Autoblog

It should come as no surprise that Jeremy Clarkson is pulling down more cash than his Top Gear cohorts. Not only does Clarkson own a stake of the show's rights, he's more of a figurehead for the series than either James May or Richard Hammond. Clarkson has become nearly an adjective to describe any auto pundit expressing a strong opinion in a certain manner. While May and Hammond seem happy enough with their slightly-diminished status in the show hierarchy, rumors about flat-out contract rejections and threats of departure are flying behind the scenes.

James May's people state that they're not looking for parity with Clarkson's £2-million yearly earnings, but they are aiming for the best deal possible. Arlington Enterprises spokesperson, Annie Sweetbaum, has commented that nascent negotiations are progressing, and that the BBC's first offer is never the one accepted. Hamster's people dodged commenting, but we're sure his representation also aims for the fattest checks it can secure. Nobody has yet publicly threatened to take his ball and go home, but one imagines that it could come to that if no agreement can be reached. Shoot, we'd love to see what the BBC's offering; perhaps we can weasel our way into Top Gear as cheaper alternative hosts – not that we'd be any good, but with the dollar worth about three pence, getting paid in Pounds or Euros sounds pretty good to us. Thanks for the tips!

[Source: BBC]

You may remember Alex Roy from his book, The Driver, about his team's record-breaking run across the U.S. in a BMW M5, but he's also a deep automotive insider that gets information from a number of cloaked sources who wear dark sunglasses and pass manilla envelopes under the yellow lights of parking garages. He's got some new information about Top Gear's plans for the U.S., and what's interesting is that it doesn't involve the TV show. It seems that TG hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond may be developing a touring car show for the U.S. called Top Gear Live. If you're thinking it will be like the famous MPH car shows they do in the UK, you're wrong, so so wrong. According to a document Roy has seen, Top Gear Live will be Circue-Du-Soleil meets Stomp... with cars. We're thinking a stage, lots of ramps, people playing instruments made out of car parts, dancers, etc. So let's recap... the three greatest automotive TV personalities of all time want to do a live, traveling road show in the U.S. that marries theatrical production qualities with their famous brand of car humor and mechanical destruction. Of course, we can't say for certain that any of this is true, but Roy's sources tend to reliable. We're not exactly sure if we want them to be reliable this time, though. Can't we just get new episodes of the original Top Gear here in the U.S. in a timely manner? Is that too much to ask? Click the source below to visit Roy's site where he explains what he knows in his own words.

[Source: Gumball114.com, Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty]

They really are dragging out the introduction of the 11th season of Top Gear, and we don't mean in the tire smoking way, either. But a commercial like this one after the jump helps to pass the time. There is nothing we could say that could best the BBC trio in this first ad for the telly. As for the second commercial, well, you can't win them all. But tigers racing badgers more than makes up for it, so follow the jump to check them out. Thanks for the tip, Mobius_1!

[Source: Final Gear]

Remember when we told you that Top Gear would be returning on June 15? Well, um... Top Gear isn't returning on June 15. In fact, not only is Top Gear not returning on June 15, but there is no word on when it will return. And not only is there no word on when it will return, but there isn't expected to be a full run of episodes whenever it does come back -- six shows are supposedly on slate. And those six episodes apparently won't be in HD, for any of you 1080i-philes who rocked the plasma purchase hoping you'd get a better shot of The Stig. So it's not quite time for Taps yet... but we're going to go sit in a tub of chocolate to console ourselves for a while... Thanks for the tip, Viper007Bond!

[Source: Final Gear]

Formula 1 will hit the BBC air waves in 2009 after a long run on ITV. The move will require new figureheads to sit at the desk, and London's Times has said that Top Gear's Richard Hammond is the top man for the job. Economics at least partially drove ITV's decision to withdraw from F1 coverage. The coverage is expensive, so making money is challenging, even with newly rising star Lewis Hamilton making F1 more interesting for UK viewers.

Hammond's presence might help broaden the appeal beyond just racing fans, as would guest appearances by Jeremy Clarkson and James May, Hammond's cohorts on Top Gear. Letting Clarkson and May prowl the paddock could offer priceless moments of color commentary that would set YouTube alight. The BBC also plans to update the look, feel and pace of its coverage, and fans will be able to get at the presentation more easily with races going out across broadband digital outlets in addition to the standard radio and television. Thanks for the tip, Eric!

[Source: Times Online, Photo by Getty Images/Getty]

I hopped on the Top Gear bandwagon a little late, having just finished devouring the past two seasons thanks to helpful websites like Finalgear.com. During this period of shows is when host Richard Hammond crashed a jet-powered dragster going 288 mph. Though he suffered significant injuries including head trauma, Hammond was back on the Top Gear set just four short months after the crash. He now admits that was "much too early."

The Daily Mail reports that Hammond, a.k.a. Hamster, has since struggled with some degree of suicidal depression and still suffers from memory loss and spacial awareness issues that make simple tasks like parking a car difficult. That's surprising to hear, considering we watched Hammond drive all manner of high-powered autos last season, even competing in a 24-hour endurance race. Though he is as physically healed as he's likely going to get, the host with the best hair in Briton thinks his progress now depends on rewiring his brain to cope with complex emotional states. It makes four months in physical therapy sound preferable, but we wish his holy Hamster all the best as he returns to form. Thanks for the tip, Sincleazy!

[Source: The Daily Mail, Photo by EDMOND TERAKOPIAN/AFP/Getty]

Bionic Woman. Knight Rider. And now....Top Gear? NBC, America's remake network, has ordered a pilot of an Americanized Top Gear. Expect to see all the usual Top Gear conventions, including three presenters; a masked Stig-like driver; a private test track; taping in a hangar before a live audience; and (probably D-List) celebs driving midsize cars. Unfortunately, you won't see the program's British hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. And this is where it gets dicey. You see, those guys are the reason Top Gear is what it is. They're clever and witty, and they endear themselves to gearheads with segments like Clarkson's hilarious Peel P50 "review" (it's pasted after the jump). NBC's going to have a hard time finding US hosts who can replicate that vibe without being relentlessly annoying in the process. As BBC remakes go, we truly hope that a US-flavored Top Gear succeeds like The Office, but we're concerned that it might just turn into another Coupling. Thanks to all who sent tips.

[Source: Reuters]

Click the image above for more pics of the Vampire jet car

Talk about a project car. For sale on eBay UK, for approved UK-only bidders, is the actual Vampire jet car crashed by Richard Hammond. The Hamster was doing nearly 300-MPH when things went pear-shaped and he ended up in a coma. It appears the owner of the car hasn't been doing so well himself, and needs to sell the Vampire, and Britain's fastest electric car, to pay for health care costs.

The car, however, looks like it's been in a high-speed crash -- it's essentially a gutted, truncated fuselage and a junkyard of spares. Oh, the car doesn't come with a rollcage. It was cut off to extract Hammond and never returned. So if you'd like a heinously fast jet car that you'll need a a great deal of money to rebuild but might never be able to drive again, call a friend in the UK to place a bid for you. As of now, you'll need 18,000 pounds to join the party. Click on the gallery of images below to see more pics of the car.

[Source: eBay UK via Jalopnik]

Our favorite rodent host of Top Gear, Richard "The Hamster" Hammond, was involved in an on-track collision last Saturday during an endurance race at Silverstone behind the wheel of a BMW 330 DTi Sport. Hammond, of course, was almost killed last September when he lost control of a jet-powered dragster at 288 MPH. This time Hammond merely collided with a car that was trying to overtake him. Reportedly traveling around 100 MPH at the time, he was able to limp the BMW off the track and wait for a tow to the pits where the car was repaired so he could continue racing. Fellow hosts Jeremy Clarkson and Jay Mays, as well as their mystery driver, the Stig, were also taking turns with the BMW last weekend.

The one-year anniversary of Hammond's near death experience in a jet car is September 20th. While his most recent incident is hardly newsworthy in and of itself, the fact it's his first since the jet car accident and comes almost exactly one year later makes it an interesting piece of news. Hammond, however, doesn't think there's much to report here, saying ""Reports of my shunt this weekend have been greatly exaggerated." Regardless, no one can say that Richard Hammond doesn't lay it on the line for his craft, that's for sure.

Thanks for the tip, Filip!

[Source: AOL Entertainment]

The blokes at Top Gear are in the process of planning their summer return, and last week viewers abroad got a rare glimpse into how the sausage is made.

You might recall Clarkson, Hammond and May taking on the challenge of creating their own aquatic vehicles a few seasons back (if not, the video is posted after the jump), and the results were somewhat predictable, with Clarkson capsizing, Hamster taking on more water than the laws of physics would allow, and Captain Slow rolling into the docks triumphant in his Triumph Herald.

Well, the three motoring presenters decided to pull their aqua-whips out of retirement to cross the English Channel, and again, two of the three vehicles met their demise at the bottom of the sea. According to various reports, May's Herald and Hammond's VW van went under within the first few minutes, while Jezza was able to stay afloat long enough to stroke his ever-expanding ego.

The Daily Mail article has several photos of the event, and a few choice quotes from understandably peeved Coast Guard officers.

On a related side note, Hammond reportedly ditched his 911 Carrera in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire at 3 AM yesterday, after he was stuck in traffic caused by a flood for 12 hours. Our man wasn't going to miss his daughter's birthday party, so he decided to run the 16 miles back to his home, equipped with a waterproof jacket, some running shoes and an iPod. "There was no way I was going to miss it – I'm away from home enough as it is," said Hammond, after recounting his two-and-a-half hour-long jog. Kudos to Hamster for knowing what really matters.

[Sources: Autotrader.co.uk, Daily Mail]