Topgear Australia...some people aren't happy.

[Theo]

Some people aren't happy!!!!
Read below...

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24766676-5006343,00.html

[Calibrated]

well its true.

hammond crashing an old caravan - funny
these twits purposefully playing bumper cars with brand new astra's - not funny..

its almost like they think, hey its not ours, lets **** shit up.

[poita]

or jumping a rav 4 over a sand dune, smashing in some of the front end.

not the brightest lot sometimes

[Theo]

Will it last more than 2 seasons then???
I think they show more disrespect to cars than their UK counterparts.

[Calibrated]

Will it last more than 2 seasons then???
I think they show more disrespect to cars than their UK counterparts.
the difference is..

TG UK dont purposefully crash brand new cars. they mess around with old stuff thats almost worthless.

TG Aus just says oh holden, can we borrow some astra's. holden say sure. TG returns astra's with $30 000 damage and a note to say, well that was fun, heres your cars back.

i think they are a bunch of dimwitted tools that are just trying too hard. but a budget bigger than their brain capacity

i havent watched since ep2.

[MatsHolden]

TG UK dont purposefully crash brand new cars..

Really?
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=SMf366gpl0Y

[Calibrated]

Really?
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=SMf366gpl0Y

thats different, it was a test on the saftey features and proving a point...

not behaving like a spoilt little cockcheese drinker and crashing for the fun of it.im sure renault knew it was going to be crashed. i dont think holden were expecting 30k of damage on their demo cars.

[MatsHolden]

thats different, it was a test on the saftey features and proving a point...

not behaving like a spoilt little cockcheese drinker and crashing for the fun of it.im sure renault knew it was going to be crashed. i dont think holden were expecting 30k of damage on their demo cars.

Don't think Renault would've been pleased either way...

Didn't the UK guys smash up some Toyotas playing soccer with them too?

[Wraith]

TG has always been for the most part full of nonsense !

IMHO the UK show borders on the ridiculous and is so full of BS, but that's what they think they need to do to pull ratings and be successful, articles like the above only work for them not against them, at the end of the day, that's what it's all about...

The Aust. show is abviously similar (it has to be) but speaking for myself as far as content goes I prefer it over the UK show, but can see the day when it'll be just as bad if not worse than the 3 Pommy stooges version...

[JR]

i hate tg aus - bunch of wankers.
never watched past episode 2.

[Calibrated]

Don't think Renault would've been pleased either way...

Didn't the UK guys smash up some Toyotas playing soccer with them too?
yes but it was a test on safety ratings.

yeah, but they were old echo's. not a fleet of $30 000+ vehicles.

[TheOperator]

Watched the full series, only reason i kept watching was to see how much damage they caused each show and to see if it made it to the end of series or was pulled early!!

I am still in amazement at how they treated every car that was on the show, it was like watching a spoilt child who always gets things replaced no matter what :mad:

After reading that article it reinforced my inner suspicisons about the exotics getting chipped badly etc etc. Damn if i were road testing these cars, i would show there capabilities but also treat it like gold cause i'm priviledged to drive such a vehicle!

Can someone please also tell them that bogan Aussies that are impressed by burnouts and sideways driving only account for 1% of all viewers. Every road test was a burnout competition and very rarely if ever gave any specs of the vehicle, a fact i think is important to viewers, not the bullshit they carried on with.

Finally who are these tools and where did they find them? Charlie is the most annoying person of them all who overates his avergae driving abilty, Steve was barely tolerable and the Cartoonist (cannot even remember him he is that memorable) was such a joke it's not funny :mad:

I know a few people who have good media skills with no alliance to any manufacturer that could pull this gig off no problem, and they have many national titles to their names in karts and several titles in cars.

My only wish is if there is another series it improves ALOT :D

[MatsHolden]

yes but it was a test on safety ratings.

yeah, but they were old echo's. not a fleet of $30 000+ vehicles.

Was it neccessary? No. Was the crashing of Astras in the Australian version neccessary? No. They are both as bad as each other.


Oh and they were brand new Toyota Aygos. ;)

[tim_]

Was it neccessary? No. Was the crashing of Astras in the Australian version neccessary? No. They are both as bad as each other.

qft.

to be honest, i can't imagine that the producers would not have told Holden for example what they would be doing with the cars. Holden could always have said no.


After reading that article it reinforced my inner suspicisons about the exotics getting chipped badly etc etc. Damn if i were road testing these cars, i would show there capabilities but also treat it like gold cause i'm priviledged to drive such a vehicle!

no different, once again, to the UK one. you see them flog the shit of cars around their racetracks and on the roads, pushing them to the limits of what they can do. it's what top gear is about, no matter the country, and thats why people watch it. because they're not too pussy to give the cars a bit.

[TheOperator]

qft.

to be honest, i can't imagine that the producers would not have told Holden for example what they would be doing with the cars. Holden could always have said no.



no different, once again, to the UK one. you see them flog the shit of cars around their racetracks and on the roads, pushing them to the limits of what they can do. it's what top gear is about, no matter the country, and thats why people watch it. because they're not too pussy to give the cars a bit.

Firstly, yes they probably did tell Holden what they were doing, but not the full story! I cannot imagine any manufacturer supplying cars on the premise of using them as "lawn bowls" to smash into each other ;)

Secondly there is a difference between showing the capabilities of a vehicle and driving it with no mechanical sympathy as if you stole it like a dickhead ;) Unfortunately Jeremy and Charlie both fall into this category, they resort to this style of "road testing" because they don't have the skills to drive it "fast" to the limit.

I'll get flamed for this, but it is one of the main reasons i prefer 5th Gear presenters Tiff Nedell (who was orginally on Top Gear) and Jason Plato because they both have been great race drivers and can really push a car to its limits! Yes they occassionally do some drift but its not their main focus on each vehicle they test :cool:

[USC]

yeh...WTF? Top Gear is there to test cars to their limits. Who gives a shit about stone chips etc...that what happens to cars when u drive them hard over gravel...and car manufacturers obsviously know that....they just like whinging.

did they think top gear was about filming around the car again and again in a carpetted garage?

[lithium]

yeh...WTF? Top Gear is there to test cars to their limits. Who gives a shit about stone chips etc...that what happens to cars when u drive them hard over gravel...and car manufacturers obsviously know that....they just like whinging.

did they think top gear was about filming around the car again and again in a carpetted garage?

hmm, which limit of an Astra are you testing when you use it as a bowling ball?

as a disclaimer i haven't watched any episodes of oz top gear except a youtube clip of the bowling ball Astra section. my main complaint, and i imagine Holdens main complaint, is that they say bugger all reviewing the car, apart from the factually incorrect 'the 1.8 has some poke' (no it doesn't) and 'the sports button stiffens the suspension' (no it doesn't) before smashing them into each other. not enough info for even a moderate car enthusiast to want to keep watching the show...

[chrissn89]

Can anyone remember TG UK playing ice hokey with a fleet of NEW Suzuki Swifts, they ****ed them up big time, from memory the even rolled one or two. No ones complaining about that? Im sure Suzuki sold heaps. Its called advertising.

The car companies are just bitching now days, cause theyre broke and no ones buying there cars, holden dealerships are closing down, they dont wanna spend $30,000+ on fixing broken astras. Theyve got better things to do with that money. Like save up for the next Two Billon Dollar Baby the VF commordore.

Theres always gonna be ppl fore and against. Its just like running the a country. If dad says no ask mum.

[tuzinski]

dont watch anymore it so i dont care!
id rather have upto date TG uk episodes on SBS rather then watch the TG au fools

[tim_]

i'm watching jeremy clarkson smoking a bentley around a race track. and **** a tyre.

[Vectracious]

FFS - its television - of course they are going to do a burnout, of course they are going to smoke the tyres - makes for exciting TV. I know a lot of people (who aren't bogans :rolleyes: ) who know shit all about cars who will tune into Top Gear (UK and Aus versions) because they just do silly stuff with cars and its funny. All the nancy-pants on here who are complaining about the lack of statistics and figures and numbers - go get a friggin magazine and read that if that gets you excited. As JC would say, you probably all wear anoraks and have beards.

I'd much rather switch my brain off on a monday night and watch Jeremy Clarkson fry a Bentley tyre while making a joke about Lorry drivers murdering Prostitutes than having a poonce like Tiff Needle fluff around while driving a Skoda VRS/Golf GTi backwards for a "wacky comparison" about which one is quicker...

[Theo]

But isn't this the reason for a forum, for people to voice their opinions???

[Vectracious]

But isn't this the reason for a forum, for people to voice their opinions???

so that means I can't voice mine?????????????????

[Theo]

I have no problem with that, but why complain about peoples complaining...if that makes sense.

[Vectracious]

I have no problem with that, but why complain about peoples complaining...if that makes sense.

What relevance does my complaining about people complaining have to do with this discussion?

[sooty]

You just gotta watch the shows for what they are, top gear is made to be entertaining as well as a review, and i think it manages to achieve it pretty well.

It seems i'm one of few people who actually likes 5th gear as well, just for another perspective. As for them drifting, in a couple of recent tests they do tiff and Jaso do drift competitions, 135i vs Cayman i think, and AMG c63 vs m5 if my memory serves me correctly :)

No1 is forcing anyone to watch any of them, so if they don't tickle your fancy, just change the channel, and if there are enough people like you, the show will get pulled soon enough ;)

[Vectracious]

No1 is forcing anyone to watch any of them, so if they don't tickle your fancy, just change the channel, and if there are enough people like you, the show will get pulled soon enough ;)


Exactly :clap:

There's a power button on the television - press it and problem solved.

[MatsHolden]

I thought I was on a car forum... not 'i've got nothing important in my life so i'll bitch about nothing forum'.

[poita]

Exactly :clap:

There's a power button on the television - press it and problem solved.

that red cross in the top right corner works the same way guys ;)

[Vectracious]

I thought I was on a car forum... not 'i've got nothing important in my life so i'll bitch about nothing forum'.

Good point - I really should be over in the spam thread. :rolleyes: :p :D

[entice]

what red cross?

:)


(firefox on a mac)

[poita]

try one of these

http://media.arstechnica.com/journals/apple.media/axe.jpg

[HappySlapper82]

Just finished downloading and watching tg Aus series. I thought it was great, I dont care if they were to play rugby with lambo's :P :D

[MitchSRi]

The problem comes from the lack of respect they have for the cars.

Yes TGUK ruin cars as well, but not $30,000+ Astras.

Yes a new Fiesta got driven in salt water in the latest TGUK, but they also gave it a brilliant review.

In the Astra lawn bowls, NOTHING was said about the cars, a bit of tech stuff (but then they got the engines wrong), and then smashing them into each other.

Someone tell the guys the cars aren't matchbox brand!

Warrens reply to the article (its on news.com.au) tries to fart around the fact they destroyed / did $5000 damage per Astra to demo models.

Remember too that once damaged a car can't be resold as "new". Even an demo model!

[mek]

difference is with tguk IIRC they Buy the cars before they smash them. not borrow them, reason: they're well known, and not poor

I mean topgear aus prob thought uks formula was get car, smash car, Review smashed car move along ... and followed along or somthing stupid like that.

also top gear uk don't reline bounce lambos in neutral... well not without reading the instruction manual first... :P


that megane test drive was funny i think they kept that blue megane and done it up to rival an evo 10, They got within say 10 seconds of a evo 10's lap time lol!

* lol avantime.. megane :| wtf was i thinking

[rjastra]

difference is with tguk IIRC they Buy the cars before they smash them. not borrow them, reason: they're well known, and not poor



Oh really. they (TGUK) buy a fleet of toyotas to do exactly what they repeated on TGAU?
TGUK is produced by BBC UK (think the ABC). I hardly think they have the money to spend UKP100,000s on buying cars.


that megane test drive was funny i think they kept that blue megane and done it up to rival an evo 10, They got within say 10 seconds of a evo 10's lap time lol!


Having trouble identifying cars are we ;)

[Vectracious]

that megane test drive was funny i think they kept that blue megane and done it up to rival an evo 10, They got within say 10 seconds of a evo 10's lap time lol!


Renault Avantime. :)

[Calibrated]

Oh really. they (TGUK) buy a fleet of toyotas to do exactly what they repeated on TGAU?
TGUK is produced by BBC UK (think the ABC). I hardly think they have the money to spend UKP100,000s on buying cars.



Having trouble identifying cars are we ;)
TGUK has a MUCH bigger budget than TGAUS. cars in the uk, are also worthless second hand.

[rjastra]

TGUK has a MUCH bigger budget than TGAUS. cars in the uk, are also worthless second hand.

But we aren't talking about the sh*theaps they buy for challenges.....

[nuggz]

I think it comes down to the fact that so many people watch TGUK that the car companies are happy to get airtime and exposure
and with those toyotas and playing soccer they were constantly ranting how nippy the cars were. That kind of exposure and a decent review would most likely be worth it for them to bang up a few cars

For TGaus however, no where near as many people watch , and for holden to lend the bunch of losers a bunch of cars and cop a $30k repair bill afterwards, AND not recieve a decent review or even a good mention...... you'd imagine they'd be annoyed

[Calibrated]

for tgaus however, no where near as many people watch , and for holden to lend the bunch of losers a bunch of cars and cop a $30k repair bill afterwards, and not recieve a decent review or even a good mention...... You'd imagine they'd be annoyed
exactly

[mek]

hahha even when you guys flame you're really polite about it. Man this forum is a rare breed :P everybody's so nice :)

anyway yeah i was trying to get at (what was mentioned earlier also) is that TGUK would be far more popular and thus have more money to afford stupid stunts.. especially if toyota were to turn around and be like " no you have to pay for these cars"

iirc toyta got crazy good exposure for their hylux aswell... TGAU had done almost nothing for holden at that time. and acted fairly cocky from the beginning. not to mention if you actually went to the airing of the show how boring it is... youd be supprised howmany cuts and takes they have to make for a simple review or followup...

[Calibrated]

hahha even when you guys flame you're really polite about it. Man this forum is a rare breed :P
get ****ed

:p

[JohnBu]

Remember too that once damaged a car can't be resold as "new". Even an demo model!

not true, manufacturers fix them up and sell them as new- the dealers don't know.

happens all the time.

What do you expect Merc to do if a bumper was scratched during transit?

[tim_]

and bmw did with these:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/14/over-370-bmws-bound-for-new-jersey-port-damaged-in-shipping/

haha

[deviant]

I can imagine the manufacturers being annoyed if the cars were only lent to TG Aus...but surely they are not stupid enough to think that TG Aus needed a fleet of cars all the same for a road test and review!

I would think the issue TG Aus is going to run in to now is that manufacturers that only have a small presence in Aus are going to think long and hard about landing one of just a handfull of cars to the press...especially in the current financial climate where its hard to make a sale let alone pay to repair cars that are going to stay static for months on end.

TG UK has wrecked many new cars but ones that are being used for stunts are purchased by the BBC...which incidently is funded by the tax payer and has a monumental budget to play with. TG UK draws in a rediculous number of viewers as well as the magazines and merchandise attached to it.
Dont believe that they get away without paying for damage to manufacturers cars and cars lent by private owners either.