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top gear on how poorly american cars are built!

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I don't see how filling a car with water and seeing if it will leak is a test of how well they are built. No car is made to hold water inside. On top of that, it's a very old car with very old rubber seals, and has probably been in many fender benders.
 
Gesh, Brits. They are supose to be that way. Keeps the floor boards from rustin. Heh.
 
I just watched some of their other stuff(Top Gear in the Deep South) and frankly found it VERY offensive. I have also seen some of their other shows and thought it played to sterotyping of certain groups of people (mostly Americans). Now I don't mind being made fun of in good humor, but these clowns make it all sound legit. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif
 
And they have been talking about a U.S. version of the show!!!! THAT will go over like a lead balloon, eh? Hehehe!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazyeyes.gif

I saw the "Florida" show too. Definitly one of their worst!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif
 
Despite that lame clip, I love the show. It's usually hilarious and they are real car guys.

Some of my favorite clips, off the top of my head...

Nuns driving monster trucks
Grannies doing donuts
GT40 review
 
bugimike said:
And they have been talking about a U.S. version of the show!!!! THAT will go over like a lead balloon, eh? Hehehe!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazyeyes.gif

I saw the "Florida" show too. Definitly one of their worst!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif
Click to expand...

I understand that the U.S. version of TG has been shelved indefinitely.

I'm not much of a Top Gear fan, for the most part. It's okay when they do something interesting, like trying to destroy that Toyota Hilux truck, or the recent race in the snow between Clarkson and May. But they've been edging more and more towards this sort of junk over the years.

I think a lot of this comes from Clarkson as these things tend to mirror what he writes in the TG magazine. A lot of people defend Clarkson's sense of "humor" by saying he's a satirist, but it's not really the case, is it? More of bad insult comedy. He used to actually be funny and satiric, back in the days when he wrote for Performance Car magazine in the eighties and early nineties. I think all the exposure, the money, and the fancy cars has ruined him.

-William
 
That leakage probably has more to do with the design shape of the rubber gaskets, or the way Americans build cars so that closing the doors dosen't burst your ear drums.
THere's no way ANY car is going to hold water without a LOT of modifications. There's just too many holes and such to contend with.
Intresting as a stunt. Absolutly no relivence to build quality.
 
I'm guessing (by the pyramids),that this was filmed
in Egypt.
Did anyone notice that the water truck was an older
Ford?I believe that was made in America.
Sounds like the "PT Barnum" approach.


- Doug
 
As theysay, if you want to drown urself in your car the Jag's the way to go....
 
Re: top gear on how poorly american cars are built

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif
Thanks Dave!
 
The article title said enough for me. Top Gear, a uk motor publication.

Yeah right, THEY are going to critique US cars...?

I don't think so!

Be careful, they might have a bridge they want to sell you too.
 
I guess if they had tested my '54 TR2 against a '54 Lincoln I know who would have won.

Maybe they are running out of ideas?

A great show that I wish I could get at home...I've seen some truly neat things but most were limited to You Tube...
 
RonMacPherson said:
...Be careful, they might have a bridge they want to sell you too.
Click to expand...

They did...and it's in Arizona.

That was clearly a stunt and not meant to be any objective evidence of anything...though the anti-American slant does get tiresome.

The real test is how many miles has the average '89 Town Car covered vs. the average '89 XJ6....I'm pretty sure I know how that would turn out.
 
Mind you these types of comparisons are more for comedy than anything else, IMO. After all, we're talking about the same guys that would rather buy an Alfa Romeo Brera with 260HP v6 (in a front drive!), which they all admit is utterly hopeless from a reliability, devaluation, and handling stand point, over a VW Golf R34, which they all admit is a far superior car by nearly all of their own measures.

Then again, I would probably go for an Alfa Romeo Brera with the V6 instead of a Golf also.
 
Re: top gear on how poorly american cars are built

lawguy said:
RonMacPherson said:
...Be careful, they might have a bridge they want to sell you too.
Click to expand...

They did...and it's in Arizona.

That was clearly a stunt and not meant to be any objective evidence of anything...though the anti-American slant does get tiresome.

The real test is how many miles has the average '89 Town Car covered vs. the average '89 XJ6....I'm pretty sure I know how that would turn out.
Click to expand...

I knew a couple who had an XJ 6 for two years. Because it spent more time in the shop for various fixes than it supposedly did in their garage, they sold it and bought a Mercedes. Said it was the best move they ever made. I don't own a Mercedes, so I couldn't say one way or another.
 
Re: top gear on how poorly american cars are built

I seem to detect a lot of anti American car sentiment in British publications.Classic and Sports car, and Thoroughbred and Classic cars are the usual offenders. I have owned over 100 cars, about eveny split between LBCs, and American Iron. Most American cars are suited for the American driving environment. Not to say they are perfect, but for conditions here, they do the job.I had a 64 Catalina convertible. It covered ground like no other, got mileage in the low 20s on the road, and was supremely comfortable. Great car for DC to Denver. I also had an Anglia. Same year as the Cat. It would top out at about 75 on a good day, got 40 MPG, and was a penalty box. I wouldn't drive it to Baltimore if I had an alternative. Probably worked OK in little English lanes where the Catalina would not fit. So, Different cars for different situations.. There really is no comparison. And yes, the 89 XJ6, the pinnacle of Jaguar engineering in it's day was a truly horrible car. I know of a couple that overcame their faults to cover 200+K miles tho.... What they should have done was put them on a lift and see which car REALLY leaked more....So many cars, so little time...
 
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