US Top Gear may be on the way, sounds like it will suck
 

http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.co...-history-.html

Official: 'Top Gear' coming to History this fall
It's official: “Top Gear” is crossing the pond.

History is teaming with BBC Worldwide Prods. to launch a U.S. version of the series this fall. The network has made a 10-episode commitment to “Gear,” which showcases all-things automotive — customization, stunts, reviews and auto-centric celebrity interviews.

History’s “Gear” will be hosted by comedian and “Rescue Me” co-star Adam Ferrara, stunt driver Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood. Scott Messick will executive produce.

“The history of the automobile and the history of America are intimately intertwined — to celebrate one is to celebrate the other,” History president and GM Nancy Dubuc said. “We’ll stay true to the original format and add a sense of the American car culture.”

“Top Gear” fits the History brand even better than one might expect. The network’s very first program to air on what was then called the History Channel was called “Automobiles: Corvette.” Car-related content has performed well on the channel, and History had several auto-related pilots in the works when it landed “Gear.”

“We have a ready-made audience for this programming,” Dubuc said. “We can stay true to form on this show and explore the history of cars and driving.”

“Top Gear” premiered in the U.K. in 1977, then relaunched in 2002 as a studio-based format. “Gear” is BBC Two’s most-watched program, and the brand has spun-off a magazine and road tour. NBC came close to doing a Stateside version in 2008.

BBC Worldwide exec vp programming and production Jane Tranter said the U.S. version has the potential to be an even bigger hit than the original.

“It will have a completely different landscape,” she said. “There’s a different relationship with cars in the U.S. and a fascination with customization that’s much greater than in the U.K. There’s the potential for the U.S. ‘Top Gear’ to have even greater traction with an audience.”

The potential business upside for the show is significant as the auto industry is the largest advertiser in the world. Yet Tranter assures that fans need not to worry about heavy-handed product placement and that the show will remain editorially independent.

Producers put considerable effort into casting the U.S. version, trying to find the right mix of hosts who would each bring a unique perspective yet mesh well together.

“We tackled it like a drama series,” Tranter said. “We need to get that balance of chemistry right from the get-go.

MTV Rides + Nascar + sponsor supplied talking points = History Channel Top Gear.

The best part (for me) about Top Gear are the assesments of the cars. Not the stupid "stunts".

foxy proxy + tor let you gain access to the bbc iplayer which lets you watch top gear when it comes out (on bbc2 i think) and just about any of the new tvs have vga inputs for your proxied laptop. Shitty american versions need not apply

The humor on the show only works because it's dry, minimalistic Brit humor.

The American version will probably have a laugh track

Leno should have let Conan have his show and done Top Gear instead.

This is going to blow. It is not the show that makes it so popular. 5th gear is basically the same show(and more of an automotive show), but it pales in comparison to Top Gear. Top Gear Austrialia sucks ass, and they tried to follow the exact same format.

I would enjoy any show that honestly reviewed cars from a car guys perspective. Everything from Kia's to Aston's.

Ultimately the problem isn't with the hosts. They could throw anyone in there from the very good to the very bad. It comes down to (as paul mentioned) advertising dollars. If they have to pimp sponsor's shit and aren't allowed to criticize anything the show will be very boring. UK Top Gear doesn't have to deal with this as the BBC is funded by TV licensing fees, not advertising. They can piss off whoever they want because there are no advertisers paying for the show. They can also test whatever they want since they don't have a large sponsor always pushing for a positive test of the new Ford Shitbox LX, Toyota Recall Hybrid, or Chevy No-Resale GT. US Top Gear will not have these luxuries.

you know goddamned well that an american version wont have a single economy car on it. Further more the shits gonna look like that paid advertising special faggotry that occured on speed when the challenger came out. Huzzah advertising for cars no one under thirty could afford

And, the disappointment is, they will probably turn it into a build review rather than just a show about vehicles. The mention of customization sticks out. We have enough "make it better" stuff out there.

One thing I don't care about is "car culture".
I could give two shits about drifters\lowrider\dragracers\street racer\fart can pimpers\cruisers\.
In otherwords I don't watch car shows to learn about people and all the crap they do with their cars
I watch them to learn about cars.

The smart move for the network is to try a US version, but also put the original UK series in rotation, and then watch the numbers. If anyone is paying attention, the situation (w)rights itself.

Of course this will suck donkey dong. There is only ONE Top Gear.

Exactly FTL

Not sure about that exactly but not having Leno as part of it would be sad. is there anybody else in American culture that is bigger into all cars? Foose maybe...

This is the biggest piece to why it will suck.

Truth!

Exactly. Duplication will not work. Nevertheless, i will try it and watch it to see.

Sean, that's exactly what I was thinking.

NBC could have had a fucking coup, but they didn't just jump the shark, they skull fucked it, and left it for dead.

Leno would have been perfect for Top Gear. He's a great fucking car guy who's kinda funny. He's not a funny guy, but he's a good car guy, who's kinda funny.

Perfect.

Conan is funny as shit, and they screwed the pooch sending him (and Triumph) packing. Even Kevin Eubanks fucking bailed. NBC is on the road to being a cable channel on fucking Comcast.

FAIL.

I've watched the Tonight Show a couple of times since it came back on and it seems to me like Leno is trying to get fired. The show is so godawfully bad now that it seems to be intentional. I mean, it wasn't hilarious before...don't get me wrong, but this is a new level of suckdom.

Back on topic, US Top Gear is of course going to suck. Everything has to be dumbed down and dramatized so much for the American Market. Kinda like Kitchen Nightmares was.

Probably would have not been a bad idea at all.

Leno or Stacey David on a US Top Gear would be good stuff. I don't care what Conan does- can't stand him.
How soon will Jessie James and the OCC chopper clowns show up? Shall we make a wager?
Exactly- isn't there enough of this crap on Speed (NASCAR network)? I mean, just look at their lineup:Pinks, Low Life, HD bolt ons, Jacked-up, un-Unique Whips, etc., etc.

About the only good shows are Gearz, My Classic Car and Extreme 4x4.

I don't have high Hopes, but I will throw it into the DVR record cue and and watch it a few times. I also would have liked to see someone like Leno involved with a Project like this.
It would also be nice if they did some fun stuff with bikes for a chance.
I love the Original and the couple of German Episodes I have seen were good to. The Aussie stuff didn't do it for me.

I don't know any of those people, but I hope they don't turn it into some kind of faux-reality TV "drama" with a lot of fake arguments and over-the-top personalities.

I don't see the point in bringing it here. There's not that many interesting vehicles over here.

You can only do the pony car comparo so often. Although I imagine it will be like the british version which only seems to test supercars now. I miss the every day car tests on that show.

Definitely agree

Damn. This is one fucking negative group. Ok so you don't think it will be all that great but what is it going to hurt to watch a show or two to find out for yourself. I don't care I'd its as good as the OG but I just hope its better then the reg car shows. There are a few good ones out there and the host play a big part in it. They need to work well together and they need to be honest. If you like it say so. If you hate it say say that too. On the reg one they don't always agree and they say so. I don't even agree with Jeremy C about 50% of the time but I like that he speaks his mind. As far as the stunts go some of them are not bad. I knida like the here is X amount of money, go buy Y type of car. I hope the show works out.

James

I like the british version becuase we don't have most the vehicles that they test over here. If I wanna go look at a GTO, I can. I can not go look at a Fiat.

My thoughts exactly!

No where in the world will they be able to find another tall guy, super geek, and cute little former race car driver like the BBC guys. And, there is only one STIG!

Actually, there have been a number of Stigs...As lon as we don't get the "Fat American Cousin.

http://astrx.files.wordpress.com/200...0409234139.jpg

http://tajracing.com/yahoo_site_admi...291858_std.png

That was my first thought, "Who will be the Stig?"

And what track will they be testing the cars at?

True, there have been quite a few Stigs. But, it's always fun to try and figure out who it is. STill hard to believe they talked Schumi into doing it. But, it was probably fun for him, just like superbike competition.

I think "who's 'The Stig'?" has more to do with who was available at the time, really.

It probably went something like: "who can we get?, who's in town?" during any given taping window.

The fat one.

It was a week when most of the drivers were out of town?