Top Gear coming to NBC

Cool but I just can't picture it with a new cast.

I agree with firstwagon - the personality of the UK Hosts (particularly James May) kind of makes the show. Unfortunately, more often than not, British humor rarely translates successfully across the pond - it'll be interesting to see how 'Americanized' this show becomes.

I hear the american show will actually be called TopCupholder. ;)

LoL ateixeira!
 
I also agree with firstwagon. I'll still be catching BBC Top Gear on YouTube.

Oh man! You guys aren't very optimistic! My co-worker and I have already been brainstorming who the hosts could be.
 
We think Jay Leno would be a great host (to fill the shoes of the long-haired older guy [name?!?]). Tim Allen is a car nut too. He could be the "younger" dude.
 
As for a Clarkson replacement, we need someone that is, so to speak, the anti-Clarkson. Someone who can stick up for American cars and hammer all the imports... and give a jab or two at Jeremy every now and then too ;-)
 
Ideas?

we also need a speical where they go to the uk. buy some bad cars their, write insults on them and have flocks on egnlish men after them

reply 2.
 
they also need to get some of the top gear uk fav cars.
 
and then dyno testing them, saying they are lieing about hp numbers becasue the at the wheel dyno doesn't match what the factory says. (when they ripped the mustang because the dyno showed like 450 hp after being driven hard, when the factory spec is like 500) [for some reason they dont understand hp at the crank, and at the wheel]

The rumor regarding the hosts is "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Vern Troyer (think: Mini Me), and Alicia Silverstone.
 
FTL (for the loss), folks! :(
 
I would like to see Jay Leno or Tim Allen (they're both left-handed if I remember correctly, too). I think Randy Pobst would be fantastic. I imagine he would be the American equivalent of Fifth Gear's Tiff Needell.
 
Wouldn't it be SWEET if Inside Line had its own show?!

How about Jeff Gordon as STIG?

Jeff Gordon probably would:
 
1) Not have the time to do this
2) Want too much $
3) Not be (quite) as skilled on a road course as some other drivers (although he is clearly one of the best road racers in the Nextel/Sprint Cup Series)

How about Jay Leno, Tim Allen and Jerry Seinfeld?
 
The only problem with Seinfeld is that he'll be heavily biased toward Porsche. But that could actually balance out the bias toward domestics from Leno and Allen.
 
Also, NBC should hold an open tryout for Stig.

opfreak,
 
I suggested that idea to my friends as well :-)
 
Randy Savage?!? Mini-me?!? Alicia Silverstone?!? That's it... I'm going to NBC studios and shooting someone.

louiswei,
  Jerry Seinfeld is a great idea, even with his Porsche bias. Look at Richard Hammond and his bias toward Porsche
 
The thing that could mess this up the most is not being able to actually insult or bash bad cars which adds much of the entertainment by saying how bad some cars really are

I think the best idea is to find 3 no-name guys with the personalities that closely resemble the orginal TG three. Since the hosts will have no baggages on their shoulders they are free to be as cruel as possible. At the same time NBC gets to keep the original TG's humorous natural and safe production cost. A win-win for everyone.

Or they could just show the Top Gear episodes from the UK on NBC. I personally can't see anyone capturing the spirit of Clarkson, Hammond, May, or the Stig in the same way. They've been doing TG for so long that they work together perfectly. Then again, I actually like British humour, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask...

lol @ Ateixeira
 
If I had to pick 3 new peeps, I'd say Marco Andretti, Travis Pastrana, Jeremy McGrath, and Danica Patrick as The Stig. But you can't ever know The Stig's identity, so that must be a secret.

Id prefer someone who isnt biased toward a certain brand or country of origin. That individual would certainly be hard to find.

It won't translate. The Brits do it best and will continue to watch them on the BBC!

Whoa! Easy there, opfreak. Inside Line's full test of the Shelby GT500 states that owners have reported "wildly erratic" (421whp to 460whp) dyno results. Before you knock Top Gear, remember that Edmunds sent the GT500 to the dyno first and also found it to be telling lies. Also, if you watch the American episode again, you'll see that by the end the three presenters became fairly attached to their cars. Clarkson even commented that he would rather have been driving his old Camaro than an Enzo. Sure, they made the mistake of trying to anger red necks, but overall the show is great. I think you'll also find that the guys (even Clarkson) like some American cars and give them a fair test (Z06, Viper, Ford GT).

sabastian
 
the point is. wheel hp NEVER equals the horsepower given by the manufacture.
 
Why? all the loses, transmission, difs, driveshafts etc.
 
Then theres the dyno. What temperature is it being used at. is the engine hot from hard driving with the hood closed? whats the air pressure? is the air hot and humid in general?
 
All of those factors will influence dyno result DRAMATICLY
 
when an engine is rather, its put on an engine dyno. at a fixed temp.
 
in the example below, a certain temp/pressure/humidity combination. gives you ~80% of rated power.
 
so a 500hp even would give you 400hp and thats before other losses
 
heres a link
 
http://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_hp_abs.htm
 
The SAE J1349 relative horsepower calculation shows how air density alters the power output of a properly tuned engine. For example, with an air temperature of 85 deg F, an absolute pressure of 25.09 in-Hg, and 40% relative humidity, the engine only produces about 81.1% of the rated horsepower.
 
For the SAE J1349 relative horsepower calculations, the standard reference conditions are: Air temp 77 deg F (25 deg C), 29.235 Inches- Hg (990 mb) actual pressure and 0% relative humidity.

"the point is. wheel hp NEVER equals the horsepower given by the manufacture. "
 
umm, I'd rephase that.
 
The wheel HP never equals the power at the crankshaft. I've seen several examples over the years where the wheel HP exceeded the HP given by the manufactor. Not just in the glory days of muscle cars too.

firstwagon. you put it better.

I'm torn. An American version could be good and original, but I'm not sure it could quite match the wonderfulness that is the original Top Gear. I would love to have hosts turn things around and just rip on European cars, but Americans just can't be blunt and offer harsh criticism. Everything has to be coddling and politically correct. Have you ever noticed that for most American game/reality shows that had a harsh host, that host was a Brit.

in defense of americans, if were harse and rip other countries. people think were acting all superior and resent us.
 
when the british do it, we just bursh it off, as the british being british.

stovt001: I'm almost positive that if the American hosts "turn it around" to get back at European Top Gear, the show would just look like a big "Go America!" parade. (I'm also not totally convinced that they hosts are Anti-American. Clarkson says a lot of things, but he also tends to give American cars decent reviews.) Can you honestly hear the hosts saying, "You know, this M3 is pretty good, but I'd rather have a Mustang!" I really hope it doesn't work out like that. What I'm looking for is something like Myth Busters. Cool hosts and interesting challenges make for a decent show.

opfreak,
 
The Brits get away with it because the rules 1/3 of the world at one time... but then they fell. I'm sure when America isn't numero uno anymore that we'll be allowed to get off being "American" too :-)

Here's a quote from NBC on the show - "We're always looking for innovative ways to partner with our advertisers, and this show offers a great platform for the latest in car culture."
 
Also, an NBC news producer once told me in person "NBC doesn't do automotive journalism." I can't wait to see how all that works out on screen.

Sabastian: Reading Jeremy Clark's book, he does give a lot of American cars bad reviews, and he even gets numerous facts flat out wrong. Now I don't think it should be flat out Euro-bashing. In fact I just think some nice jabs at them could be fun. Don't seriously trash them, but some ribbing and light mockery of overpricing, snobbery, etc could possibly be done tastefully.
 
As far as hosts, I hope they put "car guy" or "car girl" as a higher priority than celebrity. I do like the idea of Jay Leno though.

I didn't mean to come off as hating the guys. I love it. But sometimes the anti american thing is a bit old. That coming to america bit was mildly funny, but also on some levels insulting.
 
I dont even think i'd like an american version, because copies rarely work well. and the reason top gear works is for its orginallity and humor.

Trading Space, American Idol and The Office are all brit transplants and work well.

Don't forget "Whose Line is it Anyway?"