ASH8

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sys...greatest_hits/

RX-8
MX-5
CX-7
Mazda 6 MPS ( Mazdaspeed 6)

delhi

I remembered he listed the rx-8 as one of his all time favourite cars including the Aston and the M6.

magikone69

im not suprised, after i seen the vid of him test driving the car, he seemed to enjoy it very much...i notice no nissan products on the list...i remember he damn near hated the 350z when he tested it lol.

trash259

Yeah..but they awarded the z car of the year.

Mikeluvs8

nice!!! who wouldnt enjoy the 8.

ASH8

I know it is only one mans views and opinion, but there are no...

Mitsubishi Cars
Toyota's (Lexus)
Honda's
Subaru's
Ford
GM
Chrysler
Dodge
Hyundai
Kia
Jaguar
Jeep
Lamborghini
Land Rover
Lotus
Maserati
Maybach
Morgan
Pagani
Peugeot
Proton
Saab
Skoda
Smart
Ssangyong
Suzuki

And VOLVO to name but a Few!!!

saturn

Jeremy Clarkson's overwhelming desire is to impress people. I wouldn't trust anything he said about anything ever. I certainly find Top Gear entertaining, but worshiping one man because he has a tv show seems kinda odd. Personally, I buy the car that works for me -- not one that J.C. approves of. Funny how those initials work out, huh?

Razz1

odd> really?

Ever hear of Opra?

velociti

iTrader: (1)

impress people? are you frickin kidding me? if you watch him enough, you realize that if anyone is on there to impress people it's hammond, who wears designer clothing and whitens his teeth. on the contrary, clarkson doesn't give a damn what other people think, hence why his wardrobe is from the 1970's and 80's, why he makes constant jokes about the fact that he is fat and balding and why he is willing to take stands on products that some people don't really like. if he wanted to impress people, he would cater to them. he doesn't. at all. he doesn't give two ***** what people think of him, and people gravitate to his show because he's original, witty and makes references that people like hammond (and most of his target audience) wouldn't appreciate.

read this, and try to acknowledge that if the guy had an "overwhelming desire" to impress people, he would likely accomplish it by being ingratiating towards them, not shitting on them with an oblique shot not just at subaru owners, but at the general public who miss almost every historical reference the guy makes. i didn't mean to get worked up, because it's not like the guy is a relative or anything, but i have to say that if you truly believe that, you've grossly misread the man.

also, at the very least, give the man credit for being a phenomenal writer. if you meant to say that clarkson means to impress people by his originality, then by all means. but you made it sound like you think the man is terribly, terribly vain. you be judge. "And now into the mix comes the new Subaru Impreza. I drove the WRX model recently and was terribly underwhelmed. It was too ugly, too soft, equipped like an Eskimo’s khazi and about as exciting as Tuesday." that's not vanity, that's talent with language.

saturn

Taking stands on things that people don't like isn't a talent. It's a way to get noticed. He's a clever and witty person that uses the stage he's on to make grandiose statements that are shrouded in stereotypical, unoriginal bias that appeal to the self-appointed intellectual elite. Clearly your affinity for him shouldn't come as much of a surprise given your implicit regard for "people like hammond". Seems like there's a lot of that going around. Ironically enough, you praise the man who's quoted as saying "I'll give you a simple fact. When it comes to cars, looks are everything." Pretty elegant writing there.

Just remember that it's easier to create heat than light. I reserve my respect for those who can do the latter without so much of the former.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

Who?

velociti

iTrader: (1)

deft reply. though a little shrouded in ambiguity. "people like hammond" is not a direct quote. and i'm not sure what "stereotypical, unoriginal" biases you're referring to. without a doubt there's an element of truth to what you're saying. he fancies the AMV8 despite all of its shortcomings because of its appearance. but as for your opening...really?

christ man. i didn't say he was talented for his opinions. i said he was talented for his writing. and implied that his references should be given some consideration. something that apparently appeals to the "self-appointed intellectual elite." i wasn't making a value statement there, chief. i'm simply talking about nuance. there is an enormous amount of accumulated knowledge that has preceded us, and he makes reference to it. if you find that obnoxious or elitist, so be it. i appreciate that vantage point. coming from someone who's bastardized decartes with your "i pwn therefore i am." really? come on. if you're as resolved as i am, PM me. i wouldn't mind keeping this going.

New Yorker

I love Clarkson. He's a wonderful writer; playful, witty and funny. Very funny! Like Woody Allen and Monty Python, he adeptly combines ironic wit with silly slapstick. And, like any good writer, he's marvelously insightful; many of his comments—about fat, dumb (and proud) Amuricans, the quality of American cars, the quality of British cars—playfully confirm thoughts many of us had long before there was a Jeremy Clarkson.

I so know the kind of people who don't like him: like everyone except Larry David and Jeff Garland in an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," they take everything quite literally, rather than with the little wink intended. You know… people who, frankly, just don't have a good sense of humor. People who never make fun of themselves. Perhaps "Blazing Saddles" said it best: "You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons."

steven000e

To me his greatest hit was when he went down to Alabama and got bunch of red necks angry.... Every time I see it I just can't help but to laugh..

Check it out
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3bb_1186201960

delhi

Personally I take more stock in his assessment than the ***-kissing writers in North America. Not to mention their writing skills make me want to sleep. Top Gear is entertaining. You may or may not agree with Clarkson's opinions, but he is a fine writer. Check out his article when he visited Canada. Hilariously entertaining. I guess not everyone's into dry British humour.

dothackRAVE

I personally agree with the way he views cars. He sees them as pieces of art, not machines capable of spitting out something. He sees them as something special, something alive.

Hence why he can give mighty expensive cars a shitty review, and cheap cars good reviews. He doesn't talk that much about horsepower and whatnot, those are just bonuses. He talks about how it makes him feel.

saturn

Agreed. Personally, I actually either really like British humor or hate it. I certainly don't think it's all created equal. Trying to hard is generally a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

Top Gear is one of my favorite shows. The thing that bothers me is not so much that he has a top ten list or something (I mean, he hosts a car show). It's the fact that so many people slurp up everything he says without realizing that his chief goal is to get ratings, period.

I'm personally interested in the new Evo and I can't tell you how many times I've read "I can't wait until they test it on Top Gear against the STi so we can really see what's going on" as though Top Gear is the pinnacle of accurate information. What's worse is that it seems most people can't decide what they think about a car until Jeremy Clarkson tells them. No one on this forum said anything about the Crossfire before it was on that show. Afterwards it was a communal sin to regard the Crossfire as anything other than a joke.

The show is entertaining and interesting. It is NOT reliable regardless of what people think. He is not even handed and he is not consistent. This is the same person who trashed the 350Z and then later was a part of voting it car of the year. Not just a good car -- car of the year.

Just because he presents his current thoughts in a poetic, clever, or witty way does not make it true. That is a complete and utter fallacy that I see time and time again. If you sound smart, people will believe you.

It's good to have different perspectives when it comes to car reviews. I don't really regard any other publication as more reliable, but that's not really saying much. In the end, if you go around quoting Clarkson for anything other than a laugh or a single man's perspective, I worry about you.

ASH8

Look Clarkson and Top Gear are definitely entertaining and for the masses.
Do I agree with ALL that is said.... of course not.

It does give many viewers and car buyers information which is sometimes very bias and or skewed toward cars that many of us will just dream about owning/driving.

I personally would like to see more of the "bread and butter" line of motors tested and reviewed in more detail rather than just the same old Porsche, Jag, BMW, Mercs and exotics - but its always good to dream.

IMO their test track does give a good indication of a cars ability and performance.
Lap times are also interesting although I never give much credence to small differences of a time - plus or minus 1 second as we know there are so many variables which are controlled by nature.

What is wrong with viewers wanting to see a comparison between the latest Evo or STI.

As for Clarkson, yes he is a journalist and very witty clever word-smith, yes sometimes boring and not always correct.

Remember this was the guy who said at the launch of the Bugatti Veyron concept..."it will never be produced for sale".

What I would like to see on Top Gear while still keeping his anonymity is what the STIG really thinks of the car he is throwing around the track...
Perhaps he could hold up a ratings card, say out of 10.

JC and Top Gear rule.

delhi

Could be worse, we could be watching Motorweek's John Davis. Now this is a guy with talent. He can even find things to praise on cars like the Aztek.

JRichter

Lol. Will Americans ever get any decent automotive programming. I used to try to watch Motorweek and I can't even sit through the dialog any more no matter what cars they have on there. Pathetic...

New Yorker

So true. He seems like a really nice guy, but everything he says sounds like he's the PR guy for each car he reviews - rather than a reporter.

dynamho

A substantial 16% of his list are Mazdas.
No other Japanese model in there huh?