The Grand Tour

[halopub]

Yay! I'm so glad Jeremy mentioned that there is a budget car challenge next week.

Alfa did not think through the name of the Giulia. Quadriformaggio jokes, funny. The Quadsplitaudio, as it is in X-Ray, funny. Quadripleggio...oh boy...a branding headache.

Heh. Jeremy's cheeky look after the Top Gear joke made me laugh.

RIP Glenn Frey. I know they probably forgot he died with the crazy shitload of other entertainment icons that passed in the year since him but that joke hurt a bit.

I'm getting tired of these fake fights between the Americans and Brits. It wasn't funny in the first episode, either.

I'm sympathetic to James on his development rant. Cars have to excel in conditions other than the Nürburgring. Didn't the Cadillac CTS-V from a couple years back, though, not only record a fast track speed but get rave reviews? I remember the TV commercial boasting about it.

I get that the trio are mourning the heyday of classic American car design, but that top five sales list is unfair to those so-called "foreign" car companies. Cars like the Accord are designed for Americans, assembled Stateside and with a high percentage (70%?) of domestically manufactured parts, supporting US jobs across the chain. I remember a study from awhile ago where the American brands were well behind on domestically manufactured cars/parts. (Let's please, please not go back to the '80s when people thought it was okay to blame & beat to death a random person because a popular car isn't marketed by The Big Three.)

As for Detroit, Chrysler still builds cars and engines there. And if one includes all brands, the US produces the second largest number of vehicles annually, more than 12 million.

Edited January 13, 2017 by halopub
badly worded sentence.

[Netfoot]

While I quite understand that comic tom-foolery is the order of the day with these three, I still wish they had been able to successfully make a positive contribution towards the construction of their artificial reef.  I enjoyed the hi-jinks as much as anyone else, but the comments about the underwater desert struck a chord.  All the beautiful reefs I swam through as a boy, vibrant with colour and bursting with life, are indeed lifeless today.  Whose fault? Mine as much as anyone else, I suppose, for not actively protecting them.  

Part of the fun was identifying locations based upon the background scenery.  And boy!  That crew sure made the place look pretty!  Even the Sugar Towers looked good.  (And they -- or at least one of them -- play a large part in why I ended up living here.)  Typical cinematic trickery, showing a scene from the turbulent East coast, while all their antics were confined to the placid West coast, but not really surprised, because the East coast water is treacherous. 

But I can't help wishing that they had accomplished a little more than a single-landrover-artificial-reef.  Which they probably removed when filming was complete, anyway!

Otherwise, I enjoyed the segment on the Alfa, and the in-tent stuff was fun, except as mentioned by @halopub above, anglo-american shamfights aren't all that entertaining, and I'm not personally all that keen on killing off the guest celebrities, either.  

My dad had 3-4 hard-hat diving suits when I was a little kid.  He took my big brother diving once, but I was too small.  I guess I'm part of the SCUBA generation.

[pastafarian]

Best 'killing' of a celebrity so far.  I really enjoyed this episode much more than the Afrikan special.  Jeremy was far more gracious to the US and Tennessee than I expected.  I can't help but appreciate when the show manages to get itself a Caribbean vacation on Amazon's dime.  I also think they missed an opportunity to demonstrate how they really helped the reef building effort at the end of the show beyond stating they "followed all procedures" in the credits.  As it is, I'm left to believe those cars, boat and other junk used in the episode were simply disposed of after the cameras were turned off.

[Joe]

Is it my imagination, or are they being a little more snippy towards each other these days? I've never been sure how much is scripted and how much is genuine. To me they seem a little more annoyed than previously.

The South African show and now this has given me an idea. A show that travels the world and investigates car cultures. Plenty of cooking shows do it, I've seen an MMA show on the same theme. Why not vehicles? Of course, the only reason I watch this vehicle show is because of the hosts. And there's a trillion reality shows out there, maybe it's already been done. But it's an idea.

[halopub]

If you watch the brief behind-the-scenes clips from this episode, they seem like they are in pretty good moods despite the sunburns. Same for the recent X-Box Live interview - they bicker a bit but get along. I think they did reference how they were genuinely miserable from the unexpected cold in Namibia, though.

[halopub]

Quote

This week the tent is on the shores of Loch Ness where Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May introduce their experiences of buying used Maseratis with their own money and then using them to tour the drizzle flecked landscapes of the North of France. Along the way, they encounter worrying noises, unusual electronics, a small engine fire, and the cruel delight of watching James trying to drive with a broken arm. Also in this programme, Richard is at the Eboladrome track trying out the Abarth 124 Spider as he discovers if it’s a real Italian sports car or just a Mazda in a fancy suit. Plus, Jeremy has an innovative way to install cutting edge features in an older car.

Which arm have you broken?

• Trailer
• Media sighting: Paris-Normandie, December 4, 2015 (french)
• Clarkson tweet, November 30, 2015
• Brain crash spoiler, The Press and Journal
• The time Clarkson destroyed a Maserati Biturbo on Top Gear

[Splash]

I wish I could have enjoyed this episode, but I seemed to have audio issues.  The volume would randomly drop like a rock when they were speaking, but turning up the volume meant blowing out my eardrums when the music started.

[halopub]

I didn't think it was their best example of a trip where they just mess around. It wasn't the worst, either, but was aimless and veered into bonkers territory without building into it. But I did bust a gut when James put the blue towel on his steering wheel. And now his unbridled glee during the Namibia throw, filmed roughly six months later, makes even more sense.

The Scots seem to really appreciate the Scottish/English discussion; loved the Tikka Masala and other Scottish trivia; the tent view was gorgeous; Skinner's driving was impressive; the cranky production car guys made me laugh; and Jeremy managed to both build up women and demean one.

[halopub]

On 1/10/2017 at 1:38 PM, Danny Franks said:

People keep mentioning the American as being really terrible and all I can think is, he's barely noticeable. Do other people pay a lot more attention to the frankly dull lap tests than I do? I never cared how fast any of the cars were.

I don't really pay that much attention to the times, either. With all of the character's negativity, though, I find the segments to be jarring and it breaks up the rhythm of the show. He has hated on all but one of the cars. 

On 1/9/2017 at 10:22 PM, Netfoot said:

In one of the initial episodes of GT there was a test by a Belgian (I think) driver, followed by a report in French (I think) with Clarkson mis-translating with obvious bias.  I thought the driver was as competent as any, and the pseudo-translation somewhat amusing.  They should bring that Belgian back every episode, to test whatever cars they have. 

An interesting idea. They could even do the subtitles with an English-speaking driver like they did with the Chelsea players.

I've heard people throwing around a lot of names like Jensen Button and Nico Rosberg. I like how Tanner Foust gets along with James.

Skinner can drive and the show presumably could just ask him to portray a more well-rounded character. The few interviews I've seen with him, Skinner's chipper, thoughtful about his past team rivalries and appreciative that racing has provided him with his wine drinking, golfing lifestyle.

On 1/18/2017 at 2:09 AM, Splash said:

I wish I could have enjoyed this episode, but I seemed to have audio issues.  The volume would randomly drop like a rock when they were speaking, but turning up the volume meant blowing out my eardrums when the music started.

I didn't notice any issues on that point. Maybe you can check how your speakers are equalized?

[Netfoot]

31 minutes ago, halopub said:

But I did bust a gut when James put the blue towel on his steering wheel.

Well, he did specifically asked for a knob on his wheel.....

[DarkRaichu]

On 12/3/2016 at 7:23 PM, halopub said:

While I can't blame Clarkson for using the demolition of his old house as a storyline, I don't know that it fit with the rest of the episode.

I found it sarcastically funny that they could not harm a single bat, yet had no problem with destroying a 200 year old house with great view

[halopub]

I don't know that it was that old but for his purposes Clarkson was lucky to find and purchase an unlisted property. I respect how much emphasis the UK places on homes of historical interest but I wouldn't want to attempt to renovate a graded dwelling.

[halopub]

I'm quoting The Grand Tour's social accounts on the episode title, not editorializing. 

Next to last episode for the season:  Trailer

Quote

This week it's um....well... " [censored] to [censored]" on The Grand Tour. The tent is once again in Loch Ness, thanks to an amazing discovery made by the hosts since the last show. In this programme, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May test out the Jaguar F-Pace, the Bentley Bentayga and the Range Rover Autobiography with a road trip around central Europe taking in some of the most grown-up and not at all childishly rude place names the region has to offer. Also in this episode, Jeremy kills a few preconceptions as he takes to the Eboladrome in the Lexus GS. Plus, as launch control becomes increasingly common on high performance cars, the hosts examine the point of this feature with a short film presentation.

[Danny Franks]

So it's taken me a while (I guess I'm a little slow, at times) but I finally realised that the Celebrity Braincrash segment is just a massive 'Fuck you' to the BBC. They owned the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car concept, so The Grand Tour couldn't use it, or anything similar. Instead, they decided to just show that they could get celebs to turn up to do nothing whatsoever, and just appear as a running joke that they wouldn't be appearing. Eh, it's kind of funny, I guess. But they'd do well to drop it in their second season.

The Maseratis were all pretty hideous looking, and a bit of research has the Biturbo listed as an all-time crap car. Figures. This is why so many of these old car companies only exist now as subsidiaries of larger, more sensible companies. Northern France looked fairly grim, mostly due to the weather. I like that they're making an effort to go to new places, even within countries they've visited before.

That Scottish/English observation was pretty on point, and I'm sure it's a real bone of contention for a lot of Scots, who have to suffer English appropriation of anything they do that's successful (Andy Murray, the British tennis hero himself, isn't too keen on being called British, as far as I can tell). It's fairly typical English arrogance, and I say that as an Englishman.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Danny Franks

[Netfoot]

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

They owned the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car concept, so The Grand Tour couldn't use it, or anything similar.

I heard somewhere that the BBC threatened to sue them if GT included a segment where they conversed with a celebrity guest.  I figured they'd have to sue every talk show host from Oprah back, but what do I know?

Hey, I just noticed that the guys now work for GT instead of TG.  I wonder if that's a coincidence?

[b2H]

Yep, Netfoot, that story about the celebs is on the mark.  I am also sure that there is no coincidence in the initials.

[Joe]

17 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

That Scottish/English observation was pretty on point, and I'm sure it's a real bone of contention for a lot of Scots, who have to suffer English appropriation of anything they do that's successful (Andy Murray, the British tennis hero himself, isn't too keen on being called British, as far as I can tell). It's fairly typical English arrogance, and I say that as an Englishman.

In Australia, something similar happens with New Zealand. Russel Crowe is either a legendary Aussie actor or Kiwi arsehole.

Boy, it was painful watching James drive with a bad arm. Whenever the roads weren't entirely smooth, I cringed even before he appeared on screen. But I thought he was going to drive to the airport and fly home, getting his car sent over when convenient. Or lose the race and agree to sell his car at some point in the future rather than straight away. I also thought a bad CG monster was going to rise out of Loch Ness and devour the celebrity guest. I also thought there would be a Mad Max reference during the Nabibia special. Looks like I'm bad at predicting these things.

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, Joe said:

I thought he was going to drive to the airport and fly home, getting his car sent over when convenient. Or lose the race and agree to sell his car at some point in the future rather than straight away.

I thought he was going to drive to the nearest embassy.  The bet was to see who would be first "on British soil" after all...

[halopub]

Amazon's marketers are really spending a ridiculous amount of money ferrying those giant heads of the trio around the world. If you're in the UK, Amazon is running a contest this week to let you place one of the sculptures in your garden for two weeks.

 

On 12/27/2016 at 6:15 AM, BetterButter said:

Richard Hammond under fire for 'ice-cream is gay' line on the Grand Tour

 

On 12/27/2016 at 7:11 AM, pastafarian said:

I took the "ice cream is gay" line as absurd comedy, not an even remotely serious claim.

In case you haven't seen it in the Finnish episode thread, this was apparently a planned reference to entertain the audience with a local joke. Of course, it didn't translate at all to the show's wider audience.

[halopub]

While the trio have new season planning on the brain, I'd like to add to my wishlist:

• a genuine budget car challenge without a bizarro, scripted ending
• the three competing against each other in old micro cars
• a segment that brings in some of the entertaining behind-the-scenes staff people, like one-armed sound man Kiff McManus

[halopub]

Quote

"This will be the first ever Nuremberg Rally."
"Well, not the absolute first ever."

Not a groundbreaking episode, but it was just the right amount of juvenile silliness to help unwind after a stressful day. Did I see the Bentley's lights flash when it caught air?

I take it from their brief behind-the-scenes clip that the film crew damaged one of the their SUVs at the limestone quarry.

[Netfoot]

And of course, Nessie put in an appearance...

[Danny Franks]

Yeah, I wouldn't buy any of those cars. All of them looked gaudy, oversized and impractical. And the Bentley was ugly. But I did appreciate Jeremy just flat out saying that it doesn't matter if other cars are better, people will still buy the Range Rover on brand value. Because for the most part, it's true.

There is just something about the way Jeremy says even the simplest things that can crack me up. His comparing of the potential pets was hilarious.

The town names were amusingly puerile, and the riffing didn't get old. Just about the right balance. Ending up at Nuremberg instead of the Nurburgring was funny as well, if a bit wince inducing. "The first ever Nuremberg Rally"... Oy. 

[Lisin]

20 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

There is just something about the way Jeremy says even the simplest things that can crack me up. His comparing of the potential pets was hilarious.

The "Or you could be sensible and get a Labradog" killed me. Labradog!  

[halopub]

21 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Yeah, I wouldn't buy any of those cars. All of them looked gaudy, oversized and impractical. And the Bentley was ugly. But I did appreciate Jeremy just flat out saying that it doesn't matter if other cars are better, people will still buy the Range Rover on brand value. Because for the most part, it's true.

There is just something about the way Jeremy says even the simplest things that can crack me up. His comparing of the potential pets was hilarious.

The town names were amusingly puerile, and the riffing didn't get old. Just about the right balance. Ending up at Nuremberg instead of the Nurburgring was funny as well, if a bit wince inducing. "The first ever Nuremberg Rally"... Oy. 

Heh. They wouldn't be considered oversized here.

I think if we're talking luxury SUVs that start over $50K US, the Mercedes and BMW models are probably the more common ones here. Under $50K, there are an awful lot of Lexus and Acura crossovers. I think those who want to be driven might still go for the Cadillac Escalade.

Apparently the Nürnberg ring /Nürburgring is not an uncommon navigation error. I think it's why the race track in Nuremberg is actually called Noris instead.

As for the rally/trial jokes, Nazi-era Nuremberg is not ignored but also isn't emphasized in World History classes stateside so over here it's actually a relatively erudite pun. Still dark humor, though.

[halopub]

There's a 360 video of Jeremy doing a test lap around the set. Since they used stunt drivers for other sequences this season, it's nice to see Jeremy doing his own driving.

Edited January 28, 2017 by halopub
grammar

[Subrookie]

I thought the Lexus segment was too campy with the fake animals blowing up. But, I really liked the rock quary segment, which seemed like some of the old TG episodes like the race against the luge sled in a rally car. 

Still can't get on board with the celebrity brain freeze or American segments. Really they need to rethink the American segment. I just don't like it. 

[b2H]

There was a poll today on the Facebook Grand Tour Nation page about The American.  Most respondents are done with this guy and, though we weren't asked, they were done with the Celebrity thing too.  It is probably reasonable to expect these segmentsmwill be gone next season.

[pastafarian]

On 1/28/2017 at 0:21 PM, Lisin said:

The "Or you could be sensible and get a Labradog" killed me. Labradog!  

How many "horsepowers" does a Labradog have? :D

[ProfCrash]

I have to say, I have been more bored then thrilled with the series. There are moments of humor and the like but nothing that is making me turn the Grand Tour on as soon as it is available on Friday.

I feel asleep three times during the coral reef episode. This one was ok but nothing too exciting. I don't like the American bit. Dude isn't funny, the stereotype is poorly played and it adds nothing to the test drive. The Stig stuff was kind of fun but that was more because the books and music and whatever he would listen to was ridiculous and they found a way to work him into other segments in a manner that was humorous. The Celeb thing is stupid. Once or twice to thumb their noses at the BBC is one thing. Every week is simply tiresome. The stupid idea that the dead celeb would appear on the show is just insulting.

They have what they need to be successful. The three nut jobs, the money and the freedom. Ditch the things that they cannot do, go with their strong suits and make a funny show.

[ProfCrash]

This was the worst of the new batch. I feel asleep three times before I finished it. My husband still hasn't finished it. The coral reef thing could have been much better but it was pretty random and then focused on silliness and less on what they were doing or why. It was an opportunity for some great photography, a way of using older cars to help improve the environment and some stupid jokes while swimming and setting things up. It didn't need to be a giant goof off.

[b2H]

I suspect this will be fine-tuned for the second season.  There's been more than a little push back on the two segments you mention (and I quite agree with you). 

[Lisin]

3 hours ago, pastafarian said:

How many "horsepowers" does a Labradog have? :D

One? Four? Adorable? Does adorable count towards horsepowers? 

[halopub]

Edited to add: Extended trailer

Season finale: Trailer

Quote

For the final show of the series, the Grand Tour is in Dubai. Jeremy Clarkson and James May introduce a battle between their own, personal cars. Jeremy champions the past with his Volkswagen Golf GTI while James makes a case for the future with his electrically powered BMW i3. Meanwhile, Richard Hammond is in France learning how to drift a car like a pro, and James is sent to a damp part of England to take part, against his will, in a strange sport called winching. Plus, the recently deceased Bugatti Veyron takes part in a drag race against the current hypercar speed champion, the Porsche 918 Spyder.

Edited February 2, 2017 by halopub
added link

[halopub]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

There are moments of humor and the like but nothing that is making me turn the Grand Tour on as soon as it is available on Friday.

I understand where you're coming from. I think they know that 1) they have to allow for more spontaneous moments in their scripted adventures and 2) once they get immediate feedback, to drop pre-planned weekly segments like Brain Crash. Now that they'll be filming all the remote pieces for the fall, I think fans have a small window to express what they want.

I think the show runners need to remember how entertaining the trio are when they're just goofing off without a script. How many of us watched them put together DHL boxes? Or find them funnier in the behind-the-scenes clips? The show's better when the three aren't aren't forced into simple, one-note characters that don't fit.

I would also appreciate a helluva lot less artillery. I get that the Royal armed forces would like opportunities to show what they can do but there were too many segments with the guys shooting guns.  

For those in the US, the episode's available 6:01 PM EST. I've been doing my first watches while cleaning up dinner. It takes Amazon an hour or so, though, before Richard Porter's snarky trivia is added.

[DarkRaichu]

I like seeing things getting blown up (1 of the reasons I love Burn Notice).  It was a creative way to include British Army and Navy in the show.  

[ProfCrash]

I loved the Hammond bit but I like watching the preper shows and mocking the people in them.  I get the folks who are into acreage to grow their own food, raise chickens and goats and that type of thing. That makes sense to me and I can see why you would do it. I don't get the bunkers and the cars turned into weapons and all that stuff. So the preper car was awesome because the end point is really why I roll my eyes at so much of this. The government has precision munitions and drones that can take out bunkers and your ridiculous car. If you don't have to worry about the government or someone controlling that weaponry then it is highly likely that you are not going to be able to fuel your extreme car or vehicle.

So I laughed my ass off at that bit. I thought it was great. That is the type of thing I actually enjoy.

[b2H]

4 hours ago, halopub said:

......For those in the US, the episode's available 6:01 PM EST. I've been doing my first watches while cleaning up dinner. It takes Amazon an hour or so, though, before Richard Porter's snarky trivia is added.

We were shocked to find it available on a Thursday evening one week.  Our guess is that, yes, it's available on Friday, but Friday in London is about 6p eastern on Thursday.  Hubby and I generally make it appointment viewing after we're done with whatever on a Friday.

[Danny Franks]

5 hours ago, halopub said:

I understand where you're coming from. I think they know that 1) they have to allow for more spontaneous moments in their scripted adventures and 2) once they get immediate feedback, to drop pre-planned weekly segments like Brain Crash. Now that they'll be filming all the remote pieces for the fall, I think fans have a small window to express what they want.

I think the show runners need to remember how entertaining the trio are when they're just goofing off without a script. How many of us watched them put together DHL boxes? Or find them funnier in the behind-the-scenes clips? The show's better when the three aren't aren't forced into simple, one-note characters that don't fit.

I would also appreciate a helluva lot less artillery. I get that the Royal armed forces would like opportunities to show what they can do but there were too many segments with the guys shooting guns.  

Agree with all of this. I think they took Amazon's free rein and went a little crazy. Too much self-indulgent stuff that was probably fun to dream up, fun to film, but not fun to watch.

The highlights of the series have still been the spontaneous moments where they make each other laugh, or annoy each other. Or get annoyed at their cars. That's always what made Top Gear so much fun. But Top Gear itself was becoming more obviously scripted, in its latter years. It's probably tough to keep things feeling spontaneous when you've been doing them for over a decade.

The use of guns is just boring, to be quite honest. I don't care about a car getting blown up by a tank, I really don't. There's only one way you can show that, and they've done it several times. Tank shoots - car explodes. Woo.

For season 2, they need to come up with more budget car ideas and more expedition ideas. And they need to either figure out something worthwhile to do with celebrities or just not have them on. As for the American, as I said, he didn't bother me because I didn't pay attention to him. But he felt like an addition that was made because their first show was based in the US. Perhaps next season they could have the German or the Swede or the Brazilian, and use a different driver who embodies those national stereotypes. A segment I'd quite like would be something along the lines of the Saab one they did a few years ago - take us through the history of a car company, or a particular model of car, give us the highlights and lowlights. I know that both May and Clarkson really enjoy that sort of thing, because they've both done other shows that have focused on it.

[halopub]

2 hours ago, b2H said:

We were shocked to find it available on a Thursday evening one week.  Our guess is that, yes, it's available on Friday, but Friday in London is about 6p eastern on Thursday.  Hubby and I generally make it appointment viewing after we're done with whatever on a Friday.

Sorry, yup -  I meant to specify Thursday nights. Amazon uses Central European time instead of Greenwich Mean for the midnight global drop.

 

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

Agree with all of this. I think they took Amazon's free rein and went a little crazy. Too much self-indulgent stuff that was probably fun to dream up, fun to film, but not fun to watch.

The highlights of the series have still been the spontaneous moments where they make each other laugh, or annoy each other. Or get annoyed at their cars. That's always what made Top Gear so much fun. But Top Gear itself was becoming more obviously scripted, in its latter years. It's probably tough to keep things feeling spontaneous when you've been doing them for over a decade.

I wonder if the short time frame also pushed them to revert to old ideas and a lack of fresh thinking. They've mentioned how they had to start up the production company from scratch and were stressed when Amazon gave them a fall start date.

Agreed! The guys usually have the mic open - maybe the camera people can quietly keep rolling for some b-roll while they're setting up main shots. The guys must do stupid, hilarious shit while they're waiting.
 

[halopub]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

For season 2, they need to come up with more budget car ideas and more expedition ideas. And they need to either figure out something worthwhile to do with celebrities or just not have them on. As for the American, as I said, he didn't bother me because I didn't pay attention to him. But he felt like an addition that was made because their first show was based in the US. Perhaps next season they could have the German or the Swede or the Brazilian, and use a different driver who embodies those national stereotypes. A segment I'd quite like would be something along the lines of the Saab one they did a few years ago - take us through the history of a car company, or a particular model of car, give us the highlights and lowlights. I know that both May and Clarkson really enjoy that sort of thing, because they've both done other shows that have focused on it.

A real budget car challenge - not an 8000 GBP one - would be fantastic. And those histories truly are compelling for a wide swath of their audience.

I've seen people throwing around a couple of F1 names. I'd rather they skip national stereotypes but I could go for fake subtitles, even for English-speaking drivers.

I'd like to see them bring back super low cost segments like grannies doing donuts and badass handbrake parking.

[pastafarian]

adorable counts for many many things.

[b2H]

16 hours ago, halopub said:

......Agreed! The guys usually have the mic open - maybe the camera people can quietly keep rolling for some b-roll while they're setting up main shots. The guys must do stupid, hilarious shit while they're waiting.
 

I think the old show also had outtakes.  I'm willing to give them the time they need to make this show what they want it to be.

[ProfCrash]

Finally watched this one.

Why is it that they wouldn't say fucking? They use plenty of salty language, swearing should not be off limits. Listening to them try and avoid the word got old really fast.

I liked Jeremy's approach to explaining the Range Rover. It is so true. There are certain trends that are hard to avoid. It doesn't matter if you can provide something better, many people will go with what is comfortable and what they know. Hell, it explains why incumbents are re-elected at such a high percentage (high 90's). People know the name and are more likely to vote for the incumbent unless they are really invested in the challenger. So the Ranger Rover is the incumbent of off road vehicles. Kind of like Beats is an incumbent. Their head sets suck compared to many others but people know they name and they are cool so they buy them.

That said, I would love a Bentley because they look to be so totally awesome and comfy and oh my good are they well appointed but I will never own one because they are far too expensive. Even if I made enough to get one I am not sure that I would because it is silly expensive. I did like the Jag but I have a soft spot for Jag's. I don't know why other then they are normally pretty and the price point isn't horrific.

I would not by a Range Rover because I don't normally have to climb over mountains and down dirt roads. So why buy such a vehicle? I barely get snow where I live so I am not worried about that.

Overall an OK episode. I liked how Jeremy cheated and drove the others crazy with his little explanations.

[Danny Franks]

So this episode just made me ask anew, 'how many cars do these guys have?' They must have several each, which I guess they would, given their enthusiasm for them. May has a Ferrari, a Fiat Panda, that BMW, a Rolls Royce and I don't know what else. Jeremy has an AMG Black, the Golf, the big old Mercedes and I don't know what else. Hammond has a Charger, a Land Rover, Oliver and I don't know what else. 

Still, I find it kind of endearing that, after getting their big Amazon payday, they seem to have gone out and bought practical hatchbacks.

This episode also showed how they can do consumer advice and make it fun. I didn't know that you got a £4500 supplement from the government to buy an electric car, but I do now. I do find the idea of electric cars intriguing, but I have to agree with Jeremy - they're just not practical yet.

Winching looks really stupid. People have the weirdest hobbies.

I really didn't care about the Porsche vs Bugatti race. Those supercars, or hypercars or whatever, never interest me. Cared even less about the souped Nissan. 

So this was a season that had some promise, and some disappointments. I think we've talked about them enough already, but it's still evident that the best bits of the entire show are the little, unscripted moments. For example, Jeremy trying to send texts to James via his car. They need to try to create more of that sort of thing next season.

[Netfoot]

8 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

I do find the idea of electric cars intriguing, but I have to agree with Jeremy - they're just not practical yet.

Well...   No...  Not if you need to drive 360Km from London to Dartmoor a lot.  But if you need something for nipping around the town, and like the idea of free sparkoline  fuel...

[Danny Franks]

38 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Well...   No...  Not if you need to drive 360Km from London to Dartmoor a lot.  But if you need something for nipping around the town, and like the idea of free sparkoline  fuel...

Which is fine if you can afford to have more than one car. But an electric car as your only vehicle? Incredibly limiting. As you say, you can't realistically drive any significant distance.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

As you say, you can't realistically drive any significant distance.

Unless you live somewhere where you can't drive more than 35Km in any one direction without falling off the edge, and complete circumnavigation of the country is less than 100Km...  But agreed.  Wouldn't be caught dead driving one of them.  (I love my car!)

[Lisin]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Well...   No...  Not if you need to drive 360Km from London to Dartmoor a lot.  But if you need something for nipping around the town, and like the idea of free sparkoline  fuel...

 

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

Which is fine if you can afford to have more than one car. But an electric car as your only vehicle? Incredibly limiting. As you say, you can't realistically drive any significant distance.

I don't know. I drive 120 miles a day round trip to and from work, the Tesla sedan's range is 208 to 315 miles per charge, so I could very easily do my normal daily driving on a charge and then charge it up at night. Hell, even the "cheap" model 3 gets 215 miles per charge so that's still workable... honestly I would love one more than almost anything. Sure, for long multiple day road trips you would need a different vehicle but since I only drive from DC to Texas once every couple of years I could always rent a car for that trip. Or hell, I just checked, Tesla's got supercharges that could get me all the way there if I really wanted to go that way. Obviously I'm not saying any electric car would work but a Tesla would for sure work as your only vehicle I think. 

[halopub]

Jeremy said in a watch along that a road trip across

Spoiler

Mozambique

is coming up.

Also, they filmed some segments at The Dubai Mall that weren't included in the season finale.

Edited February 3, 2017 by halopub
grammar; added link