo catch a ni***r by the toe.That's not wit it's juvenile and racist.I work in a multi cultural work place and they are offended by Clarkson and his little giggling gimp Hammond.

Agree. If a black person said eeny meeny mo catch a n****r by the toe to another black person, then it's humour. You can't be racist to your own kind. A white person using that word would only ever use it to try and insult someone.

MoerasGrizzly · Feb 14, 2016

Dan Allen said:
You can't be racist to your own kind.

Considering that race itself is an completely arbitrary definition based around nothing but skin colours which has no meaning in biology: **** yeah you can be racist to your own kind! You just need to find a way to define it as not your own kind, which incidentally humans have been doing for thousands of years.

Although your example works, as it's two people treating eachother as equals. Racism is all about not treating others as your equals, and the phrase itself and the usage of the n-word comes from 1888, a time where black people where definitely not treated as equals by the people who taught that rhyme.

Andy_J · Feb 14, 2016

Sunny Sky Speed said:
Learn to have a piss with yourselves and your culture and you will not be offended that easily.

This^^^^
The thing that bothers me and to be honest I don't care if it hurts anybodies feelings, is that so called religious people or people that believe pretend to be intelligent. I mean how can a scientist in a university in Baghdad study evolution (which we all know to be true) and then go off and say a prayer? This goes for all religions in all cultures. I only say this because it seems racisim comes with culture differences and culture differences come from mainly religion.

MoerasGrizzly · Feb 14, 2016

Andy Jackson said:
I only say this because it seems racisim comes with culture differences and culture differences come from mainly religion.

Actually, most racism appears to come from power: The evolution of power dynamics in history itself is mainly due to luck. For example, Eurasia's nations were vastly more powerful then Sub Saharan Africa and the Americas due to the the simple fact that horses and other commonly used cattle and wheat can not travel deserts or oceans, and those same resources are extremely useful in developing agriculture (It should be noted that once the native Americans got their hands on horses they adapted to them really quickly, which is where the image of "Indians on horseback" come from. But don't be fooled: They did not have those before the Spaniards showed up!). Consider the Aboriginals: All they had to build a civilization was kangaroos. And kangaroos rather punch you in the face then let you build a civilization with them.

But exploiting other humans tends to go against our natural feelings so we need a mechanism to stop seeing other human beings as human beings. Thus: Racism. Religion is a way to achieve that "othering", but it's not the only way and certainly not the cause. It all comes down to power and money in the end, and the reason that people still get uppity about it today is because a lot of power dynamics in our society still depend on there being racism: Although colonialism does no longer exist in name, many countries' societies and infrastructure still depend on it, which is why you should run away from any Belgian who says that he needs a hand.

As for the scientist in Baghdad: I do know plenty of scientists who combine their science with beliefs, and I've never been to Baghdad. In the end philosophy, any philosophy, can provide a lot of peace to one's mind.