LondonLax Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 The electric cars thing summed up what Top Gear can do well - they did a segment that was both informative, but clearly had an argument to make and made that argument (and made it entertaining) by exaggerating or taking things in a slightly less than fair situation (those cars I would suspect the manufacturers would call 'City cars' or 'city runarounds', not big commute machines, for example), but at heart the argument (electric cars are potentially good but batteries are dumb, don't buy them) is sound. There is a blog on the Guardian about this. Apparently they ran the batteries down to 40% before they set off on their trip to make sure it ran out in Lincoln which is a city without any public charge points. They also ignored the fact that the Leaf has a quick charge option to get it back to 80% power in 30mins. It turns out the Top Gear road show is sponsered by Shell who are pushing hydrogen cars over electric so Top Gear is towing the line by fakeing electric cars breaking down and suggesting (Shell's) hydrogen is the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Tesla are also suing them for their review of the roadster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDon Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 The electric cars thing summed up what Top Gear can do well - they did a segment that was both informative, but clearly had an argument to make and made that argument (and made it entertaining) by exaggerating or taking things in a slightly less than fair situation (those cars I would suspect the manufacturers would call 'City cars' or 'city runarounds', not big commute machines, for example), but at heart the argument (electric cars are potentially good but batteries are dumb, don't buy them) is sound. There is a blog on the Guardian about this. Apparently they ran the batteries down to 40% before they set off on their trip to make sure it ran out in Lincoln which is a city without any public charge points. They also ignored the fact that the Leaf has a quick charge option to get it back to 80% power in 30mins. It turns out the Top Gear road show is sponsered by Shell who are pushing hydrogen cars over electric so Top Gear is towing the line by fakeing electric cars breaking down and suggesting (Shell's) hydrogen is the future. Hydrogen is the future. Battery powered electric cars are just fatally flawed because batteries are crap. The quick charge option requires the use of a rapid charger, you cannot "rapid charge" on a domestic supply which is how they charged it. tbh it doesn't really matter that they faked it, the scenario remains plausible that you can run out of range miles away from a charging point. They're just not suitable for long journeys, as city run abouts sure, but you'd need a 2nd car if you ever want to cover a significant distance. Which kinda defeats the cost savings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunRickyRun Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I think electric cars with be like rabbit phones (remember them?). By the time there are enough charging points and enough suscribers to make them passably economically viable, something will come along that will make them obselete overnight (possibly Hydrogen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted August 9, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted August 9, 2011 tbh it doesn't really matter that they faked it, the scenario remains plausible that you can run out of range miles away from a charging point. They're just not suitable for long journeys, as city run abouts sure, but you'd need a 2nd car if you ever want to cover a significant distance. Which kinda defeats the cost savings. That's what the Chevy Volt/Opel Ampera (while it will be available in RHD for the UK market, will it be as a Chevy Volt, Vauxhall Ampera, or a Vauxhall Volt?) is for. Batteries die miles from a charge point? Gasoline generator kicks in to start charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCDAN Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Didn't they solve the problem a few years ago when they built their own electric car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted August 9, 2011 Moderator Share Posted August 9, 2011 tbh it doesn't really matter that they faked it, the scenario remains plausible that you can run out of range miles away from a charging point. They're just not suitable for long journeys, as city run abouts sure, but you'd need a 2nd car if you ever want to cover a significant distance. Which kinda defeats the cost savings. Which is precisely the point the Top Gear executive producer has made in the show's rebuttal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I think it would be a bit better if the BBC were impartial to outside sponsor influence though. We already pay a licence fee, we shouldn't have to have Shell writing the show scripts as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwpzxjor1 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 New India Special about to start now on BBC2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Probably the end of top gear for me, even the Xmas special was rubbish just seemed pointless and unfunny to me, anoter episode of top gear I sat there wondering how much cash they spunked on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Missed it... but doesn't look like i missed much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lammy123 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 probably one of the worst episodes of Top Gear ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I enjoyed it personally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDon Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 It was just a rehash of every other joke they've done in these specials. Bits of it were funny, but you saw every joke coming a mile off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwpzxjor1 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Incredibly staged, incredibly predictable, but I still found it quite amusing. Certainly wearing thin though. I think Top Gear has certainly ran it's course now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidlewis Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 they need to reinvente it now, it's all a bit old hat now. they should do more reviews of the cars, give a more informed opinion of the car not just whether it can do drift and ridiculous doughnughts. Star in reasonably priced car is fine that works. I did also enjoy it when they had to try and find a certain type of car on a budget and then do a series of tests with it. That made more sense to me than these silly challenges to all corners of the globe. the super car under £10k was an awesome one I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 29, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted December 29, 2011 Not just me that felt it was very dull then. I struggled to hold my attention to it, every joke felt cheap and tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrinityRoadSteps Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Nice to see a proper Mini given centre stage though. But like many people have said its all getting a bit old hat now and is getting to be a bit of a parody of itself. The Eat English Muff was funny though ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 The Eat English Muff was funny though ! If it happened naturally, maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwpzxjor1 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 If it happened naturally, maybe. Of course it didn't happen naturally.. I think people get too bogged down in the thinking that Top Gear is a car review show. It's an entertainment show. Clarkson, May and Hammond are characters. If people want car reviews and sensible tests then watch Fifth Gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts