Jeremy Clarkson has drawn the ire of critics once again, this time for comments made in his column. While discussing the eco feature on his LG flat screen TV, the Top Gear presenter said that using the feature “dims the screen so much, every programme looks like it’s being presented by Lenny Henry in a cave.”
The problem? Henry is a black comedian.
The two have a history of butting heads after they cohosted a celebrity telethon, but the racially tinged jab is just the latest in a series of cringe-worthy jokes from the UK personality.
Previously, Clarkson and his compatriots on Top Gear managed to rile the Mexican government over disparaging comments made toward a supercar company based in the country, and last year’s Christmas special garnered the ire of Muslims when Top Gear hosts Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond dressed in the traditional garments of the religion’s women. Those episodes garnered apologies from Top Gear, the BBC and Clarkson himself, but there’s no indication as to whether the latest comments will require similar atonement.
It seemed that BBC’s Top Gear is expanding so rapidly, we might just have Top Gear in almost every continent. BBC has yet again milked their massive Top Gear franchise by entering the country where the people there eats mineral and breathes vespene gas. Yes, boys and girls. We’re getting a Top Gear South Korea edition, joining the original Top Gear UK, Top Gear Australia, Top Gear America, and Top Gear China, and they even have a white Stig with the correct helmet!
We’re just days away from the start of the new series of Top Gear, and we’re all excited to see what Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have in store for us this summer. Last week we brought you the first teaser commercial, and now the BBC has released a second to tantalize us with what’s to come.
So what have we learned? James will be showing us the new Aston Martin Virage, the McLaren MP4-12C which Jezza was driving is pitted against the Ferrari 458 Italia, the BMW 8-Series is up against the Mercedes-Benz CL, a Chevrolet Corvette is for cowboys, and Richard really appears to like the Fiat Abarth 500C. Follow the jump to watch the brief 30-second video for yourself.
Jeremy Clarkson certainly has a way with words, and when he applies his wit to a topic the result is quite often an enjoyable reading experience. Clarkson has plied his wit upon the subject of Volkswagen’s redesigned 2012 Beetle. It’s no secret that Jeremy and his Top Gear cohorts are not fans of the people’s car. Perhaps Volkswagen can change his mind with the newest iteration of its iconic automobile? Nope. In fact, his choice of descriptive words gets a little blue towards the end of the piece. Sample:
“Launching a modern-day incarnation that has sporty credentials is like launching a modern-day incarnation of the Mona Lisa who’s crapping herself laughing.”
Hop over to the Top Gear website to read Mr. Clarkson’s musings on the reborn icon.
Top Gear Season 17 will be aired on June 26 at 8pm, which is the usual Sunday slot. Top Gear has released a short trailer for this season, and it looks exciting as usual.
We know for sure that Jeremy Clarkson will be driving the all-new McLaren MP4-12C which was said to be developed and tested on the Top Gear track, James May will be riding shotgun in the MINI WRC car paired against a luge racer and Richard Hammond is driving some massive dump truck on top of passenger cars through a city street. And the dude that’s beside Jezza in the tiny hatch is the boss of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone.
There have been rumors that the Top Gear juggernaut may be nearing its end, but James May (the guy who most recently ignited the retirement talk) has been quick to shoot them down. And even if the show were nearing its end, we can at least count on another season coming, and soon. The Top Gear blog says that Series 17 begins on June 26 on BBC Two, BBC HD and all your favourite torrents and direct downloads immediately thereafter.
Top Gear isn’t ready to release details for Series 17, but Mr May tells the TG blog that there will be “performance cars, some electric cars, some actual racing, some proper demolition, some silly cars, and Top Gear’s attempt to improve public transport.” Or, put simply, the usual. May adds that the Top Gear crew hit Monaco in some hot hatches, which he found to be intimidating. We can hardly wait.
I’m never the artistic guy, though I have to say that I do know how to draw, at least some very cool stickman style. But what we have here is more than just splatting oil paints on some thick papers. Here’s a young lad that sculpt a piece of wood block into a car model.
Top Gear Philippines magazine is featuring a story on Franco Cagayat, an artistic 21-year-old sculptor who specializes in carving detailed vehicle models from a single block of wood. The thing is complete with doors that open and close, full interiors and complete engine bays, something that we’ve never seen before. This is more authentic than your die cast. Cagayat says he got started by drawing every vehicle he saw and eventually learned to translate that talent into sculpting.
The artist first became a fan of Top Gear when a classmate offered to trade him a copy of the magazine for a wooden Ferrari Testarossa. Doesn’t sound like a very fair trade to me, but well at least now we have some common interest. He now uses the photos in the publication for reference when it comes time to carve the newest supercars of the world. Hit the jump to take a look at a video interview with Cagayat.
FINALLY! It’s back! The show that we’ve all been waiting for, the best motoring show on the planet! It’s back! Top Gear, the original UK motoring show featuring Jeremy ‘Jezza’ Clarkson, Richard ‘Hamster’ Hammond, and James ‘Captain Slow’ May, will be returning for the 17th season, and will begin airing on June 12. The report comes courtesy of the May issue of the Dutch edition of Top Gear magazine.
If you can’t remember, the hit BBC television program has been on break since the 16th season ended on February 27 with episode 6, in which Hammond drove the Porsche 959 and Ferrari F40, May tested NASA’s new lunar rover and Clarkson raced the sun in a Jaguar XJ.
So what can we expect from season 17? Hard to say – so far we know Clarkson and May have driven a pair of electric cars, we’ve heard the newly-crowned brother-in-law Prince Harry could be making his way to the Dunsfold Aerodrome (a.k.a. the Top Gear test track) and we’ve seen reports that the McLaren MP4-12C may have already claimed the fastest lap time on the board. For everything else, we’ll just have to wait (less than a month now, mind you) to find out.
Right, many people are going to call this stupid, and that they never went to physics class. But we all should never forget that Top Gear always does thing for the lulz. Every truck, even heavy duty ones also have their tow rating, and you should never go beyond that. But what happens when you put a standard-duty pickup truck up against something truly monumental, like a 600-tonne truck? Well, the view is indeed spectacular.
There’s the Top Gear, there’s the Fifth Gear, and now there’s the Top Gear Live. It’s basically the traveling version of the world’s greatest car show, and of course there’s the Stig that will be present during the show. When you go round the world, you can’t have car tracks besides you for the Stig to tear, so what do you do to entertain the crowd? Well, throw the Stiggy with a London taxi and expect him to do donuts with it. And you though those bloody old classic black rides can’t smoke rubbers.
Well, actually beneath the glossy black people-mover body sits a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, heavily modified. Now this is how Taxi should be done. No fake spoilers and pop-up chargers like how the French and Queen Latifah do it.
P/S: I’m also wondering like you, what on earth is Tiff Needell doing in a Top Gear event? Still bro eh?
Jeremy Clarkson has drawn the ire of critics once again, this time for comments made in his column. While discussing the eco feature on his LG flat screen TV, the Top Gear presenter said that using the feature “dims the screen so much, every programme looks like it’s being presented by Lenny Henry in a cave.”
Recent Comments