# Top Gear finding the N. Pole at 78 - 35 - 7 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209 "2007-07-26T11:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/1 "2007-07-26T11:29:29Z")
Top Gear drove to the north pole and did a victory dance at 78 degrees, 35 minutes, 7 seconds. Why is that the location of the pole, and not 0? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/2 "2007-07-26T11:41:38Z")
What is “Top Gear”? By definition, the North Pole is at 90 degrees latitude north. The Magnetic North Pole is currently at about 82 degrees north, so I don’t know where they thought they were. What longitude were they at? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/3 "2007-07-26T11:44:41Z")
Is that a longitude? Since all lines of longitude pass through the poles, longitude is undefined at those points. Move any distance away from the pole and longitude becomes meaningful. _Top Gear_ is a British TV programme (nominally) about cars. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/4 "2007-07-26T12:17:18Z")
I was guessing magnetic NP as well, but they seem to be off by a bit. Still, close enough for a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/5 "2007-07-26T12:18:46Z")
The Radio Times said they were going to the Magnetic North Pole, though all through the program they just kept calling it the pole. My atlas puts that in the general area they were in, though remember that the magnetic poles do drift. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/6 "2007-07-26T12:44:58Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] _Top Gear_ is a British TV programme (nominally) about cars. [/QUOTE] That’s selling it somewhat short. Rather than being _a_ British TV programme about cars, it is _THE_ British TV programme about cars to which all other TV programmes about cars aspire. It’s also one of the highest rated programmes on BBC 2. It won an Emmy for Best Unscripted TV Show. It’s also coming to the US, with a version made especially for the US audience featuring US cars and guests but hosted by the British trio (and The Stig and probably Top Gear Dog too). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/7 "2007-07-26T12:53:00Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] It’s also coming to the US, with a version made especially for the US audience featuring US cars and guests but hosted by the British trio (and The Stig and probably Top Gear Dog too). [/QUOTE] That will be interesting, because generally speaking, they’ve displayed a fairly uniform contempt of US-manufactured cars. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/8 "2007-07-26T12:56:45Z")
According to Wikipedia, the latitude given in the OP is the position measured in 1996, a long way from the estimated current position mentioned by **Baldwin**. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/9 "2007-07-26T12:58:32Z")
I missed the last five minutes of that one due to an urgent need to be in a pub. Did the Hamster catch up in the end? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/10 "2007-07-26T13:00:13Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] That will be interesting, because generally speaking, they’ve displayed a fairly uniform contempt of US-manufactured cars. [/QUOTE] I wonder if they showed the Top Gear US special over there (I think TG is shown on Discovery in the US)? Extremely funny, until it got to New Orleans where they gave away their cars to the victims of Katrina who needed them. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/11 "2007-07-26T13:01:14Z")
I think an appropriate next stunt for Top Gear would be to attach water skis to three cheap runabouts, and see if they can jump those cars over, I dunno, some kind of aquatic animal maybe. That would be good. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/12 "2007-07-26T13:01:35Z")
[QUOTE=ScareyFaerie] I missed the last five minutes of that one due to an urgent need to be in a pub. Did the Hamster catch up in the end? [/QUOTE] Hammond lost, despite Clarkson’s best efforts to write the Toyota off. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/13 "2007-07-26T13:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] That will be interesting, because generally speaking, they’ve displayed a fairly uniform contempt of US-manufactured cars. [/QUOTE] If _Top Gear-US_ does **not** display a fairly uniform contempt of US-manufactured cars, what is the point of filming it? 😃 Si ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/14 "2007-07-26T14:16:27Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] . . . jump those cars over, I dunno, some kind of aquatic animal maybe. That would be good. [/QUOTE] Leap the jumbo squid? But how could they ever follow that up? ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/15 "2007-07-26T15:02:38Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] That will be interesting, because generally speaking, they’ve displayed a fairly uniform contempt of US-manufactured cars. [/QUOTE] I did a double take on that post above, despite the show where they took a Cadillac, pick up and some unseemly 1980s “muscle” car on the road, they’ve not shown much love for US cars. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/16 "2007-07-26T23:14:48Z")
Ahh, magnetic north. I assume that the route to true north would have required too much fuel, or too much money, or it was known that the chances of falling through the ice were way too high. Yes, Clarkson shows his insecurities by slagging American cars almost universally. Honestly, I really do think that he has a bit of a complex about being British, and he has to insist that they are the roxxor at the thing he cares most about: designing and building cars. Although he did insult Rover to the point that he may have been the thing that pushed it over the edge into oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/17 "2007-07-26T23:16:16Z")
About the actual trip, the truck won only with the support of two support vehicles which replaced a shock, remounted a tire, and probably something else I forgot. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/18 "2007-07-27T15:47:13Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] Yes, Clarkson shows his insecurities by slagging American cars almost universally. Honestly, I really do think that he has a bit of a complex about being British, and he has to insist that they are the roxxor at the thing he cares most about: designing and building cars [/QUOTE] Not really, he has no love for what were two of the biggest car manufacturing bastions of the UK, British Leyland/Rover and Vauxhall. ---
**Author:** ![AZCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@AZCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZCowboy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/19 "2007-07-27T20:21:02Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > It’s also coming to the US, with a version made especially for the US audience featuring US cars and guests but hosted by the British trio (and The Stig and probably Top Gear Dog too). Not so fast. As I learned from checking [www.finalgear.com](http://www.finalgear.com) before swinging by the Dope, Jeremy has rejected the idea. The finalgear homepage links to [this](http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2001320029-2007340124,00.html) Sun Online article. And despite Jeremy’s slagging of American cars, do recall that he recently bought a Ford GT (and proceeded to make fun of it). He doesn’t completely slag them - he agrees they go fast - just not around corners. - From an American Top Gear fan, who religiously downloads the show via bittorrent (damn, someone should have mentioned there would be spoilers in this thread!). I first learned of it via a few showings on Discovery, but found out they were a few years old. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209/20 "2007-07-27T21:24:57Z")
Clarkson liked the GT, but sent it back over a quibble to do with the alarm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gear-finding-the-n-pole-at-78-35-7/413209.md?page=2)