Autoblog

U.S. Top Gear returns July 24

Jeff Glucker — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:01:00 EST

The Fourth of July is right around the corner, which means fireworks, alcohol-fueled patriotism and dogs hiding under beds. July also holds another day on the calender that's cause for celebration, at least for fans of U.S. Top Gear. Tanner Foust, Adam Ferrara and Rutledge Wood are back for season two, which premieres July 24 at 10pm EST on the History Channel.

We fully expect the comment section below to be filled with folks on both sides of the fence. Some of you are ready to support the show, others wrote it off before episode one even aired, and many are caught somewhere in the middle.

We're already hearing rumblings that the hosts are feeling much more comfortable with their chemistry this season and that the entire TG USA team is feeling more confident about the shows they are about to deliver, but the proof will be in this season's pudding.

U.S. Top Gear returns July 24 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear US hosts sit down with Jay Leno tonight

Jeff Glucker — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Celebrities

The crew from Top Gear US are jumping over to the set of another certified car nut's show. Jay Leno will play host to Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara tonight at 11:35 pm on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. While cars will no doubt be a central point of the discussion, we're curious to see what Jay has to say about the show. Last time he spoke about it, Leno predicted it would suck.

Top Gear US hosts sit down with Jay Leno tonight originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear!

Alex Nunez — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:33:00 EST

Filed under: Videos, Cadillac, Celebrities

U.S. Top Gear trailer - Click above to watch the video after the jump

You all know that the long-awaited U.S. version of Top Gear is headed to The History Channel, and now it's time to get your first taste of the show. The first trailer for the show is online, and if it's any indication, Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara are going to win over viewers, and the program will not stray from the BBC original's successful formula of cool tests and zany challenges.

In fact, one of the new show's challenges is the trailer's centerpiece. In involves the hosts determining the best $1,000 car by putting a trio of them through a punishing "moonshine run" dirt course. The ride selected for the teaser is Ferrara's, the airborne 1976 Cadillac Deville Calais seen above (it could be a '75, but we're pretty certain that's the '76 grille pattern). How does a malaise-era Caddy handle a landing after catching that much air? About as well as you'd imagine - this isn't the make-believe world of '70s cop shows, after all. It's hilarious.

Bottom line: The hosts exude great chemistry and the motoring action is pretty much everything you'd want and expect from a program calling itself Top Gear. Still under wraps, however, is the Stig. The suspense is killing us. This looks like a completely fun show. Hit the jump to see for yourselves. Thanks to Chris for the tip!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear!

Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear! originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear producer talks about foreign editions

Dan Roth — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:59:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Etc., Lifestyle

Top Gear Executive Producer Andy Wilman is aware of the acrimony that surrounds the apparently not-dead-yet U.S. edition of the show, and makes a case on the Top Gear blog for both the Yankee and Australian spinoffs that are marching their way towards prime time audiences soon. Wilman points out that Top Gear's success is not formulaic like other shows that have been churned in different locations all over the world. May, Clarkson, Hammond and the Stig aren't generic slots on the show that can be easily filled. Plugging people into positions like "here's the guy who used to play in Journey, sitting next to the pop star, who's seated next to the jaded British record executive who's clearly having his time wasted while making enough to purchase a Veyron," won't hold water.

Not only can the hosts not be duplicated in a Dick Sargent/Dick York fashion, the shows themselves have to be aware of each other and find ways to fit around what the other is doing. So, the uphill battle facing the localized versions of Top Gear is finding the proper personalities (the Australians already have) who will genuinely fit together and have chemistry, while also getting those people to do and say things that are compelling without just repeating the schtick of the original in a different location.

Wilman acknowledges that those who know about the original Top Gear in North America are fanatics who won't stand for a watered down retooling. Just because there may someday be a homegrown version of TG doesn't mean they'll stop watching the original. One thing that's skirted by Wilman's post is the writing. It's been said many times that the unvarnished opinion that flies on the original won't work on an advertising-dependent network like NBC in the U.S. If the presenters aren't given good material or allowed to riff with leeway, the U.S. Top Gear is dead in the water regardless of the personalities on camera.

[Source: Top Gear]

Top Gear producer talks about foreign editions originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBC passes on U.S. Top Gear for now

Dan Roth — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:55:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Lifestyle, Celebrities

NBC's dubious attempt to duplicate the unique cachet of Top Gear with a Stateside spinoff has apparently come to a screeching halt. They couldn't even get it together on a cast, so the news doesn't come entirely as a surprise. The newly announced fall lineup doesn't save a seat for "Gear," though room is made in the lineup for that clunker of a retread that is Knight Rider. Seeing how much worse NBC has managed to make the campfest original Knight Rider, we're all better off without a watered-down, sucking-up, entirely neutered iteration of the original. Done before it even started -- we've all been spared by a mild outbreak of sense at a TV network. Thanks for the tip, r4m3n.

[Source: Dark Horizons]

NBC passes on U.S. Top Gear for now originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 May 2008 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #91

Dan Roth — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:21:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Podcasts, Classics, Carsumer Advocacy

Following quickly on the heels of our last late-arriving podcast, we're back for episode #91 of the Autoblog Podcast. Alex and John take time to discuss Knight Rider, Top Gear and TV in general, turning this 'cast into the AutoTVblogSquad show. We also cover the uncovering of Max Mosley and his strange predilections, our institution of a CarSumer Advocacy category, and answer the three legitimate emails out of our new podcast at autoblog dot com address. Thanks for your 44 minutes this week.

If you have a question, comment, bit of praise or heap of criticism for us, email us at podcast at autoblog dot com and we may read your email on the show.

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Autoblog Podcast #91 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Leno or Seinfeld could host NBC Top Gear

Noah Joseph — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:33:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Celebrities

If you found the news that NBC had struck a deal for an American version of Top Gear promising, the latest speculation on candidates for hosting the show should have you salivating. The original British program on the BBC uses a mix of automotive journalists and television personalities to make the dynamic and beloved team of hosts. Since Clarkson, May and Hammond nixed the idea of hosting the American show as well, BBC producers then began interviewing American automotive journalists - um, I'm still waiting for my call - in an effort to imbue the new show with some "journalistic credibility", but Inside Line reports that the BBC called several of the candidates this week and told them they were taking a "celebrity direction".

The development has inevitably led to speculation over who NBC could sign to host the show, and like a racing team looking for a new driver, it all comes down to availability. Jay Leno's contract to host the Tonight Show, it has been pointed out, is set to expire next year, and his credentials as a certified car nut are unimpeachable. Another candidate is Jerry Seinfed, an avid Porsche enthusiast who's got a lot of time on his hands since his sitcom went off the air. Both are huge celebrities and genuine gear-heads with long-standing relationships with NBC. We also hear Scott Speed is available if they're looking for The Stig's American cousin... or a new Captain Slow.

[Source: Inside Line, Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty]

Rumormill: Leno or Seinfeld could host NBC Top Gear originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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