Top Gear USA

[GTSLOW]

Anyone see the previews yet?

http://jalopnik.com/5606884/top-gear-usa-the-first-trailer

[Cleveland Dave]

will never be as good as the British version, but with that being said ill definitely be watching it!

[jbiscuit]

^ what he said

[British_Ben]

will never be as good as the British version, but with that being said ill definitely be watching it!

This.

[BR3W CITY]

the personalities are what make the uk topgear what it is.
They tried this before, it was supposed to be Adam Corolla and 2 others (1 journalist and idk the third), but it was cancelled during filming.

[GTSLOW]

That's one thing I will agree with is if these new guys try to act and sound like the originals.

[Karps TA]

It would have had a shot to be good if Adam Carolla would have been able to be on it. But I don't see any of this guys being able to fill the shoes of the Clarkson role. For me it's Clarkson and his dry British wit and un-PC attitude that makes the show so great.

[British_Ben]

It would have had a shot to be good if Adam Carolla would have been able to be on it. But I don't see any of this guys being able to fill the shoes of the Clarkson role. For me it's Clarkson and his dry British wit and un-PC attitude that makes the show so great.

I don't think Carolla could even compare to Clarkson. But he would have been closer than what they have now.

[BR3W CITY]

Leno is pretty much the only guy with enough car-cred that could pull it off; but even then he'd HAVE to leave his humor out of it.

You'll never replicate the dynamic of; a 6'5" brit with a huge ego, a metrosexual midget with a propensity for gaudy sports cars, and Capt. Slow.

[xxsn0blindxx]

I can't stand Adam Corolla so I'm glad he isn't on the show. The first thing I noticed from the preview is that the production doesn't appear to be nearly as good as the BBC version and the hosts don't seem to have the dynamic that the BBC cast does. Hopefully with time they meld a bit better. I will reserve judgment until it officially airs, but the preview does not look very promising.

[-stew-]

I ain't got cable.

[GTSLOW]

I ain't got cable.

historychannel.com

^ podcasts

[budlitefan]

tanner now teaches a drifting racing school (http://www.racingadventure.com/)
It would have had a shot to be good if Adam Carolla would have been able to be on it. But I don't see any of this guys being able to fill the shoes of the Clarkson role. For me it's Clarkson and his dry British wit and un-PC attitude that makes the show so great.

I like how the new one leads off with the nascar ties, very smart to get US viewers in man y demographics

[lordairgtar]

If it ain't got The Stig, it will fail.

[lasttimearound]

and its not like we could make an american stig, the only racers american enough to be on the show are nascar, and we all know that none of them can drive for shit.

[Flicktitty]

Leno is pretty much the only guy with enough car-cred that could pull it off; but even then he'd HAVE to leave his humor out of it.

You'll never replicate the dynamic of; a 6'5" brit with a huge ego, a metrosexual midget with a propensity for gaudy sports cars, and Capt. Slow.

Jay Leno turned the job down cause he feared it would ruin the name top gear.

[FoxStang]

and its not like we could make an american stig, the only racers american enough to be on the show are nascar, and we all know that none of them can drive for shit.
It's been announced already that there will be an American Stig, there's even pictures of him.

And are you on crack, no good American drivers?
Johnny O'Connell, Bill Auberlen, Terry Borcheller to name a few... There's more out there, not to say that they're better than anyone Europe's got to offer, but that just because competitive road course racing is more popular.

Hopefully over a season or two the US top gear develops their own chemistry that makes the show entertaining; granted it will never be what the UK version is.

On a side note, DTM is coming stateside 2013, can't wait...

[Todd Z]

100% agree with foxstang. Glad somebody can name some quality non-Nascar drivers on BCM.

One simple reason it will never be as good as the Uk version is it will have to be politically correct and that sucks.

Anybody see the segment on 60 minutes about Top Gear? 350 MILLION viewers weekly world wide :drool:

[GTSLOW]

Jay Leno turned the job down cause he feared it would ruin the name top gear.

Shit I think he would have made the show pretty cool!

[Plum Crazy]

Shit I think he would have made the show pretty cool!


x2

And British Ben, your Avatar pic is great! I want that decal!

Its gunna be a tough sell for those of us that have seen the original Top Gear, but for newcomers, it might be good. You know they will be hyping American cars and talking shit about British ones, a complete roll reversal.

[GHOSST]

See the previews, didn't interest me much. I'll watch it though just to check it out.

[EvolvedRegal]

Leno is pretty much the only guy with enough car-cred that could pull it off; but even then he'd HAVE to leave his humor out of it.

You'll never replicate the dynamic of; a 6'5" brit with a huge ego, a metrosexual midget with a propensity for gaudy sports cars, and Capt. Slow.

What he said and possibly put Tim Allen in there as well.

[Karps TA]

I think Leno would have ruined the show. He only cares about really old shit. And he's way too worried about offending potential sponsors to ever have a real opinion.

Not sure how much they even need a Stig when they have Tanner Faust. He's a pretty damn good driver himself.

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

Yea I think Leno would have sucked as well, I mean he's very knowledgeable about that old shit and probably new alike but he's not funny and like mentioned he's probably scared ?
Tim Allen would be good and I think Adam Carolla is high-larious but he's so import centric he gets under my skin a bit.

Anyway I saw some of the 60 minutes expose' and was taken aback at 350 million weekly viewers in 17 countries. To me I would rather be the 18th country to get UK spec Top Gear but the American version looks ok and I will surely tune in.

[FoxStang]

Yeah but Leno and Allen together would have been good, I've seen some of the brief segments they've done together and I think they would have a good chemistry for the show. Completely understand not wanting to be on because of living up to the original though. Top Gear isn't what it is because of one character or the other, its the interaction of the bunch. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

[nismodave]

Yeah but Leno and Allen together would have been good

Hell no...Leno is crap without writers and Allen is a full time douche.

[Karps TA]

See I don't want good chemistry, and that's what is bothering me from what I've seen of the US series. It seems like they are all buddies and rooting for each other. I like the British version for the way 2 of them are always against the other one. That's where I think Carolla would have been good.

[British_Ben]

See I don't want good chemistry, and that's what is bothering me from what I've seen of the US series. It seems like they are all buddies and rooting for each other. I like the British version for the way 2 of them are always against the other one. That's where I think Carolla would have been good.

Well put.

No matter how I think this show will be, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I don't think there is a comparable show in the States to the format that Top Gear offers.

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

Why is the show so popular in Europe ? It seems to draw a pretty diverse audience.
Is car culture still that much alive over there ?

[British_Ben]

Why is the show so popular in Europe ? It seems to draw a pretty diverse audience.
Is car culture still that much alive over there ?

It has to do with dynamic of the show. At it's core it's a show about cars. But there is a lot more to it. You'd have to watch an episode to really know what Top Gear is. In one word, it's brilliant. :thumbsup

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

I've watched many of the older episodes and to me it seems like a variety, current events and car show all wrapped up in one.

I agree that it is great show and that the hosts make it what it is.

[British_Ben]

There was recently a special about Top Gear UK on 60 minutes. I think it lays out what Top Gear is pretty well and should be a picture of things to come on Top Gear US.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6987703n

[DocDave]

I agree the show should not be called Top Gear here in America, to preserve the name Top Gear. Instead of trying to be the British version writers should smash up a Myth-busters type attitude with a bunch a gear heads, and let it fly!