Dare I mention....Top Gear....?

[retrogeezer]

This was a good Golf advert (IMHO)

[RedSparrow]

Hope its ok to continue this topic from last week...I wasn't to bothered about the Maestro, it looked like it had been totally shagged already. And a bit chav-ified, I suspect the NOB numberplate wasn't original issue! I actually thought they could have built up to the stunt a bit more.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I used to have an MG Monty with the reg H866NOB which my mates found very amusing.

[retrogeezer]

That Alfa challenge was hilarious......Alfa make a car as good as it can possibly be.....briefly! Cringed when hamster opened his door into the GTV, the door had a couple of nasty dents in but looked pristine until then!

[pompei]

I has a 3 litre 75 for a short while Went to do survey and the bloke remarked "Oh, I'm a Volvo fan as well" (Ex wife bought that same house about 5 years later, )

[RedSparrow]

Yes the Alfa thing was quite entertaining. I didn't mind so much as the cars were pretty shitty to start with!

[Cavcraft]

Alfa thing was great. I try not to think about how TG engineer things for entertainment any more because whilst occasionally annoying it's usually great to watch.

[Monkey_boy]

I had a Alfa 33 Sportwagon in green. It was lowered with what I thought was a full stainless steel sports exhaust but it was actually only half stainless (the back section). Was a great car till it turned into a complete shed so I sold it to a 'mate'. LOLI'll get a pic of it up as it was proper shite!

[Simon M]

Yes the Alfa thing was quite entertaining. I didn't mind so much as the cars were pretty shitty to start with!

I'm not so sure.....http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-75- ... -gear.htmlIt seems to have turned out all right in the end, mind!

[RedSparrow]

Interesting!I shall be watching that forum, I would love to see the TG having to pay to fix that 75 up! Although I resent paying liscence fee etc etc...What happened to that 'save the top gear 3' thing? - dolly, sd1 and princess - anyone heard any news?

[Simon M]

The SD1 and the Princess are still around - there were some sneaky photos taken which appeared on a forum recently (possibly Petrolheads? I can't remember) - the SD1 still has its door missing, both look a bit sorry for themselves.Sadly it looks like the Dolly may have been squished, according to the forum on the Dolomite Owners Club site - it's unlicensed with the DVLA now.

[Ross_K]

Re. the Alfa 75 guy: what am I missing? He sold his motor to Top Gear for a grand? A handsome profit no doubt. He must have had some idea what those chimps were up to based on past performance. What the fuck is he saying "man I am still gutted I was stupid." for?If he was that attached to it he shoulda hung on to it.

[Milford Cubicle]

TV FAKERY SHOCKERClarkson said he paid £450 for it.

[Simon M]

He must have had some idea what those chimps were up to based on past performance.

Maybe, but on the other hand it's the job of TV researchers to be persuasive and try to get people to agree to things they may not necessarily say yes to under normal circumstances - I have a close relative who's done this kind of thing (not TG - I'd disown him if it was). They probably described it as a 'light-hearted celebration of the Alfa Romeo' - I doubt they mentioned the 'oh, and we're going to celebrate the Alfa Romeo by totally knackering yours, sunshine' bit. You're right, he probably should have guessed, but as I say - never underestimate the power of a TV researcher.He seems quite happy about things by the end of it, anyway.

[Ross_K]

Yep. He can but it back for a quid and ebay it or break it for parts as mentioned on that Alfa forum.I do still think however that you lose your right to piss and moan about the treatment of your (ex-) motor once you accept a wad of cash for it.Interesting also that he seemed to be allowing everyone else in that thread to believe he had lent the car to TG until the moderator mentioned the fact that he got a grand for it.Seems like fake indignation to me...I believe the correct term for a person like this is "attention whore"

[Pete-M]

Pile of shite. I dunno why those three halfwits pretend to do a show about cars - they might as well be lighting each other's farts if they want to be 'zany' in a schoolboy way.I know quite a few nerdy loner types at work who think Clarkson is the most hilarious man on telly, but come on... The formula seems to be:1) Smash up a few shit cars2) Minor celebrity on the track in a shit car3) Audience who appear to be held at gunpoint laughing at Clarkson's shit jokes.4) Brief tyre-smoking of the latest Ferrari/Lambo/BMW saloon.5) Take the piss out of the short twat.When's 5th Gear back on telly?

Ah, c'mon. 5th gear blows goat cock.1)Nothing wrong with smashing up shit cars - I've done it.2)Minor celebrities tend to be average. Ronnie Wood made me laugh though3)Audience are there because they want to be. no guns involved.4)Nothing wrong with tyre smoking5) or taking the piss out of the midget.Top Gear is great telly, and it gets people who wouldn't normally be interested in cars watching. That can only be good for petrolheads. 5th gear is a cheap copy of the old Top Gear format anyway.After all, May, Hammond and JC host an entertainment programme. I'd rather watch them than watch that Drivel with Mike Brewer and that gurning horror Penny Mallory.

[Ross_K]

Yeah I forgot about Driven. Worst car show ever.It was axed about six or seven years ago though, and rightfully so.

[pogweasel]

Ah, c'mon. 5th gear blows goat cock.

QUALITY SYNOPSIS!Are you actually Charlie Brooker?

[Torsten2001]

gurning horror Penny Mallory.

Bang On!

[RedSparrow]

Thats sad about the Dolly, I remember the bloke leaving a message on another forum saying how upset he was. However, as other people have pointed out, I think most of us would be wary of a production assistant/props person asking to buy a motor promising it would be looked after. That bloody Heartbeat has smashed up a lot more classics than Top Gear and is nowhere near as entertaining IMO! Same goes for Harry 'effing Potter films.It cant be all bad. Ive just been trawling through ebay looking for a Alfa 75! So I guess it raises the profile of the cars, maybe even leading to more being saved in a round-about way.

[pompei]

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php? ... icle/5451/Interesting take.

[Pete-M]

Accurate as well, although I have to state that I cancelled my subscription to "CAR" when May left. "England Made Me" was my favourite bit of the magazine much as I love reading about 911's and the like.I think May and Hammond should get wages closer to that of JC because they're a great team. I suspect we all know people like those three - I tend to be compared to Clarkson worryingly frequently (especially on the odd forum, anyone who reads "Practical Classics" forum will know I like to state my thoughts on old BL shite and it annoys the fuck out of some of the fogeys), but two of my best mates are very similar to Hammond and May. Good lads, the "May" type character is a fan of shite old motorbikes, and the Hammond type chap is unremarkable but the girls like him!!

[RedSparrow]

Bit of an update...In Practical Classics magazine, someone has written in expressing their disapproval of TGs destruction of old motors. Richard Hammond wrote a reply saying the Dolomite has now been given to someone and is undergoing a full resto. I will feel slightly less guilty watching to show now!

[Cavcraft]

I think if anyone has an opinion of any car now, especially if they really go to town on it, they get compared to JC.I turned this week's show off for the first time ever for reasons that have nothing to do with cars or this forum.

[pompei]

Why did you turn off, Cav?

[Cavcraft]

None car related reason but something on the show just pissed me off enough to do it. I'm petty sure most of you would think I was daft to do so. It was connected to the people on the horses incidentally.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The Practical Classics forum has gone down the drain. There's some stupid twat who calls himself ILUVCLASSICCARSFROM1976ON who puts up about 34 threads a day like 'WILL FORD MONDEOS EVER BE CLASSIC' and shit like that. What's worse, he is also 'Kingbasher63' who backs up IAMASTUPIDWANKERWHOLUVSOLDSHIT.The fox hunting thing on TG was in incredibly poor taste.

[Milford Cubicle]

The Practical Classics forum has gone down the drain.

Excellent, it was the most shite.

[andrew e]

What about that pete bloke who hates BL

[Pete-M]

That's me, that is :-)Heh, I don't hate all BL stuff (I own a ShiteOldRangie), but I do enjoy occasionally winding up the beards who get all emotional about Marinas and MGBs as if they're some kind of exotica to be placed on the pedestal one up from the likes of the DB5.C'mon, I had some great bites from that lot. I love old shite as much as the next man, but some shite has always been shite, will always be shite, and doesn't turn into something good just because it's old shite. My sig is proof enough for most people that I'm no "arrogant, elitist car snob". I've got a tatty old Barkas, an ancient Skoda, an insanely over-tuned Range Rover, a Tatra 805 and a multitude of other old tat to be going along with. Just having the Jensen doesn't mean I can't take the piss out of the people who take the PC forum seriously does it? I do try to help them, but I don't think they appreciate it when my idea of help is "Don't buy a Princess..."