Autoblog

With all our mouths salivating over the upcoming NBC version of the hit BBC program Top Gear, the guys over at Autofiends got a chance to sit down with Tanner Foust. As we revealed a couple of weeks ago, in addition to being a drifting and rallying champion, Tanner will be one of the three hosts – alongside Adam Carolla and Eric Stromer – who will be anchoring the Americanized show.

The interview makes for an interesting read, and in the process Foust casts a bit more light on what we can expect from the show. For example, while the BBC's publicly-funded format allows for full-hour shows, the NBC program will run closer to 42 minutes with commercials breaking up the shorter segments. The show's test track – en route to which Foust got lost with Jeremy Clarkson in a Callaway Corvette – is based in Orange County, California. And to the best of his understanding, Foust and his co-hosts will be free to speak their minds about the vehicles they'll be reviewing, which he promises will run the spectrum from budget automobiles to supercars, alongside "epic" challenges in true "American style where bigger is better". We'll be looking forward to seeing for ourselves. Follow the link to read the full interview.

[Source: Autofiends.com]

NBC is inching closer to finalizing the cast for the American version of the hit BBC series Top Gear, but it looks more and more like Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Tim Allen won't be part of the program. Reportedly to be called just "Gear", the show is anticipated to include four presenters instead of the BBC's three – although one could be assuming the role of The Stig as the show's test driver. Adam Carolla announced on his radio show that he'd be taking part in the program. Formula D driftmaster Tanner Faust is also tipped to be on the show (possibly in the aforementioned test driver role). However Dan Neil, the Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist for the Los Angeles Times, revealed that despite having a signed contract with NBC, he would not be part of the line-up. Neil was suitably disappointed, but attributed the change of heart to a lack of on-air personality on his part, although last year he was part of the 10-episode WIRED Science show on PBS.

In a more discouraging sign, meanwhile, indications are that the scathing rhetoric that makes the BBC show such a hit will be severely curtailed by NBC, who fear a backlash from sponsors. According to Carolla, the program was set to begin filming at the El Toro Marine Air Base in California on March 20.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]