Top Gear USA

[Makara]

It was awesome to see the $500,000 Murcielago get a SLOWER lap than the Viper ACR and the Superlegera still being .8 slower which on a short course is really a huge gap. At Nurburgring, that .8 would grow to close to a minute or more because it is a much longer road course.

lol, you are saying that the lambo would get over 8.22 on the ring? How does a .8 second gap on a course that takes 1.22 to complete translate to over 60 seconds on a course that takes 7.22 to complete?

 

[woosch]

I got to watch some of the taping here in Griffin. Staged??? Well, they were shooting that sequence for 2 days! The scene on the bridge took 3 hours alone! Tanner did the power slide/spin around the corner in one take!

They didn't close the town down, there just isn't much traffic to start with and any that there might have been was rerouted around where they were shooting.

Overall I liked the first episode, and will keep watching. Hopefully they come back to Griffin to shoot more segments.

 

[Pythonpete]

lol, you are saying that the lambo would get over 8.22 on the ring? How does a .8 second gap on a course that takes 1.22 to complete translate to over 60 seconds on a course that takes 7.22 to complete?

LP 560 did a 7:50 on the ring so not far off.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Whereas the extrapolation by Venomaholic may be a bit skewed, you have to credit the fact that the ACR with the great engineering changes in the rear wing and 5th gear ratio is the fastest production car around Laguna Seca ,at present. Don't kid yourself that this machine , at 1/5th the cost of the Lambo has Sergio and Fiat laughing their way to the Bank over the (Audi ) Lambo times.

Relish in the fact that a low volume car built in Detroit, by some unbelievably dedicated Engineers, is walloping the Giants. If this is not a David and Goliath track experience I don't know what is?

Whether is it 1 minute or say 25 seconds, I , along with Venomaholic take pride that it is highly unlikely a 500K Lambo could outrun our beloved ACR Serpent!

 

[Pythonpete]

Whereas the extrapolation by Venomaholic may be a bit skewed, you have to credit the fact that the ACR with the great engineering changes in the rear wing and 5th gear ratio is the fastest production car around Laguna Seca ,at present. Don't kid yourself that this machine , at 1/5th the cost of the Lambo has Sergio and Fiat laughing their way to the Bank over the (Audi ) Lambo times.

Relish in the fact that a low volume car built in Detroit, by some unbelievably dedicated Engineers, is walloping the Giants. If this is not a David and Goliath track experience I don't know what is?

Whether is it 1 minute or say 25 seconds, I , along with Venomaholic take pride that it is highly unlikely a 500K Lambo could outrun our beloved ACR Serpent!

I think it is truly amazing and 28 seconds is a lifetime in a race.

 

[eucharistos]

Whereas the extrapolation by Venomaholic may be a bit skewed, you have to credit the fact that the ACR with the great engineering changes in the rear wing and 5th gear ratio is the fastest production car around Laguna Seca ,at present. Don't kid yourself that this machine , at 1/5th the cost of the Lambo has Sergio and Fiat laughing their way to the Bank over the (Audi ) Lambo times.

Relish in the fact that a low volume car built in Detroit, by some unbelievably dedicated Engineers, is walloping the Giants. If this is not a David and Goliath track experience I don't know what is?

Whether is it 1 minute or say 25 seconds, I , along with Venomaholic take pride that it is highly unlikely a 500K Lambo could outrun our beloved ACR Serpent!

well said


take the time to listen:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E[/media]

 

[ViperGTS]

Whereas the extrapolation by Venomaholic may be a bit skewed, you have to credit the fact that the ACR with the great engineering changes in the rear wing and 5th gear ratio is the fastest production car around Laguna Seca ,at present. Don't kid yourself that this machine , at 1/5th the cost of the Lambo has Sergio and Fiat laughing their way to the Bank over the (Audi ) Lambo times.

Relish in the fact that a low volume car built in Detroit, by some unbelievably dedicated Engineers, is walloping the Giants. If this is not a David and Goliath track experience I don't know what is?

Whether is it 1 minute or say 25 seconds, I , along with Venomaholic take pride that it is highly unlikely a 500K Lambo could outrun our beloved ACR Serpent!


Could not agree more, Wilhelm!

 

[DodgeViper01]

I haven't had a chance to watch the episode yet, it is Tivo'd but I do know that the Lamborghini forum is up in arms that a Viper beat their cars!!

I was on the edge of my seat when they were doing that test wondering who would win and then I just remembered the ring and quickly calmed my nerves.

 

[DodgeViper01]

It'd be even better if Ferrari CEO Sergio and Dodge CEO Ralph drove the cars onto the set...in a mock surprise appearance.

Regards,
Aaron

I like your thinking.

 

[vancouver-gts]

Don't see any Lambo in this lineup

Top 10: Fastest Nurburgring Laps. (Production Cars)

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

lol, you are saying that the lambo would get over 8.22 on the ring? How does a .8 second gap on a course that takes 1.22 to complete translate to over 60 seconds on a course that takes 7.22 to complete?

Sorry, epic fail on my part after a long day at work.

The Gallardo will be 4.73442623 seconds slower than the ACR at Nurburgring according to only the numbers in question and disregarding all other relevant factors. (7.22/1.22)x.8=4.73442623 seconds slower.

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

You have two choices:
- Adam Corolla
- Jimmy Johnson

There are plenty of choices for hosts. There are numerous racecar drivers and well known experienced car nuts that would be more qualified than the 2 guys other than Tanner.

 

[musclenutz]

Fun to watch and was good to see the Viper get some good commentary. Sure the Cobra skit was staged because like someone here said..the Cobra doesn't have to have a perfect line of fire.Still entertaining and am glad to find out the Viper beat all three Lambos! My power went out just before the last one ran. Good show!

 

[Roffey]

Okay, I'm a novice. Watched majority of show via link someone provided here. In a nutshell, they ran all 3 Lambos and the Viper around the course with Viper coming out on top.
Why did they not run the Viper on the straight along with the Lambos? Like I said, saw majority, not entire show.

 

[snakem04]

Okay, I'm a novice. Watched majority of show via link someone provided here. In a nutshell, they ran all 3 Lambos and the Viper around the course with Viper coming out on top.
Why did they not run the Viper on the straight along with the Lambos? Like I said, saw majority, not entire show.

I thought the same thing. I did see the whole show and wondered why they ran all four cars on the track but only the three lambos on the straights. I would have loved to see the viper run the mile.

 

[Viperless]

They didn't close the town down, there just isn't much traffic to start with and any that there might have been was rerouted around where they were shooting.

During one of the aerial shots of the Cobra, you could see quite a bit of local traffic on the streets in the background. Kind of surprised me. Figured they would have had a pretty good amount of that area closed down for the stunts. Perhaps that was staged as well.

 

[Kevan]

There are plenty of choices for hosts. There are numerous racecar drivers and well known experienced car nuts that would be more qualified than the 2 guys other than Tanner.

OF COURSE there are!
But too many look like Rosie O'Donnell after a bar fight, and the remainder have the car/technical intelligence of a 7-layer burrito fart.

Jay Leno would be the ULTIMATE host/leader: funny and a true car nut job (like all of us).
But Leno don't come cheap.

I'll bet you could barely cover a dinner and tip for 4 at Ruth Chris' with what they pay Rutledge, Tanner, and Adam per episode.

If the producers are smart, they'll do an episode (or 3) with Leno.
Maybe a garage break-in where Jay busts them.

 

[fireball]

For those new to Top Gear - the show is NOT a consumer advice show. It does not evaluate one car against another (other than the Power Lap - and then on different days or weeks with different track conditions) in any equitable way.

It's an entertainment and opinion show. It does a good job of that.

Greg

 

[Roffey]

Yes, very entertaining -

Still would have loved for them to run the Viper on the straight....

 

[Makara]

I thought the same thing. I did see the whole show and wondered why they ran all four cars on the track but only the three lambos on the straights. I would have loved to see the viper run the mile.

The segment with the mile run was a lamborghini segment about lamborghinis, so it wouldn't have made sense to throw a viper into the mix. The viper would have gotten smashed in the standing mile anyway. That big wing does wonders on a road course, but kills the top speed. It's better it wasn't in the standing mile segment

It's nice to see the ACR up at the top of the board. I wonder how long it will stay there. More importantly, I wonder when the UK top gear is going to run the ACR at their track.

 

[Fatboy 18]

I wonder when the UK top gear is going to run the ACR at their track.

I dunno, but if you would like to send one over I will give it a go, the Top Gear track is not far from me

 

[DarcShadow]

Episode 2 was a bit better I though, the interviews need work. It felt rushed, to many commercials I guess. Nice thing about the UK, you get an hour show rather then a 40min one. The drift segment with the blind guy was entertaining. I do wonder though if he got the parking trick down the first try or if they filmed it till he got it right.

 

[TheMilkman]

Darn, I missed my chance to comment on the 1st show. Took me a while to get to it off of Streetfire.

I thought it was entertaining and didn't totally **** as bad as I had envisioned. I really like the UK version and understand that they are doing a remake/ugly step sister version, but it could be funny.

I loved the part where the co-pilot in the Viper chase said, "I think I crapped my pants" after Tanner did his first 360 burnout turn.

Some odd things which have been stated. The 2 other guys are not real car buffs or former racers. I think this could add to the fun as they are like your next door neighbor. They freak out when you pull a cookie, power slide, or do anything with the e-brake other than park. They also get out of the car with hands shaking after a spirited run. This could really add to the humor in the end.

BUT, if the show is going for the "We have 2 idiots that know nothing about fast cars" I think they should show a little responsibility and have them wear helmets. Come on a 1 mile challenge and no helmet? The local mile challenge around here won't let you do it unless you have a NASCAR setup in your car. A great example of this is me wearing a helmet skiing, knowing I don't need or want one, but wanting my kids to wear a helmet. I don't think they need a helmet for everything, but for the race events they should have a helmet on so the other viewers that also know nothing about cars will at least do dumb stuff a bit safer.

 

[eucharistos]

...... A great example of this is me wearing a helmet skiing, knowing I don't need or want one, but wanting my kids to wear a helmet. ......

so the only way to get your kids to wear a helmet is if daddy wears one 1st

 

[DodgeViper01]

Episode 2 was much better. I think, like many have said before, it is going to take time, but if it keeps getting better at this pace, it might turn out to be a very good show. The skiing segment with the EVO was pretty fun and the drifting competition was just hilarious.

 

[ViperGTS]

HERE we drive 150-200 mph on the autobahn with no helmet - what's up with you guys?
What's next? A roll cage for ALL cars? Isn't that ESP (I hate it in my Jeep) thing enough?

 

[TowDawg]

Episode 2 was pretty good. The EVO/skiing segment was fun to watch and the blind drifting was good entertainment.

I heard Adam Corolla was used in the testing for the show, but the producers/test audience didn't like him. I think he would have added some much needed personality and humor to show.

Definitely agree that Leno would be the unltimate host for the US version, but he would blow the budget out of the water for a "start-up" show on the History channel. I wonder if they talked to him about it and how cheap he may have gone just because he'd probably have hell of a good time doing it.

 

[Venomiss]

We finally got a minute to see the Top Gear and loved that they featured the Viper!
It is free positive advertising for the Viper. A win for Dodge.


What I was really surprised at was that in four pages of comments nobody noticed what Chris did. Even I didn't see it at first.

When the helicopter hit the bird. We had to slow motion it and sure enough it's in there.
Thank goodness it wasn't a turkey.

 

[Cincy2]

Episode 2 was much better. I think, like many have said before, it is going to take time, but if it keeps getting better at this pace, it might turn out to be a very good show. The skiing segment with the EVO was pretty fun and the drifting competition was just hilarious.

The problem with the hosts is that they seem too "tight". They don't have the screen presense of a Jermemy Clarkson nor have any of them revealed the quirkiness of a James May. They could all use some voice lessons. None project any emotion in their lines.

Having said all that, car shows are like sex. Even when they are bad, they're good.

Cincy

 

[Shandon]

Can I just say "Aston Marton"---Wooped! Neat car but OMG 180K puke! I tell you what, watching this show is truly giving me a new appreciation for the engineers at Dodge! Seriously 125K 150K 180K 250K and not a one can beat the ACR? I get the self indulgent feeling an owner probably gets by owning one (and im sure the interior is to die for). Just would **** to watch that show and see a car half its price be at the top of the list.

Then last night in Episode 2 the mitsubishi nearly beat the Aston Martons time!

I am enjoying this show a lot