no_really

in the little article he wrote about it, he was bitching only about the alarm, not the car. It does seem the man is unable to comment about anything unless it is negative.

it does seem that most of his sniping is probably seen as humor outside of the US. Things like his bitching about the rather sane traffic behavior, good teeth, food, etc., that he profeses to hate apout America, are all things that anyone who's travelled in Europe can see as obvious sarcasm, but his delivery doesn't give that away. It's like his persona is one of someone who blindly adores anything British or European, and can't stop attacking anyting American purely because it is American. The "races" in the posted video make this clear - the Mustang GT was driven by someone who was apparenlty not nearly as accomplished as the Stig, and even though they went off track a bit, they still finished right on the ass of the Lotus Exige. He later suggests a race that would not be so one-sided, and the result is an M roadster vs. a Viper It ends with the Viper nosing ahead from behind, with the same driver as the Mustang - obviously not a ringer like the Stig.

rockville

I think a lot of what Clarkson says is quite funny but he is also factually challenged and inconsistent. Consider that he made fun of the Vette on the TV review but seemed to think it was great fun in his column.
[QUOTE] This gave me a problem when I climbed out and gave the keys back to the man from Chevrolet.

NFRs2000NYC

My favorite scene was the one with the 4x4s....

"This escalade is equipped with everything one needs to go offroad, 22" rims...."

Like him or not, the man has a way with the english language. I agree with everything he said, with the exception of the SRT8 vs the M5. However, his point was, that the non americans, do everything better than the americans, regardless of price, and it is 100% true.

gbuka

[QUOTE=no_really,Jan 2 2007, 08:58 PM]in the little article he wrote about it, he was bitching only about the alarm, not the car.

no_really

sure, as long as "regardless of price" means "for twice the money or more over the American offering."

J3ffro

I've personally only been a car guy for a few years (golf pretty much had the monopoly growing up) so early on I kind of took Clarksons word on faith, that the guy had enough experience with enough different cars that his judgement would be spot on.

Only lately have I realized he is a pretty biased guy...doesn't make him any less entertaining in my mind, only a little less factual, which is fine. As long as you don't view him as the end all of car reviews and take what he says with a decent helping of salt he's got a lot of insight.

mstupp

Clarkson's programs provide much more interesting and entertaining ideas than "Motorweek" and "Car & Driver TV". That's part of the appeal, the things you won't see on American television, like BillyBob shooting up a Prius.

Spartikus

Wow, I didn't realize that some people would be so sensitive about what he says about cars. Clarkson's humor has nothing to do with Japanese leghumpers anymore than NASCAR inspires people to rant about people not liking domestics.

I think the majority of his viewers realize that if he says anything good about a car at all then the car is at least really good in that one respect. When he said the Corvette is as fun as catching herpes I interpreted that as it is great fun, yet the t.v. persona he's created isn't allowed to like American cars(again, humor).

Slamnasty

I definitely agree with this. Car and Driver, Motorweek...these programs are all about the numbers and little more. Granted I don't mind a simple review of a given car's attributes, but it doesn't make me laugh or marvel at the prodigous use of the English dictionary. The one where he had a few old ladies do donuts in an S2000 was pretty cool, but the strange matchups are iteresting too. It's just an all-around very entertaining car show that does not follow the rules. British car mags are the same way: they outclass every American car mag in writing, photography, and story. Sad to say, but it's true.

WarrenW

I agree. And the way that show, along w/ Top Gear is shot and edited is far superior to American automotive TV shows. Maybe that's why we love it so much.

Warren