1A Blog Asks: Top Gear USA – Are You a Fan Yet?

 Top Gear

By now, we have all had some time to fully digest the first season of Top Gear USA, did we like it?  Whoa, whoa! Before getting too far into it, let’s do a quick refresher of what we saw:

Episode 1: We met Tanner, Rutledge, and Adam as a team for the first time.  Then we watched the Viper SRT-10 annihilate the rear tires attempting to escape the apparent wrath of a military helicopter.  Oh, there was also a 3-wide Lamborghini race, and we got to see Buzz Aldrin, who has gone 25,000 mph, but drives cars very slowly.

Episode 2: Tanner raced down a mountain in the new Mitsubishi Lancer EVO, Rutledge gave us a review on the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and V12 Vantage, and I guess we saw the 370Z.  I guess that portion was forgettable for me though because I don’t remember any Nissan in the episode. Dominic Monaghan also made an appearance as a guest.  I would have preferred that they interview the guy that made the awesome coffee table and chairs.  I guarantee he (or she?) is more exciting.  Moving on…

Episode 3: The Boss mustang had a wonderful exhaust note, but who really cared, because we saw a Coupe Deville fly through the air.  The three amigos spit alcohol on a fire and gained boat loads of carisma together.  The ‘shine runner 300ZX, Thunderbird Turbo, and Coupe Deville was a win.  You cannot deny it. Ty Burrell who?

Episode 4: Kid Rock was a big improvement over the last guests, the SVT Raptor roared through the desert with more air time than a rental car.  The El Camino and Del Sol paint ball event was “meh”, and the Gullwing SLS AMG Mercedes looked great, even though Adam’s criticism tried to ugly it.

Episode 5: Episode 5 was the one with the Fiero, Cutlass, and Roadmaster wagon.  Nuff Said. Tony Hawk stopped by to say hello as well.

Episode 6: The Morgan Aero Supersport looked great as always (just don’t look directly at it). Then the three raced from Miami to Key West in the seaplane, boat, and Lotus.  Michelle Rodriguez was the guest, and she could definitely beat me up.

Episode 7: Used car salesmen is what they were striving to be in episode 7.  Tanner had the beat up Porsche 914, Rutledge had the flat black Lex, and Adam was ridin’ dirty in the Legend. Tim Allen also informed us of all the cool stuff he has.

Episode 8: Ferrari California, Porsche Panamera Turbo, and BMW X6M.  The cars were impressive and expensive, and Bret Michaels was there too.

Episode 9: The toughest Amerrrrican truck was crowned to be the 1983 Chevy K10.  We saw the Ford bust a driveshaft, and the Dodge was driven into its grave by Rutledge.  The Toyota haunted them the entire way.

Episode 10: The review of the first 9 episodes.

My thoughts:
I think Top Gear USA is now a great addition to my weekly automotive entertainment.  The first episodes were a bit rough because the guys had zero carisma together.  In the beginning, I felt the same way as many others like “Who are these hosts?”  Tanner Foust I knew, Adam Ferrara I recognized the name, but Rutledge Who?  Regardless, it was a another car show, so I was going to watch it whether it was good or not (Wheeler Dealer anybody?).  Once the hosts got more comfortable in front of the camera, the show improved exponentially.  No, it isn’t TGUK, but it’s still a great automotive show that is directed at myself and the culture I’m part of.  Overall, I’m happy with the show and have full intentions of watching it in the future.

So what did you think about Top Gear USA so far?

– The hosts?
– Did you know who Rutledge was before this? Seriously?
– The guests?
– The cars?
– The challenges?

Image borrowed from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(U.S._TV_series)

Jeremy Nutt

Hi, I'm Jeremy.

4 thoughts to “1A Blog Asks: Top Gear USA – Are You a Fan Yet?”

  1. its a good show, but not as good as the original. it is nice to see cars that are offered in the u.s. i do intend to keep watching

  2. Do I like TGUS? I agree it’s not TGUK, not even TGAU, but now in the second ‘season’ (what is a season now anyway?), the boys are starting to gel some, but still need to learn how to interact like they actually -like- each other. The stunts are still mostly copies of UK, but a lot of these yanks haven’t seen the older shows, so it can work…but they still need to find one or two enthralling writers since the ad-libs are real weak, and the ‘Nyah-Nyahs’ just don’t cut it!
    On the other hand, IMHO, Adam Ferrara as a comedian is much more palatable than Adam Corolla (Gilbert Gottfreid Jr.) on “The Car Show”…
    For now, I’ll keep watching…but I’m not ready to brag like I do for the British version, or even the Aussies.

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