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No matter where you live in the world, if you are interested by cars and things that go fast, you are aware of the BBC motoring show Top Gear. If you are aware, then chances are that you heard that one of the trio of presenters, Richard ‘Hamster’ Hammond was seriously injured in a high speed crash while driving a rocket car. Aside from the worries about Hamsters health and well being, there appears to be a movement, both within and from outside the BBC, to cancel one of the most popular shows made by the BBC.
Don’t believe its popular? Go visit your local or favourite Bit Torrent site and see how many downloads there are for Top Gear. Probably more than Lost or Desperate Housewives. Still not convinced, look up the donation fund created since Hamsters crash for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service, which at last glance was over 188,000 pounds. Thats money from all over the world from fans of the show and well wishers.
Top Gear has been criticized in the past for being offensive, and encouraging drivers to drive too fast. Being offensive is part of the charm of Jeremy Clarkson, a man who often will say something offensive, and maybe rude, rather than staying silent. His unique term of phrase may put some people’s noses out of joint but it also a reason why so many people are fans of the program. Would you prefer someone to tell it as it is, or who sugar coats everything so you are led to believe that a car is worth buying, even if it isn’t. Mr Clarkson has attracted the wrath of several countries, car manufacturers and lots of people, yet is still popular to write columns in several news papers. Obviously, he isn’t offending as many people as we are led to believe, or perhaps people are only offended by moving pictures, not the written word.
Obviously, a television show that shows the presenters driving 200 mph super cars does emphasize speed but as for encouraging drivers to put their feet down? If you are going to buy an Aston Martin DB9, you probably already know that it goes like the clappers and you don’t require Captain Slow driving around an airfield to tell you so. While concentrating on the high end of the car market, Top Gear does review many slower and lower priced cars. After all, when the celebrity’s who appear on the show do their timed laps, they drive slow cars such as the Suzuki Liana or the Chevrolet Lacetti, neither that would inspire anyone to break the speed limit.
To blame a television program for encouraging drivers to drive too fast after buying a Mitsubishi’s EVO 8 is a bit like blaming the movie Rambo for someone buying a crossbow and then shooting it at someone. If you are going to spend the money on a seriously fast car, you generally know the top speed, and have taken that into account when making the purchase. I wouldn’t dream of buying a car without looking up or knowing how fast it could go, and how fast it could go from 0 to 60 miles an hour.
Top Gear introduces new cars to fans of cars. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with the Wiesmann GT without Top Gear. I wouldn’t know that all Porsche drivers are cocks or that Americans are unable to make a proper car without the trio of Clarkson, Hamster and Captain Slow himself, James May. I also wouldn’t know that the Aston Martin DB9 can accelerate from 0 to 150 miles an hour while in fourth gear, that its quicker to drive a Mercedes to Oslo than taking the ferry.
Television shows should be entertainment, and Top Gear certainly is. I just don’t think it would have the audience it has if the cars shown were just pictured and talked about. You need to see cars in motion to appreciate the beauty and power that they possess. You would never watch a television show about the latest jet fighters without seeing them actually flying and so it should be with Top Gear.
Even the Road Safety minister of Britain, the sadly named Richard Ladyman, has come to the defense of Top Gear. Ladyman who was a guest in a previous series and battled Clarkson on the subject of speed cameras before doing his celebrity lap (and crashing), says that Top Gear celebrates the great engineering that goes into high end cars. Given the choice between looking at a Ford Focus and a Jaguar XKR, I know which one I, and probably most ‘sane’ car lovers would choose. Top Gear sometimes borders on the edge of being auto porn with its beautiful four wheeled guests.
Top Gear does have astounding races, such as racing a Bugatti Veyron against a plane to get back to London first, or racing an Aston Martin DB9 to Monte Carlo against a train. They also destroy caravans and have silly challenges such as buying a sports car for under 1000 pounds and then putting it through such tests as driving over a cobbled road with a container of water in their laps to find out which car has the best ride.
Top Gear is the best of motoring television and if the BBC does bow down the loud minority of spoil sports, it will be only a matter of time before Top Gear appears in disguise on a different channel or even in a different country because I am sure that there will be many others will to give Top Gear money to do what they do.
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