# Topgear comes to the South. Will not return. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 10, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550 "2013-03-10T13:25:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/41 "2013-03-11T16:33:14Z")
Have they gone back to Germany after Hammond rode the test track with that (imho) crazy German lady driving that van. He had to get to change his pants. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/42 "2013-03-11T16:48:35Z")
> [@Enemy\_Country](#): > > Doesnt matter if it is old. It happened. 50% of your title was incorrect: Top Gear returned. 75% of your entire post was incorrect: this occurred in 2007, while GWB was still President and the Tea Party didn’t even exist. So considering it took you 15 seconds to throw your inaccurate rant together, I’d hope you could spare an extra 5 seconds with Google to fact check it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/43 "2013-03-11T17:06:42Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Have they gone back to Germany after Hammond rode the test track with that (imho) crazy German lady driving that van. He had to get to change his pants. I think they’ve been back to the Nürburgring a couple of times, as well as the VW test track. Certainly Sabine Schmitz has been on the show since the crazy van lap. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/44 "2013-03-11T17:07:05Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Have they gone back to Germany after Hammond rode the test track with that (imho) crazy German lady driving that van. He had to get to change his pants. Sabine Schmitz, who went on to appear a third when the faced off against Top Gear Germany. I don’t recall Hammond having to change his pants, but he was tossed off the van after her first attempt since he was dead weight. ---
**Author:** ![Enemy\_Country](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/96bed5/32.png) [@Enemy\_Country](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enemy_Country)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/45 "2013-03-11T17:50:03Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > 50% of your title was incorrect: Top Gear returned. > > 75% of your entire post was incorrect: this occurred in 2007, while GWB was still President and the Tea Party didn’t even exist. > > So considering it took you 15 seconds to throw your inaccurate rant together, I’d hope you could spare an extra 5 seconds with Google to fact check it. Oh, I know the tea party only exist because of President Obama. But thats another subject. I dont care about the show. Its the behavior displayed that Im pointing out. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/46 "2013-03-11T17:52:00Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > You have to also remember that a lot of Top Gear is actually heavily scripted. About 99.9% of what appears to happen spontaneously is actually pre-planned. So you’re saying James May really DIDN’T discover the source of the Nile? :eek: OTOH, I can believe the whole production team was pooping on Richard Hammond’s Subaru engine… ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/47 "2013-03-11T17:56:28Z")
Hopefully people realize that a LOT of what happens on Top Gear is staged. Much of it is faked and written to be entertaining and not necessarily accurate. About the only exceptions are some of the car reviews and the Stig lap times. In fact if you watch the episode where they are attempting to set speeds on the salt flats, James May even makes mention that they didn’t fake anything that time. The BBC versions is one of my favorite shows. The USA version? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/48 "2013-03-11T19:18:45Z")
Richard Hammond went to Mexico to road-test a Mexican car this series after pissing off the entire country last year by making jokes based on the lazy Mexican stereotype. They don’t really seem to care much about going places whose residents they’ve offended. Possibly because they understand that just about everyone out there understands that it’s just a silly TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/49 "2013-03-11T20:36:41Z")
And actually, the show (at least the original, often offensive UK version) is quite popular worldwide. I remember before the trip to India last year or the year before, they played a voicemail message supposedly from the prime minister saying, “Do not under any circumstances go to India” because they would offend people and damage trade relations there. I suspect he didn’t actually say this and further suspect that the car nuts in India were glad to see Top Gear visiting them. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/50 "2013-03-11T21:07:29Z")
> [@Enemy\_Country](#): > > Thanks tea party nation. > [http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/southern-discomfort](http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/southern-discomfort) Let’s assume you’re serious here. I think _Top Gear_ is one of the best shows on TV and I find it immensely entertaining. That said, Jeremy, James and Richard make a living by antagonizing people. What did you think was going to happen when they drove cars through the South while pissing on the people that lived there? They certainly knew what was going to happen, that was the whole point. They provoked a response and then made fun of the (expected) response they got. This is like a troll being trolled by professional trolls. It’s almost meta. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/51 "2013-03-11T21:08:00Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > No, as of last week, it’s Australia that \*Top Gear \*is [never coming back to.](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2289589/I-going-Australia-Jeremy-Clarksons-rant-spotted-luxury-yacht-ex-mistress-Phillipa-Sage.html) > [@Gyrate](#): > > Ah, he’s just sore because everyone kept confusing him with [Greg from The Wiggles](http://webspace.webring.com/people/mt/tracied/GregWiggle.jpg). Hanging around such a flat-chested woman can’t help. I thought the blonde was a guy at first! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/52 "2013-03-11T21:31:26Z")
When it comes to offensive conduct, just think of them as stand-up comics who poke fun at everyone and everything. Then loosen up a bit and laugh and enjoy the show. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/53 "2013-03-11T22:05:13Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > In fact if you watch the episode where they are attempting to set speeds on the salt flats, James May even makes mention that they didn’t fake anything that time. They don’t often fake the things about the cars, but all the situations are heavily staged. In that episode Clarkson starts to drive the RV they are staying in whilst May is in the bathroom and Hammond is still in bed. The have cameras in both places to record the screams of abuse towards Clarkson. Still it is entertaining staging. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/54 "2013-03-11T22:12:18Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > This is like a troll being trolled by professional trolls. It’s almost meta. Ay-bed gets it! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/55 "2013-03-11T22:49:58Z")
The camera positions are what really give the staging away. The camera crew ride around in Range Rovers most of the time, but are somehow available to get miles ahead of the hosts to set up roadside shots even when they’re charging around in Lamborghinis. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And actually, the show (at least the original, often offensive UK version) is quite popular worldwide. I remember before the trip to India last year or the year before, they played a voicemail message supposedly from the prime minister saying, “Do not under any circumstances go to India” because they would offend people and damage trade relations there. I suspect he didn’t actually say this and further suspect that the car nuts in India were glad to see Top Gear visiting them. It wasn’t a voicemail message. The episode opens outside 10 Downing Street with Clarkson reading a letter from Cameron, who then comes outside with his security detail and tells them to stay away from India while getting into a government Jag. I’m sure Cameron didn’t care whether they went. ---
**Author:** ![Enemy\_Country](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/96bed5/32.png) [@Enemy\_Country](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enemy_Country)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/56 "2013-03-11T22:53:50Z")
OK. But it was some truth to it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/57 "2013-03-12T02:04:44Z")
And it was written in reasonably-comprehensible English. That’s gotta count for something. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/58 "2013-03-12T05:28:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It’s all balanced out by Clarkson’s anti-American frothing. In all fairness, he’s not exactly holding back when speaking out on Germans, Frenchmen, Italians and his own countrymen, either. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/59 "2013-03-12T14:57:16Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > 1. it’s _three_ semi-moronic English guys who are into cars Nononono, he was right. James is no moron! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550/60 "2013-03-12T15:19:35Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Can someone explain to me what Top Gear is actually about? I mean, I’ve watched a few episodes, but I don’t understand it. As near as I can tell: > > 1. There are two semi-moronic English guys who are into cars. > 2. They have an audience. > 3. The audience doesn’t have chairs. It’s a car show that talks about the part of cars that are really interesting. Who cares about the minutiae lots of car fans get into? It’s like, you’re not really a car fan if you don’t know everything about the specs of a car. I’m a big car geek, and I never really realized it until I started watching Top Gear. They talk about hot cars, fast cars, they give fun and interesting challenges, and the three guys rip each other to shreds. Plus they don’t review JUST American cars, and they’re painfully honest about the failings of American cars (or the highlights - they loved the Toyota HiLux, I think it was). I see American cars every day and American muscle cars bore the piss out of me. I want to see European cars, which is a lot of what they do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topgear-comes-to-the-south-will-not-return/652550.md?page=4)