New new Top Gear

[Mullardman]

I may be biased, because my interest in cars is almost exclusively about getting from A-B comfortably, safely and cheaply. I do like to see a nice and unusual car, but beyond that they are all overpriced tedium to me.

Also, it seems to me that we are likely well past 'peak car'. Increasing restrictions,( I don't think there's a single carriageway in Derbys that isn't restricted to 50mph) congestion zones/Low Emmission Zones the push for low carbon. Electric/driverless cars etc.

I'd say that what 'fun' remains will be increasingly restricted to Track Days and the like. Car ownership will become more the preserve of the wealthy again and in 30-50 years private cars as we know them, will have similar status to that now afforded to preserved steam locos.

As for TG. I doubt anyone will ever replace the Clarkson, May and Hammond triumvirate. They were a perfect foil for each other. Just a pity that Clarkson has a 'dark side', though I did like May's reaction to racism allegations against Clarkson. " He's not racist.. He's just a cock.."

 

[Shuggie]

I enjoyed it and was mightily relieved that there seems to be some genuine on-screen chemistry going on, with Chris Harris at times seemingly wondering what's hit him. Also, during the studio bits, it was nice to see the audience being included in the chat. All iterations of Top Gear since Clarkson et al departed apparently viewed the audience as just part of the studio set background, and that's clearly changed. I can forgive a couple of bits of stilted studio presentation and look forward to the rest of the series.

 

[Mike Reed]

Wow. Excellent bit of prejudice there, sterling work. Not everyone would have spotted the opportunity to wedge it in.

Ha ha ! No prejudice, as I love regional accents (part of my EFL teaching presentation when I could mimic better than nowadays). However, following on from the three automotive musketeers, all with southern (or no ?) accents and the recent American twang, those closed vowels etc. just don't seem to gel with a prog. which could be exported globally. What with the mispronunciation of 'Porsche', it indicates an education somewhat poorer than the former C, H. and M cohort.

 

[andy831]

As a fellow Lancastrian I enjoyed the show and also the "closed vowels" whatever the hell they are

 

[Arkless Electronics]

"The Motorbike Show" is how it should be done! Fantastic! And a vastly superior form of transport to boot!

 

[stevec67]

Fair point, TG hadn't been a car show for a long time.

But then apart from watching three middle-aged men tit about in cars I quite like programmes that just get on with it without trying to entertain.

For instance, give me old Sky at Night with Patrick - 'Good evening. Right. Nebulas...'

Going off topic here but the 1st Handmade series on the Beeb was so refreshing. No narrator, no effects, no music, just a camera pointing at a craftsperson at work. I like the bravery in that, just letting the content speak for itself.

The market for TG is not car enthusiasts, it's an entertainment show based on cars and aiming at a very broad market. If you want detail about the cars, look elsewhere. The BBC make a fortune selling the show all over the world, a return to the 1980's talking about crash safety technology in the new Ford XYZ and whatever else is new wouldn't sell.

 

[Shuggie]

Ha ha ! No prejudice, as I love regional accents (part of my EFL teaching presentation when I could mimic better than nowadays). However, following on from the three automotive musketeers, all with southern (or no ?) accents and the recent American twang, those closed vowels etc. just don't seem to gel with a prog. which could be exported globally. What with the mispronunciation of 'Porsche', it indicates an education somewhat poorer than the former C, H. and M cohort.

Mike, have you considered that the mispronunciation of 'Porsche' might be deliberate, a bit like how James May made a point of mispronouncing 'Dacia' even though he clearly knew otherwise? Most ordinary people pronounce 'Porsche' incorrectly, just as they do with Volkswagen, Lancia, Renault, Peugeot and God knows how many more.

 

[stevec67]

Along with Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Stuttgart, Milan(o) and however many other foreign words.

 

[jtrade]

What with the mispronunciation of 'Porsche', it indicates an education somewhat poorer than the former C, H. and M cohort.

What do you think the correct pronunciation of "Porsche" is (in English, not German) ?

 

[Dave H.]

Ha ha ! No prejudice, as I love regional accents (part of my EFL teaching presentation when I could mimic better than nowadays). However, following on from the three automotive musketeers, all with southern (or no ?) accents and the recent American twang, those closed vowels etc. just don't seem to gel with a prog. which could be exported globally. What with the mispronunciation of 'Porsche', it indicates an education somewhat poorer than the former C, H. and M cohort.

I can see there being a potential issue with selling the programme to other territories, but I like the accents, they’re a breath of fresh air. It’d sound weird for the news reader on R4, but for this I think it’s good that the telly seems to realise the country doesn’t end at the M25 for once!

And I can vouch for the fact that post-grad educated fluent German speakers can perfectly happily say Porsche without accentuating the last letter. I see it more as just not trying to impress on others that you know how Germans say it. Though I’d take a dim view of the same phenomenon with Nietzsche, so what do I know

 

[Stunsworth]

What do you think the correct pronunciation of "Porsche" is (in English, not German) ?

Tinywilly

 

[kennyh]

I remember as a kid the commentators at Lemans always called it Porsche-a, as did most people when the name was mentioned.

It suddenly became Porsche like Nestles became Nestlay

 

[matt j]

Even with Monkey Harris on board I couldn't watch the previous attempts, from reading around this doesn't sound half bad so I'll give it a try. Can't be any worse than dad rock, Genesis Clarkson and his bunch of sycophants on Amazon.

 

[Mike Reed]

Mike, have you considered that the mispronunciation of 'Porsche' might be deliberate

A possibility, Hugo, but I feel an unlikely one after seeing/hearing that show; what would be the point?

a bit like how James May made a point of mispronouncing 'Dacia' even though he clearly knew otherwise

I assume 'Dacia' has Italian connotations, even though it's French ( I think). Not sure, however, why a French company would use an Italian name.

Most ordinary people pronounce 'Porsche' incorrectly, just as they do with Volkswagen, Lancia, Renault, Peugeot and God knows how many more.

Oddly, I've never heard Peugeot and Renault mispronounced and VW would be tricky if you didn't know German pronunciation for v and w. Not sure about 'ordinary' people, but I picked up on 'Porsche' simply because I rarely hear it pronounced wrongly. Surprising to hear the mispronunciations of composers' names on Classic FM; Saint-Saens and Dukas among others. If you're going to compere a programme, surely you'd be educated in its subject matter or at least someone would point errors out, as it's been going on for years. Rant over.

 

[Space is the Place]

Thought it was great, i enjoy watching "juvenile Northerners", tedious adults i'm not keen on.
It's wrong to say McGuinness knows nothing about cars, he has a history in testing car security...

 

[Mike Reed]

Nestles became Nestlay

Thought 'Nestle (acute accent) was always thus. Don't know if it's Swiss or French, though.

 

[Brown Bottle]

I enjoyed the Ferrari/McLaren test, I fast forwarded the rest after a few minutes. I’ll try the next one.

Cheers BB

 

[Space is the Place]

Seems like they shot one of the Episodes in Brunei.

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...i-homophobic-film-stoning-law-andrew-flintoff

Love is love.

 

[Bob McC]

Everyone mispronounces Citroen.

 

[tones]

Thought 'Nestle (acute accent) was always thus. Don't know if it's Swiss or French, though.

Henri Nestlé was actually originally a German, Heinrich Nestle (pronounced "nest-le", with the "le" pronounced as per the French word for "the"). He Frenchified his name when he moved to the Suisse Romande. "Nestle" is Swabian dialect for a small bird's nest, hence the Nestlé logo.