Anne Hathaway's Cottage doing 60mph in 35 seconds

[chriswt]

It was the first show I went to, and they were very nice. Got a free Mars Bar and a copy of Top Gear magazine.

Its probably come on alot since my visit. When I went there I was 1 of about 100 people, four of which were female.

It was a very casual event where you just sort of wondered around sitting in the various cars while they filmed. When they needed an audience they called some of us over.

Got stuck in a Renualt with a nerdy Ford RS club member while they filmed the opening intro/scene. Wish I'd never asked him about his Escort Cosworth!!!

Ok, it wasn't too cold and damp but it was still very much an aircraft hanger.

 

[scotth_uk]

That is by far the cheapest W140 I have seen to date and certainly 3 grand more than Jeremy's car is worth now . £10k-£20k is a more typical price for a 140 , and certainly more than you would get for most other makes with a comparable price when new - look at Jags etc.

Err. Where are you getting your car values from? £10-20k should get you at least 4 W140s.

 

[219]

Not from the dealers advertising in the two magazines I mentioned - cheapest was £6995 for a S280 and dearest £14950 for a S350 turbodiesel LHD.

The MSN link on Andy's post seemed to be made up of multiple listings for the same cars and look like trade outlets for ex carriage trade motors . Bit like the difference between the run-down Rollers you get when the wedding people have clapped them out and a good , privately owned example.

 

[awg454]

i went to the filming of this episode it is in a big aircraft hanger,which is fair to say is pretty unglamorous,it is just a small part of dunsfold park they do not rent the whole thing,they gave us a packet of crisps bottle of water and a biscuit,it was great fun,clarkson was very funny and mixed with all of us,the french deisigner was at the show as well she was not at all upset. this show is sold worldwide and to hotels and indeed produces a profit for the makers,but they do move the woman to the front my wife included!

 

[mickl]

gawd. it was a cheap car that got wrecked. why do peeps complain about things they know they won't like.

Pontoneer, do you really think they went to a big dealer to buy that S280? It was probably a cheap MOT failure.

BTW a lot of the show is scripted including the studio bits with some minor improv.

 

[Rose Chap]

Not from the dealers advertising in the two magazines I mentioned - cheapest was £6995 for a S280 and dearest £14950 for a S350 turbodiesel LHD.

The MSN link on Andy's post seemed to be made up of multiple listings for the same cars and look like trade outlets for ex carriage trade motors . Bit like the difference between the run-down Rollers you get when the wedding people have clapped them out and a good , privately owned example.

Sorry Pontoneer, but I've got to put you straight on this one.

Go to http://www.autotrader.co.uk/ and do a search for S Classes below £5K. Trust me, you'll find heaps of W140s.

 

[Thmsshaun]

My god 2 pages since my post yesterday. If you dont like it dont watch it.

 

[andy_k]

My god 2 pages since my post yesterday. If you dont like it dont watch it.

there you go making it complicated

 

[gary350]

My god 2 pages since my post yesterday. If you dont like it dont watch it.

I dont anymore, but are we not allowed to criticize, could be a good car show just get rid of the 3 numbties, james may is turning into my mother week by week, hammond can not take his eyes off of the camera and clarkson is clarkson he is on everyone hit list and I mean hit, just joking. There are lots that do like it so it must be me.

gary

 

[996jimbo]

If it helps, think of it as entertainment rather than a car show.

I thought it was great. I'd like to have seen what the 'proper' interior designer could come up with as there did seem to be a reasonable point in there somewhere.

So far as wasting money on the S280 - it's hardly a rare classic and I bet 1 million squids they didn't buy the most expensive well cared for example from a dealer. But frankly what they paid is irrelevant.

So far as Mercedes are concerned Top Gear do a pretty good service on the whole - they moan about dealers (good for customers) and nearly always feature Mercedes and are nearly always complimentary about them.

And I found myself laughing heartily at the car-boat efforts the other week.

Most pointless bit? Racing the Cayenne against a parachutist as we didn't really get to see the car at all just Hammond twiddling the steering wheel and shouting "power, power". But who cares anyway?

 

[219]

There are lots that do like it so it must be me.

gary

No Gary , it isn't just you . I don't watch it regularly either , just happened to be sitting in the living room when it came on the other night - my GF watches it as she likes the artistic videography , which is the one part of the show I can relate to : I ended up on my laptop while she watched it

 

[Rose Chap]

I ended up on my laptop while she watched it

Sounds quite painful! Hope there was no lasting damage.

 

[219]

Sounds quite painful! Hope there was no lasting damage.

To me or the laptop ?

 

[andy_k]

I dont anymore, but are we not allowed to criticize, could be a good car show just get rid of the 3 numbties, james may is turning into my mother week by week, hammond can not take his eyes off of the camera and clarkson is clarkson he is on everyone hit list and I mean hit, just joking. There are lots that do like it so it must be me.

gary

if you don't watch it, then no you can't really complain because you obviously have nothing solid to base your arguments on and how on earth would you know what was happening on the show?

"Dear BBC,

I was so disgusted by Top Gear this week I didn't watch it but it was rubbish anyway."

 

[Mozzer]

I am going to demonstrate how easy it is to find a solution to the problem in this thread :

Some of you have been irked by Top Gear - don't watch it - turn over - turn off - go and do something in the garden - go and clean your car - go and look at the bolts that would have held the seats that Clarkson just skipped .

Some of us are now irked by this thread which has gone on tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long - the solution... stop reading it, which is what I now intend to do.

Bored in Bucks,

Stuart

(well I might keep an eye on it just in case I need to defend myself from a flaming )

 

[stats007]

What's wrong in criticising something you've watched for years if you feel some parts are just pointless? Aren't we allowed to defend our opinion of what the program should be?

 

[Alfie]

I thought the programme was one of the funniest I've seen. Especially when Clarkson admitted to being a 'small' man.

Thought the bit with Cayenne Turbo S was a bit silly though.

 

[Stratman]

For those of you complaining about the BBC "wasting licence money" on wrecking a car, Top Gear is an independant production. This means that the BBC put the programme out to tender and chose what it considered to be the best (not neccessarily the cheapest) bid taking in to account resale value and the typical cost of filling that time slot. The production company and not the BBC decide how the budget is spent. They have to balance making a profit with getting the contract next time around.

When I (rarely) watch the appalling Fifth Gear I am reminded how well all concerned have done.

 

[dougal74]

Mozzer, perhaps you could start a new thread maybe with a poll about what the ideal TV motoring programme should contain "The MBClub.co.uk Car Show"?

TG used to be very car owner based with a bit of high speed action and JC started pushing the boundaries and was "moved on", Ch4 came along and went all "consumer" with Driven and TG's ratings took a nosedive. Auntie decided that "male" motoring shows in midweek without JC wouldn't work and canned it. The TG team (not JC's team) packed their bags and went to Five for FG.

The Beeb saw the relative appeal of FG in a more male slot and though JC could probably do an "entertainment" motoring show on Sunday nights to attract the audience that isn't watching all those dramas on BBC1/ITV and now we have (new)TG which is a big ratings success for BBC2 and becoming more entertainment based (the Beeb probably call it "accessible"). FG responded by copying more of TG's format.

Now we have Vroom Vroom taking the "entertainment" bit a stage further...ahem! So you have:- Top Gear, Fifth Gear, Vroom Vroom, ermm
Used Car Roadshow, Pulling Power...you'll never have a show to please everyone but ratings would suggest TG gets closest to it!?

 

[gary350]

What's wrong in criticising something you've watched for years if you feel some parts are just pointless? Aren't we allowed to defend our opinion of what the program should be?

exactly, should we have a new thread called "Different tastes in humour"? I hate Little Britain as well, loads love it so it is me.

gary