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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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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.

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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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