NEW New new new New top gear ON HOLD, RIP?

[Austat]

I'm still annoyed at what they did to the Bagheera. It was a bloody press car that had just been restored! I hope it gets repaired due to how rare it is. Now they've ruined a Renault 4 for the christmas special!

That being said, Richard Hammond throwing a fit at that minty Allegro in TGT was plain stupid, neither comedic or entertaining. What's happened to MOC 860X?

[HillmanImp]

  On 27/01/2020 at 11:43, Twin-Cam said:

All the structural parts of the car were replaced with ones suitable for the stunt hahaha

You can see on the underside that there are no subframes and where the exhaust was is now a box section.

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Ha, I realise they didn't just lob him off with some elaccy bands tied to the bumper.

[SiC]

  On 28/01/2020 at 12:16, Austat said:

Now they've ruined a Renault 4 for the christmas special!

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Chris Harris bought it off the production company and wants to restore it. Not surprising as he has a thing for small French cars. Both a 2CV and a 205 Rallye are his city daily drivers around Bristol. 

[AnthonyG]

I’ve got a strange want for an Escort Calypso cabriolet now, who would have thought there was a market for a poverty spec Ford floppy-top in the mid-1990s? 

Proper Summer Autoshite.

[face]

Escorts were still bloody popular then, still cresting the wave of the 1980s XR revolution.

[AnthonyG]

Just been looking on Google, found this beauty: https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/cars-for-sale/details?id=46152643

1.4Lx, with additional random Ghia badge on the bootlid. 
Nice colour, not paying nearly five grand for one though. 

[Austat]

  On 28/01/2020 at 13:03, SiC said:

Chris Harris bought it off the production company and wants to restore it. Not surprising as he has a thing for small French cars. Both a 2CV and a 205 Rallye are his city daily drivers around Bristol. 

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I wasn't aware, I'm glad it's being restored.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I follow Harris on Twitter but don't watch Top Gear. There was a load of fuss on there the other day when it transpired TG had bought a Peugeot 106 Rallye to trash on some sort of challenge. Harris completely poo-pooed it stating, 'It's worn out anyway as it has 160k on it' 

Much discussion ensued and the general consensus was that he didn't really agree with what he'd had to say, but had to go along with his viewpoint to justify ruining a rare, highly regarded little car which undoubtedly deserved to live. The programme really does sound shit. 

[skattrd]

A bit OT, but I don't get why they couldn't have used a standard 106. Why did it have to be a scarce model? Did that really make that much difference? 

[RoadworkUK]

  On 29/01/2020 at 07:22, Dick Longbridge said:

I follow Harris on Twitter but don't watch Top Gear. There was a load of fuss on there the other day when it transpired TG had bought a Peugeot 106 Rallye to trash on some sort of challenge. Harris completely poo-pooed it stating, 'It's worn out anyway as it has 160k on it' 

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Ha... yeah, I might have accidentally started a Twitter thread about that which got unexpectedly popular. The reply from Monkey Harris (who I'm quite a fan of) was terse to say the least.

 

[Twin-Cam]

  On 29/01/2020 at 07:22, Dick Longbridge said:

I follow Harris on Twitter but don't watch Top Gear. There was a load of fuss on there the other day when it transpired TG had bought a Peugeot 106 Rallye to trash on some sort of challenge. Harris completely poo-pooed it stating, 'It's worn out anyway as it has 160k on it' 

Much discussion ensued and the general consensus was that he didn't really agree with what he'd had to say, but had to go along with his viewpoint to justify ruining a rare, highly regarded little car which undoubtedly deserved to live. The programme really does sound shit. 

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I really like Chris Harris. But I really dislike Top Gear. 

I like to believe that Harris doesn't really like doing any of this, but the Top Gear writers and crew are hell bent on trying to be 'funny' while alienating much of the car community. I like to think it's just a pay day for him. That's how I live with liking Chris Harris anyway ahahahaha

[Dick Cheeseburger]

  On 29/01/2020 at 09:58, RoadworkUK said:

Ha... yeah, I might have accidentally started a Twitter thread about that which got unexpectedly popular. The reply from Monkey Harris (who I'm quite a fan of) was terse to say the least.

 

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I commented directly to Harris' tweet. I hadn't seen the above photo and it certainly hasn't changed my viewpoint. If anything, it's further cemented the fact that I have zero interest in watching a bunch over overpaid, over zealous wannabe comedians twatting around and trashing rare cars for own their self-fulfilment. 

Interestingly,  there was a chap who commented on Harris' post a few away from mine on his thread. His reply basically was the same as mine above, but slightly less succinct. Apparently Harris' response was to block him.  

I wonder how Harris would feel if he sold unwittingly sold his classic Merc to the producers of an alternative car programme, only for them to destroy it for shits and giggles*? He'd surely have to back down if they justified the fact it was 'old and worn out '...

 

[HillmanImp]

  On 29/01/2020 at 09:58, RoadworkUK said:

Ha... yeah, I might have accidentally started a Twitter thread about that which got unexpectedly popular. The reply from Monkey Harris (who I'm quite a fan of) was terse to say the least.

 

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I can't see his reply but don't really understand twitter so it may be me. 

[Rod/b]

  On 29/01/2020 at 16:33, Dick Longbridge said:

.  

I wonder how Harris would feel if he sold unwittingly sold his classic Merc to the producers of an alternative car programme, only for them to destroy it for shits and giggles*? He'd surely have to back down if they justified the fact it was 'old and worn out '...

 

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If he sold his Mercedes to literally anyone else it stops being any of his fucking business what they decide to do with it.  

[Dick Cheeseburger]

  On 29/01/2020 at 17:46, Rod/b said:

If he sold his Mercedes to literally anyone else it stops being any of his fucking business what they decide to do with it.  

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Oh, have you been residing on pistonheads for the interim? 

Can't stand that forum. 

Meanwhile, this is you. 

 

[SiC]

148 licenced and 607 on SORN. Hardly a super rare car really. Just the one smashed up. No real different imo than someone buying one now, using it as a daily over all weathers and then scrapping it in a couple of years as it's rotted out. 

Plenty of 106 left in various trim levels too, so it's not like the model isn't going to survive for the future generation to experience. Its hardly like someone smashing up something very rare now like, say a Hillman Avenger. 

[Rod/b]

  On 29/01/2020 at 18:18, Dick Longbridge said:

Oh, have you been residing on pistonheads for the interim? 

Can't stand that forum. 

Meanwhile, this is you. 

 

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What are you on about?

[RoadworkUK]

I wasn't actually desperately upset about the cars. They're just things. I was more upset by the fact that everything was so dismally forced and predictable. That could have been a genuinely brilliant road-trip story if it wasn't punctuated by the kinds of deliberately destructive acts that people on motoring forums like to moan about.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Standard 106s are common. Rallyes are not.  Values are going through the roof. 

The Renault 4 was imported from Italy in 2018 and was immaculate.  They're highly collectable.

The Matra was rare. It was also an original press car.

 

I don't like seeing people smashing them up because they think it's cool. It's really not.

I assumed I was amongst car fans of a similar, sound disposition. That's why I really like threads by Bornite and the like. They make an effort with cars, rather than weigh them in because 'they're just things', which is also my own philosophy to a T.

[Asimo]

I am enjoying this iteration of Top Gear. I don't like it when they break cars, and I don't see the need for destruction at all. I would avoid banger-racing and wars for the same reason. I hate waste.

But for every old car they ruin, there are thousands of "classics" dying in the lock-ups and gardens of people like us who have car ambitions that exceed our resources.

These are TV people, not real people; it's an act. There will be a script as well. And hundreds of people out of shot. That's how TV works, and for me the current three knobbers really work in this show. Good luck to them.

(As did Clarkson, Hammond and May ten or twelve years ago. Trick is to change before the show "jumps the shark".)

 

[AnthonyG]

They need to keep the values of the challenge cars low - the convertibles in the last show were all sub £600 and as such were pretty ropey examples. 

Flintoff needs to be on here with his tat spotting skills - a shabby 1990 Chrysler LeBaron with broken power steering is proper shite and no mistake.   It reminded me of the sort of semi-lethal heap Breadvan 72 would turn up to a Shitefest in. 

[motorpunk]

Aw c’mon. They’re just cars. I love them, too, particularly the 106 and R4 but if you buy it it’s up to you what you do with/to it. Who cares if it’s the last Peugeot 321XYZ on the planet - if you’re that bothered then buy it and save it yourself. It’s just TV. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like they’re writing off hundreds of super-rare cars per episode, is it? 
 

I’m not a big TG fan but rather enjoyed the last episode in a dirty and cheap kind of way.

[HillmanImp]

If they didn't use slightly interesting cars, it wouldn't get talked about as much. 

[AnthonyG]

Exactly - if they did everything in 15 year old Golfs or whatever it would get very boring very quickly. 

[Roobarb]

Chris Harris is a great car journalist - with or without TG. 

One of my favorites because it’s not in a $2squillion Bugatti or the like:

 

[Vince70]

I can’t say I’ve watched top gear in years and I think it’s heyday was the early Clarkson Hammond & May years and the show went a bit stale once you had Argo football and dropping pianos etc but some of their early stuff wasn’t bad And once that Ginger twat took over enough was enough for me.

I find now with decent cheap technology such as HD GoPro’s etc their are far better YouTube presenters with real passion than anything the BBC can knock out.

This morning I was watching one with a guy who went to the artic circle in a 4 grand eBay Rolls-Royce and he didn’t have to smash the car up to do it, in fact it most probably did it the world of good to have a good run and he knew how to set up points lol.

https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=AwrEzeFNtTJes0AAKER2BQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTByZ2N0cmxpBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMg--?p=rolls+royce+arctic+circle&vid=6eaf80cb55e3b83676afc048fcb0c935&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.6lKhh9REXS5cpjgzO4kibgEsDh%26pid%3DApi%26h%3D225%26w%3D300%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DVIdNcbsgOiM&tit=Driving+a+%26%2339%3B69+<b>Rolls<%2Fb>+<b>Royce<%2Fb>+Shadow+to+the+Arctic+in+the+middle+of+winter&c=1&h=225&w=300&l=2246&sigr=11bl8bkpp&sigt=12o6ckh5a&sigi=12qjm8i8c&age=1527073202&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=ipad&tt=b

 

[dc2100k]

That’s Harry Metcalfe. He’s a loaded farmer type that started Evo magazine. Proper car nut.

[dc2100k]

  On 26/01/2020 at 22:07, dave j said:

So how many of us were looking on ebay for cheap SLK's? 

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Nope, what you should be looking for are cheap CLK500 convertibles...

[Jamie]

Don't forget to tune in tonight to see my favourite form of transport! 

[HMC]

@jamiechod the one that flies or drives?