Top Gear

I’ll admit my faults; one of them is I’m a late bloomer in many ways, when I do come around, I can get obsessed. I didn’t learn to drive stick until 2001, and it was shortly after I was starting my first car restoration. Another thing I am a “Johnny come lately” on is the BBC show “Top Gear”. Even when BBC America was available on cable, I’d pass right by it. Now I can’t get enough of it. Thankfully Netflix has most of the seasons available on instant watch.  It’s filmed quite well, with very high production values, and while taking lovingly looks at beautiful cars, it’s quite to the point. I don’t think I’ll ever own a Lamborghini, so I won’t be able to compare it’s braking to a Porsche 911, but it’s interesting to see such an in depth look at the machinery. 
It delves into the culture that also surrounds cars. So far my fave moment’s is when they make fun of an MG branded smoker’s pouch. “They’ll throw you out of the pub if you have that, not because of the fact that you’re a smoker, but the fact you’ll want to talk about MG’s” . James May discussing classics, Richard Hammond driving modern sports cars, and Jeremy Clarkson bashing everything for not being as good as he’d like them to be. It pokes fun at the things that deserve it, and praises the things that are worthy.  Clarkson whipping a Corvette into a corner and yelling out “WELL DONE FAT MAN FROM KENTUCKY!” is one of the notable quotes.

The episode when they take 3 classic British sports cars to Blackpool; James May in a TVR, Richard Hammond in a Lotus, and Jeremy Clarkson in a Jensen Healey. It’s comical seeing even them take on 30 year old British sports cars, that have their vintage issues. But while they compare their cars to the ones that replaced them in the market place, specifically hatchbacks, Jeremy Clarkson laments the state of the British auto industry; “It’s not that we don’t make cars anymore, it’s the fact that we don’t make ANYTHING these days” So true. The Episodes when they revisit the glory days, such as Eagle’s E type Jaguar reproduction, the Re-vamped Jensen Interceptor (at $150K) really excite me when they put on the rose colored glasses of days past, realizing that revisiting is far more practical than actually using a vintage Triumph as a day to day driver. And while they put a celebrity in a cheap car to do a lap each episode, they’re given mid priced cars. It's an interesting show, well done and extremely opinionated. But if I'm not behind the wheel, it's one of those shows that makes me forget I'm on the couch.

I’ve caught the US version, and while I like the idea, at this point, I really haven’t come around to go out of my way to watch it. But who knows, maybe I’ll come around.