We are going to start betting on the fact that Top Gear USA is going to be a household name by the time it wraps up its third season. The show is gaining fans all over and the naysayers of the show are starting to come around.
And why shouldn’t they? With the funny challenges, the decent reviews, and the big stars, Top Gear USA is building itself up rather nicely. Let’s just hope that the balloon doesn’t deflate before we can win our little bet.
In this week’s episode, the guys from Top Gear USA run a few old GM models through a series of challenges to see which one should reenter production, Tony Hawk takes the Subaru around the Top Gear USA test track, and the news segment comes around again.
UPDATE 12/21/2010: Check out Top Gear USA’s rendering of their 2011 Buick Roadmaster in the gallery!
Hit the jump to see all of the details for this week’s episode of Top Gear USA.
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We are almost halfway through the first season of Top Gear USA and we are pleased to say that the show is not a complete waste of our time. In fact, we actually enjoy watching it. The clips are informative, the challenges are funny and entertaining, and the opportunity of making fun of Ferrara will never slide past us. We can’t help it; we don’t really like the guy as the "main" host.
Now that all of that is out of the way, we can move on to the actual show aired. The fourth episode of Top Gear USA takes us through a long review of the Mercedes SLS AMG with Adam Ferrara behind the wheel. Only Ferrara can ruin the Mercedes’ camera time. Top Gear UK has Captain Slow, we have Captain Boring. ’Nuff said.
The more interesting part of the show was the two challenges. The first was a race between the Ford F-150 Velociraptor and a HALO jumper while the second was a jumbled mess of two old beaters shooting out paintballs. And by two old beaters, we mean Ferrara and Wood. Just kidding.
Hit the jump to see details on the fourth episode of Top Gear USA.
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Another week, another Top Gear USA episode, and we may be starting to like the show a bit. Don’t give us a hard time; we’re only human. Yes, it’s still lacking the quirks and perks of the UK version, but these guys may just be finding their way.
The funny part about the statement we just made is that this week’s show saw fewer segments than the first two, but that could be what helped it. Everything wasn’t so forced and they didn’t jump to the next topic as if they were actually in a race. Of course, the downside to this was that they did not get the opportunity to review any vehicles and they inserted a brief and odd news segment.
Overall the producers for the show are starting to find a good balance between Foust’s car knowledge, Wood’s comedic randomness, and Ferrara’s dry commentary. Hopefully it will get all worked out soon and maybe people will actually begin to give the show a chance.
Hit the jump for details on this week’s episode of Top Gear USA.
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Top Gear USA may have wrapped up the second episode of their very first season, but due to geographical ramifications, many may have missed their first review. In Episode One of Top Gear USA, the boys tested the most powerful Viper in the line-up: the ACR-X.
In this video, you’ll see the USA’s version of the Stig as he whips the Viper around the new Top Gear USA track. The track is 1.6 miles long and consists of several turns as well as a few straightaways for optimal speed.
As a reminder, the Viper ACR-X is powered by the same SRT developed 8.4 Liter V10 as the standard super car, except that a set of factory tuned headers and a less restrictive exhaust system give the ACR-X a 40 HP kick in the pants meaning that there is a total of 640 HP on tap. Combine that with a weight savings of 160 pounds, despite the addition of a roll cage, and you’ve got an even more challenging track ready machine. On the market, the ACR-X is priced at $110,000.
Check out the video to see just how the Dodge Viper ACR-X did in the hands of the Stig when put up against the Top Gear USA test track.
Before we even begin to go into the second episode of Top Gear USA, we have to admit that we had to set an alarm to remind ourselves to watch it. That doesn’t exactly say much about the show’s first episode, but we actually did see some sort of improvement with this one.
This episode was a little different than the first one as Adam Ferrara kind of took a back seat to Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust. That wasn’t exactly a bad thing considering that the actor/comedian was bland and uninspiring during the first episode. The chemistry was better between the three, but the music still sucked.
Enough about all that, let’s move on to the actual meat and potatoes of the show. In this episode we got to see Wood take on the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Tanner Foust put two skiers to the test while driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and all three men learn a little something about drifting in a Nissan 370Z. Yes, Tanner Foust is a drift champion, but that may or may not help him during this challenge. Oh yeah, and some British guy takes on the Suzuki SX4.
Hit the jump to check out the details of Top Gear USA, Episode Two.
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The wait is finally over as the curtains were lifted off of the very first episode of Top Gear USA. Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust, and Rutledge Wood were all smiles as they prepared to meet their maker in the form of critics and fans alike, who were all prepared to make that fateful decision: to hate or not to hate Top Gear USA.
Before watching the first episode of Top Gear USA, we were very hopeful that the trio of Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust, and Rutledge Wood would light up our television sets with the witty repertoire we’ve heard so much about. It started out a little rough with some forced playful banter and horribly scripted lines, but by the end of their very first episode, we started to see the chemistry between all three hosts.
Were they able to succeed in winning over their target audience? The jury is still out, but we can only hope that Top Gear USA will pull through for all of us. Let us know what you think after reading the details of their first episode after the jump.
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