Top Gear producer drives... a 7 year-old Honda Jazz?
Newsflash: Television production sounds more glamorous than it really is. Oh sure, there are some that cruise around in conspicuous rides, but most tend to drive workaday cars. It'd be natural to expect the producer of "Rinky-Dink Town Today" on Cable Access would be tooling around in something less than a Mercedes S Class, but the people that make car shows, especially the Top Gear franchise, why, that producer surely drives something outrageously fly, right? Umm... no. Andy Wilman, producer of the current Top Gear incarnation (and a presenter for the original series), is probably expected to drive something exotic or bombastic like his mates Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May – but that's not how he rolls, apparently. A Honda Jazz (that's a Fit to you, Yankee) is at least a choice that car guys can still get behind, marrying utility and economy with a measure of fun.
Could Top Gear be headed for the same responsible, economical fate with all the new chatter about frugality? Not entirely, the exotics will always be there, and the entertaining road trips will continue to up the hijinks ante, but the show will be filled out by more economically-minded cars in light of the recent economic mood. There's probably more up Wilman's sleeve when it comes to Top Gear development, and he's also got his eye on a new Kia Soul, so it doesn't look like the Zebra's going to change his stripes much any time soon.
[Source: Independent.co.uk]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kitko 9:04AM (3/25/2009)
I guess that he's just one sensible fellow ...
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Jake 9:05AM (3/25/2009)
quit calling us Yankee.
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Quattroporte 9:14AM (3/25/2009)
"A Honda Jazz (that's a Fit to you, Yankee) is at least a choice that car guys can still get behind, marrying utility and economy with a measure of fun."
I'm not so sure about that. I think (emphasis on "think") the Jazz is softer than our Fit. Many of the UK reviews of the Jazz say it's not really that fun and is mainly for old people. I think Clarkson's mother has one.
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Quattroporte 9:27AM (3/25/2009)
OK, maybe it's not softer, but they still don't think the Jazz is much fun.
"But the Jazz’s chassis remains a source of disappointment. Much has been done to improve the almost unacceptably stiff ride the car had when it first appeared, but it’s still one of the poorer-riding cars in the class. Surprisingly perhaps, nor is it very much fun to drive. The steering lacks feel and that chuckable enthusiasm that’s been so much part of every Civic generation for years has been omitted from the Jazz’s dynamic repertoire."
http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTestsOnTheRoad/Honda-Jazz-1.4-i-DSI-SE-(82bhp)/219392/
(New Jazz)
"In a nutshell, the Honda Jazz can't match the driving skills of the best superminis such as the Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio or Vauxhall Corsa. But the Jazz isn't designed to deliver the chuckability of the livelier superminis. Compared to the old car, the new Jazz has a smoother ride, while it’s quiet at speed, bar a little rustle from the door mirrors.
The five-speed manual ‘box is slick, but the automated manual – while better than the old CVT – still leaves your head bobbing a little on upchanges. But unless Grandma is seriously nailing every straight she encounters, she won’t really notice."
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Honda-Jazz-14-ES-i-SHIFT-2008-CAR-review/?content-block=2
Mobius_1 9:28AM (3/25/2009)
"Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio or Vauxhall Corsa"
None of which, at the moment at least, you get in the USA.
Quattroporte 9:41AM (3/25/2009)
Mobius_1, my point is enthusiasts of his own country won't get excited over his choice of car. Grandmas might.
Bloke 10:01AM (3/25/2009)
Do you think it matters when you're driving in a typical London rushhour?
Quattroporte 10:09AM (3/25/2009)
Bloke, it always matters.
Bloke 10:20AM (3/25/2009)
Quattroporte - evidently you've never experinced driving in central London. As for the TG producer, it just sounds like he has a dose of common sense, that's all.
Quattroporte 10:56AM (3/25/2009)
After looking at a whole bunch 7 year old superminis, the Jazz would have been my choice to.
Mobius_1 9:27AM (3/25/2009)
Proof he spends every penny he gets from BBC on the show. And boy, what a great show.
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Will 9:35AM (3/25/2009)
So what? James May drives a Fiat Panda. Utility and simplicity make for a better daily driver than anything a big shouty supercar can offer.
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Quattroporte 9:38AM (3/25/2009)
A Fiat Panda along with a Boxster, old 911, and an old Rolls.
homunculus 9:56AM (3/25/2009)
and an old triumph
Epyx 9:36AM (3/25/2009)
Well, he does work for the government. Should be happy tax dollars are not going to his "fly" ride. LOL
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Bloke 9:55AM (3/25/2009)
Everyone seems to be missing the (obvious) point. Given the bloke drives through central London every day, a seven-year old Jazz is a perfect commuter car: economical in gridlocked traffic, utterly reliable, more than enough space to carry personal wares, and he won't care less if it picks up any war wounds.
I'd never spend a fortune on a commuter car, either. You may as well pour that money on something which stays in the garage ready for smiles on the weekend.
He certainly doesn't need to worry about whether a B-segment hatchback drives like a BMW M3 in central London, that's for sure.
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Fazzster 9:56AM (3/25/2009)
No shame in a Honda Fit.......
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Mazda FTW! 10:34AM (3/25/2009)
Oh Honda jAzz. I totally misread that and I was like he drives a WHAT???????????
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Michael 10:53AM (3/25/2009)
A lot of people in the auto business drive cars you wouldn't think of as cool. I enjoy driving coool cars, but in the end my daily driver is a Subaru Impreza (manual, AWD - all I wanted). I hope his Fit/Jazz is an automatic if he's driving in lots of traffic. The name "Jazz" makes me think of Transformers!! Honda Fit makes me think of the car. Why do they have 2 different names? Maybe they couldn't call it a Jazz in the US.
http://southhillshonda.com/fit-frame.aspx
http://www.tarrytownhonda.com/Fit-frame.aspx
http://www.planethondanj.com/fit.htm
I'd rather drive a "Jazz" than a Honda Fit.
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AnthWax84 11:36AM (3/25/2009)
maybe when you have your choice of every conceivable cool car in the world at your hand, maybe just maybe it would be sensible not to buy one of your own. i work for a large "smart choice" used car dealership and if i had the option of taking any one of the cool stuff that comes through home with me on a regular basis i wouldnt own the car i have. id have a 10 year old jetta diesel or something. it just doesnt make much sense to spend your fortune on something you get for free every day of your life i thinks.
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