Will We Ever See a U.S. Version of Top Gear?
The following article is a guest post submitted by Satellite TV Guru. Satellite TV Guru covers the latest Dish Network and DirecTV news and information.
Around a year and a half ago, while browsing YouTube I discovered a little gem of a TV show called Top Gear. Ok maybe it’s just more then a little gem over in the U.K. and Europe, and over the years the show has developed a cult like following in the U.S. If you’ve never heard of Top Gear its basically a car review show, where they tend to.. well, push cars to their limit.
A video can probably explain just how awesome this show is better than I ever could:
Produced by the BBC and directed by Ben Silverman, the show is so entertaining that often I find myself almost falling out of my seat from laughing so hard. The guys on Top Gear have done everything from playing a giant game of soccer with Toyota Aygos, to transforming a Reliant Robin into a space shuttle and literally blasting it thousands of feet into the air.
Needless to say, when I heard that U.S. version of Top Gear was in the works, I was extremely excited. However after that first rumor, I never heard anything else. A few days ago I saw an article about Top Gear somewhere which made me curious as to what every happened with the planned U.S. version, so I thought I would look into the matter. I soon discovered that the U.S. version is a no go after all.
Apparently the BBC did try to export Top Gear to the United States back in 2007, however it looks a deal was never reached and NBC decided to pass. This is really a shame because I always thought that if they could manage to produce an American version of this classic British show, the way they did with a show like “The Office” it would definitely be a hit.
However according to Jeremy Clarkson, who is a host of the BBC version of the show, The NBC focus groups weren’t a fan of the proposed American version. Yes these are the same groups that give two thumbs up for shows like “I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here”.
For now it looks like fans of the show are stuck with the British Version on cable or satellite TV, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Who knows what the future holds however, I think its time for Cars For Girls readers to write into NBC and start a Top Gear USA movement!
Loading ...
In one word: No. You won’t.
People here don’t want cars the way Top Gear does cars. It would be another horrendous show, a la Super Cars Exposed. Cool name, backed by the Top Gear we all know… But it would lack substance. I doubt Americans can work technical information into a show like Top Gear actually does… It’d either be too technical for most, or so bland that real car people wouldn’t care to watch.
Especially when they wanted Foust on the show. Guy can drive, sure, but he can’t talk cars for…. Ya. Super Cars Exposed makes me want to cry when I watch it. I mean, a car show should be about cars…. So WHY was he giving a ride to this blonde in an AMG Mercedes and she was talking about the STITCHING IN THE SEATS?!? (Way to go, make all women look like idiots. Thanks.)
For those of us who can appreciate British humor, Clarkson, Mays and Hammond are the only way to go. Even Top Gear’s rival show doesn’t get me as excited… Nothing could ever come close to Clarkson’s style of reviews. (My personal favorite ever is the review of the Ford Fiesta. Priceless.)
Anyhow, here’s some more info, from wikipedia on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(U.S._TV_series)
Ah but see, stitching of the seats is very important – it shows quality craftsmanship, and those of us who restore cars don’t believe having an interest in quality craftsmanship – like upholstery and stitching – make us idiots. Instead, it shows we have an eye for detail, and it really does matter.
I’m currently restoring a Duster that has seen better days – in fact, it’s proving to be quite an undertaking. Last week we pulled out the seats to examine them and they are going to need to be completely reupholstered. Since I can’t do the kind of work needed, they’ll be done by a friend who does excellent work in this area; in fact, it’s what she does for a living; her area of expertise is automotive interior design.
There really is an art to the trade and not everyone can do it – or do it well.
That’s really not the point I was trying to make, though. It was a nearly brand new AMG Mercedes, of course the attention to detail is going to be impeccable…. That entire ENGINE is a masterpiece with exquisite attention paid to every last bolt that went into it.
If I’m going to watch a show that claims to be about cars, and Super Cars at that, I want some of the details about the car’s internals, I really couldn’t care less about what you think of the alcantara leather seats. The way she said it made it completely obvious that they rounded up the girl for the pretty face, she had no idea what to say about the car otherwise. (Not what I want representing the rest of us, to be honest. Those who can actually turn wrenches and tune cars, not coo over something so trivial in the large scheme of the car.)