TopGear drives 124 Spider?

[aj81spider]

I love Wheeler Dealers - but I just have to laugh at their math:

We bought a car for 3500 pounds, put 1000 into it and sold it for 5500 for a profit of 1000!

...well except for the 400 hours of work that Ed put in for free.

[RRoller123]

Hahahaha! Yes they are math challenged. And it is obvious that they have enormous off-camera restoration help, because to shoot a series of say, 13 or 14 shows over a broadcast season, it would be impossible to restore all those cars! The entire season would be one car. One a week is ridiculous, of course. But I love these guys, they are like Holmes and Watson. My favorite show on TV, and I have learned quite a bit of general knowledge by watching Ed at work. The funniest part is seeing him try to get into the cars. He is hugely tall.

[steve8462]

i love the phrases he uses! "in good nick"- the brakes are "perished" -the front wing instead of fender. i love it!

[pgilling]

Being a Brit it's interesting to hear your views - don't worry, I'm pretty much in agreement with you all!

As for Clarkson, the 'cringeworthy uncle' analogy is pretty good. There was a lot of coverage on TV about his his "eany meenie...." screw-up. From what I saw I believe he startled saying the old nursery rhyme to chose between cars - as those of us over 40 used to say that rhyme - then with horror he realised where that rhyme was taking him so he mumbled something else instead of the 'N' word. Of course he could have been an outright racist bigot but I just think in this case, from what I saw, it was a genuine error. Although I think his pokes at Americans is mostly good-natured, sometimes I do cringe a bit as I wonder if many Americans take offence. But of course the positive flip-side is he can offer opinions about cars without having to succumb to advertising pressures!

When I worked in Germany on a NATO role I made some very good American friends, who I am still regularly in touch with, and we were always making fun out of each other's national stereotypes. But that was happening between friends, and sometimes on the television when Clarkson does the same it can be pretty cringeworthy.

I didn't realise that Wheeler Dealers was transmitted in North America, I love that programme too. although I think they often offer their cars for sale below market value, and this is not making people in the classic car scene very happy! And of course Ed does seem to get them done rather quickly and to a good standard for not much money!

I've started watching another new car restoration programme in the UK called 'Car SOS'. The link is below but I'm pretty sure you won't be up to watch it unless you can somehow hide your computer's location.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/car-sos

Even if you can't watch it through the link, keep your eyes open for it in case it gets transmitted in North America. They recently restored a little Fiat 850 spider which was pretty interesting, it was done to a very high standard. It must have cost a fortune to do all the work they did but they never reveal how much they spend, but just show the finished article to a deserving owner who for whatever circumstances is unable to complete the job themselves.

One more program worth watching is 'For the Love of Cars' starring Philip Glenister.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/for- ... sode-guide

Again, you may not be able to watch it unless you fudge the Internet. They did incredible restorations on cars then sold them at auction. They did a Ford Escort Mk 1, a Series 1 Land Rover, a Triumph Stag, an MG-TC, a Mini Cooper Mk 1 and a DeLorean. They were all excellent programmes. If nothing else, it tells you that the classic car market is on a real resurgence as 2 of the cars sold for world record figures! If memory serves me, that was the mini and the DeLorean.

Finally, I've seen another US program I really like called 'Extreme Car Hoarders'. I'm not sure about the viability of the business plan, but it makes great viewing and they don't seem to play up the cameras using stupid catch-phrases like in other car programmes! They seem like a real genuine guys who are struggling to make a buck.

Anyhoo, just a view from a damn Limey for what it's worth!

[azruss]

sometimes I do cringe a bit as I wonder if many Americans take offence

.
I've spent some time working in both Britain and Germany. I have always enjoyed the dry British humor and understand that those of us that live in the colonies are easy targets. It all good natured and i take no offence to it.
It is interesting to see how many of these car shows originate in Arizona. As a salesman, i have seen much of the greater phoenix area. It has amazed me of the huge quantities car jammed into countless commercial lots. I have talked to some of these hoarders and they are an interesting group. Ran on to a guy hoading MGs and Morgans just around the corner from the shop. Havent run on to a Fiat hoarder yet.

[phaetn]

When I worked in Germany on a NATO role I made some very good American friends, who I am still regularly in touch with, and we were always making fun out of each other's national stereotypes. But that was happening between friends, and sometimes on the television when Clarkson does the same it can be pretty cringeworthy.

Stereotypes are fun for a laugh sometimes -- never are they more rampant than during the World Cup when nationalism really comes to the fore!

Italy's out. Uruguay's out. ugh. I can't bring myself to root for the Dutch so Germany it is!

Clarkson is just a fat oafish bit of a bastard, but I'm sure he'd be the first to admit it. I'm just jealous of all his money, but especially his cars. What keeps me watching their show is the self-depricating humour and pranks.

What I really used to enjoy (for more serious car reviews) was Fifth Gear. Don't think that's still around any more.

On your folk's advice I just watched a few Wheeler Dealers. The one where they fix up a Lotus Elan was particularly good and I learned a thing or two.

Cheers,
phaetn

[pgilling]

What a disaster, just 5 days before the latest BBC Top Gear episode that was due to feature a 124 Spider driven by Jeremy Clarkson, the BBC pulls the shows because Jeremy allegedly punched one of the producers! The Radio Times magazine quotes:

Sunday's show was set to feature Clarkson and fellow presenters Richard Hammond and James May getting to grips with classic cars including a Fiat 124 Spider, an MGB GT and a Peugeot 304 Cabriolet

The BBC News article is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31828184

[AriK]

Another Spider saved.

[Zippy]

I would have been very interested in seeing that show. In 1971 I was on my way to buy an MGC-GT. As I pulled up at the dealer it was sitting in the driveway with the hood open and steam pouring out from the engine. I wound up at another dealer and bought a Fiat 124 Sport Coupe. I always wondered how my life would have been different if I did get the MG. One of those "what if" situations.

[KevAndAndi]

I can understand why they would decide to discipline Clarkson, but what's the logic of not broadcasting the remaining shows?

I was anxious to see the 124/2000 Spider have a moment of fame, and I do occasionally watch "Top Gear", but it does often make me wince. The presenters are not actors, and yet it's obvious much of the show is scripted (though it pretends to be spontaneous), so that leads to an overall patina of falsity. Sometimes, it's all just too corny, like an old Bob Hope sketch.

The same could be said about "Wheeler Dealers", but I cut them a lot more slack, as the show is about advancing a (somewhat fictional) story rather than an attitude. The criticism about "WD" not taking into account Edd's man hours has been made many times. But the premise of the show is that many of these jobs could be done by an amateur mechanic, therefore, the "profit" essentially constitutes the supposed entrepreneur-mechanic's compensation. Would a backyard mechanic actually take on such jobs with the idea of making money? Probably not. Would an amateur have at his disposal all of the gadgets Edd uses? No (and Edd always acknowledges as much). But that's the premise of the show. The actual purpose is demonstrating how one might go about negotiating for, buying, and improving a "modern classic". From that standpoint, it is invaluable to me as a novice mechanic, because Edd never assumes the viewer has more than a basic level of understanding, and the program does such a terrific job of getting in the nooks and crannies to show exactly what's going on.

[pgilling]

Another Spider saved.

To be honest I think JC is a fan of Spiders and other Italian cars of that era as, doing a search yesterday, I saw a quote from an article he wrote in the Sunday Times:

...Happily, from his point of view, I realised that I was actually leaning on the bonnet of a Delta Integrale at the time. And I decided that what I really wanted, more than anything in the world, was this ludicrous, left-hand-drive superstar from the original Sega Rally machine.
Of course, people with blazers will explain that Lancias are old rot-boxes that fell to pieces long before anyone had a chance to drive them to the shops. But having driven across Botswana in a Beta last year, I can assure you this is bunkum.
A classic Lancia will have no more problems than a classic Mercedes. Automotive time is a great leveller. So I’d made my mind up. I was going to buy, having buried the owner in a motorway bridge, a supercharged Lancia Beta HPE. Right up to the moment I spotted a right-hand-drive Fiat 124 Spider.
Or no, hang on a minute. Isn’t that a 131 Mirafiori over there – the car that was advertised in a cage, growling? And it’s parked next to a 132. My head was starting to swim. And that’s when I spotted the Alfa Romeo Montreal.

So I was thinking that he must be a fan of the 124 Spider, as I suspect (like myself) he's not a fan of the 'Victorian' engineering in MGs - and I'm a Brit by the way!

[RRoller123]

I agree about Wheeler Dealers, I love the show and watch it all the time. It is refreshing in that they show stuff that one might actually do to their own car, and I have learned a lot from Ed. And those 2 are like Holmes and Watson, very entertaining!

[KevAndAndi]

I presume that Edd = Holmes and Mike = Watson?

[phaetn]

I can understand why they would decide to discipline Clarkson, but what's the logic of not broadcasting the remaining shows?

The in-studio filming wasn't done yet. You know, the part where they have the audience in the hangar and make jokes, have the celebrity in to discuss his or her lap around the track etc. It looks the external filming was already done long ago and they likely already had the post-production stuff all finished. See this post where forum member whiteonyx indicates that it's his actual car that he sold to Top Gear and the studio filming was due very soon.

If Clarkson is canned, then they won't do the studio bit with him; I would imagine that it is very unlikely that BBC would use footage of him without his commentary in-studio.

Cheers,
phaetn

[whiteonyx]

looks like series 22 is now completely canceled and my Spider will not be screened at all, really pissed off, very tempted to buy back the car than see her stuck in storage to rot away

for sale, x4 unused VIP tickets for the show...offers?!?