Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[VIDEO: Top Gear Australia electric car build-off, Aussie rules style]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/28/video-top-gear-australia-electric-car-build-off-aussie-rules-s/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/28/video-top-gear-australia-electric-car-build-off-aussie-rules-s/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/28/video-top-gear-australia-electric-car-build-off-aussie-rules-s/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Click above to watch video after the jump

While they might lack the comedic punch of their seasoned British co-frères, the presenters at Top Gear Australia don't seem to have any electric car "issues". Indeed, in a recent episode they even held their own battery-powered build-off. Presenters Warren Brown and Steve Pizzati each took a car of their choosing, stripped out all the combustive components and inserted a rough and (mostly) ready electric drivetrain, before meeting up on a racetrack to compete for bragging rights.

Realizing that a decent electric vehicle shouldn't be too heavy, Pizzati decided to go with the featherweight Suzuki MightyBoy while his competitor settled on that great Australian classic, the HZ Holden Kingswood. This hulking station wagon weighs in somewhere between the QEII and the state of New Hampshire. While we won't tell you which conversion won straight out, we will throw out the hint that the triumphant strains of "Football meat pies kangaroos electric cars" could be heard coming from the passenger compartment of the conquering contestant. Follow the jump for the segment in two parts - as well as a bonus video of a very nice MightyBoy conversion.


[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Top Gear Australia electric car build-off, Aussie rules style

VIDEO: Top Gear Australia electric car build-off, Aussie rules style originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 May 2009 12:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>holdenHZ Holden KingswoodHzHoldenKingswoodkingswoodmighty boyMightyBoySteve PizzatiStevePizzatiSuzuki MightyBoySuzukiMightyboyTop GearTop Gear AustraliaTopGearTopGearAustraliaWarren brownWarrenBrownThu, 28 May 2009 12:56:00 EST<![CDATA[<i>Top Gear Australia</i> 2: Back with a vengeance(?)]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/12/i-top-gear-australia-i-2-back-with-a-vengeance/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/12/i-top-gear-australia-i-2-back-with-a-vengeance/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/12/i-top-gear-australia-i-2-back-with-a-vengeance/#commentsFiled under: ,



Top Gear's planned takeover of the world hasn't been going as well as scripted, and it's not because the Poles or the French actually put up a fight this time. The American series got axed before it even began, and the Australian version has turned out to be a big disappointment. But the producers at SBS, the Aussie version of the BBC, are keen to turn a new leaf and start over again. They've replaced lead host Charlie Cox with James Morrison, a locally revered musician (no relation to the Doors frontman) who appeared as a guest on the first series. Pictured above with Crocodile Stiggee, Morrison is the proud proprietor of a 100-car collection, and he even has his share of experience in motorsports.

Based on the huge popularity of the British series, the Australian version attracted a television audience of nearly one million viewers for the first episode, but disappointed by what they saw, a quarter of those eyeballs dropped off by the second show. Morrison figures the series needs a more Australian feel to it, sharing the spotlight with his co-hosts Warren Brown and Steve Pizzati instead of grandstanding like a certain Mr. Jeremy C, and generally giving the show its own unique flavor. We wish the new crew better luck this time around, but at least one of us wishes that Eric Bana had been available.

[Source: Herald Sun]

Top Gear Australia 2: Back with a vengeance(?) originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 May 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anyone who's been watching the original Top Gear knows it took a bit of switcheroo to get the chemistry right before things really took off (James May replaced the rotundish Jason Dawe after Series 1 of the current show concluded), and TG Australia is no different. Charlie Cox (the bloke on the left) is reportedly leaving the young show due to commitments in Britain, and word is that he will be replaced by Australian jazz trumpeter James Morrison.

Thankfully, Morrison not only arrives with an instrument, he comes with a revhead pedigree: He hosted a show in the '90s called Behind the Wheel, and he currently holds the quickest time for the Star in a Bog Standard Car on TG Australia. After some ups and downs during the first season, perhaps now the show has a shot at making some real music. Thanks for the tip, Liam!

[Source: Ausmotive]

Top Gear Australia replacing Charlie Cox? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BBC's Top Gear is the undisputed leader when it comes to producing entertaining automotive-related content on television. So popular are the show's antics that the franchise has branched out into the Australian market and should be airing Top Gear America here in the States soon. Recently, though, the Oz-branch has ran into some serious questions regarding its treatment of automaker's products. Is it possible for a television show such as Top Gear to go about its business - that of putting the coolest cars through their paces under sometimes ridiculous circumstances - without sending the automakers back a hunk of broken machinery? Is the show good enough that it doesn't matter? That seems to be the $200,000 question, which is the total estimated amount of damage (in Aussie funds) that Top Gear Australia is suspected of having inflicted on its assortment of test vehicles. TGA co-host Warren Brown has come to the show's defense, and we've pasted his complete response after the break.

[Source: Carsguide]

Continue reading Top Gear Australia responds to damage criticism

Top Gear Australia responds to damage criticism originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>top geartop gear australiaTopGearTopGearAustraliawarren brownWarrenBrownWed, 10 Dec 2008 16:57:00 EST<![CDATA[Top Gear Australia in trouble for damaging cars]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/08/top-gear-australia-in-trouble-for-damaging-cars/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/08/top-gear-australia-in-trouble-for-damaging-cars/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/08/top-gear-australia-in-trouble-for-damaging-cars/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Australia gave us the word "hoon," and the Aussie version of Top Gear apparently features three of them in presenters Charlie Cox, Warren Brown, and Steve Pizzati. The trio's habit of hooning for local audiences has seen them rack up a repair bill close to $AUS 200,000 for the cars they've damaged during taping - a bill to be paid by the automakers, thank you very much, for a show that is not yet racking up the ratings. Carmakers, not surprisingly, aren't thrilled about it, with one one likening the show to an automotive version of Jackass. TG Australia is coming around again for a second season, which might be difficult if carmakers end up gathering behind one manufacturer's rather blunt declaration: "They will encounter a lot of shut doors." Thanks for the tip, Richard!

[Source: Sun Herald]

Top Gear Australia in trouble for damaging cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Charlie CoxCharlieCoxSteve PizzatiStevePizzatitop geartop gear australiatop gear australia presentersTopGearTopGearAustraliaTopGearAustraliaPresenterstvtv showsTvShowsWarren BrownWarrenBrownMon, 08 Dec 2008 13:28:00 EST<![CDATA[First Australian <i>Top Gear</i> episode to air Sept 29]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/01/first-australian-i-top-gear-i-episode-to-air-sept-29/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/01/first-australian-i-top-gear-i-episode-to-air-sept-29/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/01/first-australian-i-top-gear-i-episode-to-air-sept-29/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Mark your calendars, gearheads. The Special Broadcasting Service in Australia has confirmed that the first episode of Aussie Top Gear will air on Monday, September 29. The show will apparently have a regular slot at 7:30 in the SBS Monday night line-up, featuring all manner of Holdens, Ford Falcons and Elfin roadsters crisscrossing their way across the Outback. All the while co-hosts Charlie Cox, Warren Brown and Steve Pizzati - along with their own Fosters-swilling version of The Stig - will be endeavoring to prevent the dingo from eating their babies lest the entire endeavor boomerang on them all. (Okay, enough making fun of the Aussies.) We'll be keeping an eye on FinalGear.com for their count-down before heading on over to Top Gear's YouTube channel to see the first of the eight-episode inaugural season in less than a month's time.

[Source: SBS via FinalGear]

First Australian Top Gear episode to air Sept 29 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The success of Top Gear in the UK and elsewhere in the world is owed largely to the chemistry shared between its three famous hosts: Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. That's why it's so important for the Austrialian version of Top Gear, the first to be launched outside the U.K., to front three personalities capable of carrying the show on their wit, charm and personalities. Oz's own Top Gear hosts were announced today as Charlie Cox, 47, a motorsport commentator for the BBC and ex-race car driver, Warren Brown, a cartoonist and columnist for The Daily Telegraph in his mid-40s, and Steve Pizzati, an advanced driving instructor, freelance auto journalist and driver for Porsche Australia who, in his mid-30s, is the youngest host of the new Top Gear troop. They were the lucky trio plucked from over 4,000 DVD entrants.

Being U.S. citizens who are awaiting their own version of Top Gear with trepidation, we can't comment on how well these Aussies will do carrying Clarkson's torch, so if you're Down Under at the moment and have an opinion, leave it in the comments. Regardless, we'll likely be bittorrenting these episodes along with the originals from Britain as soon as they begin airing later this summer. Now, which one do you think is supposed to be Clarkson, and which the Hampster and Captain Slow? Thanks for the tip, Mark!

[Source: News.com.au]

Aussies announce Australian Top Gear hosts, where's ours? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 May 2008 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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