45 replies to this topic

[V]

Clarkson? He's an ass clown!

Opinion. And so was the review. It was what HE thought of American cars, which happens to coincide with countless others' that aren't American.

What is he comparing the '05 to, a European car costing 3 times as much?

Actually no, he was comparing it to the Lotus Exige, which is faster, lighter, more economical, cheaper and corners like a fly.

Quotes from Wikipedia page -
"Clarkson was awarded an honorary degree from Brunel University on 12 September 2003, partly because of his work
in popularising engineering..."

Honorary? So he talked about the subject on TV & got an "honorary" degree.

They did say partly, and I've never heard of this.

"Everybody's very fat, everybody's very stupid and everybody's very rude. " (Reference to Americans).

This is based on...? Meeting every person in America? Or just the ones you've managed to annoy.

I wouldn't know about rude, that was probably based on a personal experience. But America is the fattest country, and becoming the dumbest.
This all comes from statistics and such, and I know, they aren't always correct, but what else is there to believe?

[Urbanoutlaw]

Personal experience, don't take someone's word for it just because their famous. As an American I have tired of tired
getting bad mouthed by people who never met me. It wasn't that long ago that all white South Africans were racists.
(this is not a personal attack, do not take it as such).

The Lotus is a nice car, but hardly a fair comparison. The lotus is a lightweight mid-engine car based on racing design,
a completely different car. A better comparison would be a Mustang would be a Holden Manaro (Pontiac GTO in the US).
The Lotus should have been compared to something like a Toyota MR2.

It's apples & oranges. If Clarkson is such an expert he should have thought of that instead making a piece of
journalistic fluff. Nothing personal, the guy just pisses me off, I'd be surprised if he could change his own spark plugs.

I doubt it would do so well against the Ford GT (granted, the GT is 3 times as expensive as the Lotus). Even w/ the weight
advantage of the Lotus (at just under 200 HP), the the GT V8 (550 HP) would easily make short work of it.

For gas mileage, the Lotus would win & yes I would drive one. But if I could afford cars like that (or even the insurance)
I wouldn't car about gas mileage.

Some reading material for those interested, courtesy of Automobile Magazine -

http://www.automobil...xige/index.html

http://www.automobil...club/index.html

Anyway, we're going a little off topic here. Does Holden have a mid-engine model similar to the Opel Speedster?
(quick search found none.)

Edited by Urbanoutlaw, 19 December 2007 - 04:42 PM.

[V]

The Lotus is a nice car, but hardly a fair comparison. The lotus is a lightweight mid-engine car based on racing design,
a completely different car. A better comparison would be a Mustang would be a Holden Manaro (Pontiac GTO in the US).
The Lotus should have been compared to something like a Toyota MR2.

The point was why would you buy it when there is a cheaper alternative that is, for lack of a better word, so much better? Albeit different.

I doubt it would do so well against the Ford GT (granted, the GT is 3 times as expensive as the Lotus). Even w/ the weight
advantage of the Lotus (at just under 200 HP), the the GT V8 (550 HP) would easily make short work of it.

Well that's like comparing a house cat to a tiger. In anyway, the GT40 would run out of petrol long before with, what is it, a four miles to the gallon engine?

Edited by V V, 20 December 2007 - 06:11 PM.

[Urbanoutlaw]

More like 12 for the supercharge 5.4 V8.

You apparently MISSED the part about not being concerned about gas if you could afford one in the first place.

Check your prices. I don't know where you buy your cars, but the Lotus is WAY more expensive than a Mustang.

"Everybody's very fat, everybody's very stupid and everybody's very rude. " (Reference to Americans).

This is based on...? Meeting every person in America? Or just the ones you've managed to annoy.

..... America is the fattest country, and becoming the dumbest.
This all comes from statistics and such, and I know, they aren't always correct, but what else is there to believe?

I don't know where that came from, but I expected a little better than that from you. I think I speak for more than a
few "fat stupid rude" Americans when I say that. You got a problem with us, take it to the warzone.

I should point out the topic is Ford vs HOLDEN, not lotus. Get back on topic.

Edited by Urbanoutlaw, 23 December 2007 - 08:14 PM.

[Sherman]

GOD DAMNIT. Why does someone ALWAYS start shit in a decent topic.

.... America is the fattest country, and becoming the dumbest.
This all comes from statistics and such, and I know, they aren't always correct, but what else is there to believe?

Would you like a ban? I'm not even kidding. Oh wait, I'm so dumb, I don't know how to ban people!


It's Holden VS Ford. Not about some guy and his opinion. YOUR OPINION IN HERE. Yeah, UO brought it up, but he didn't start bagging or making huge ASSUMPTIONS about a nationality. If anything, PM eachother if you really feel like discussing it.

[Gerard]

Clarkson (as well as May and Hammond) is regarded as FUNNY. Top Gear is both interesting and comical, NOT factual. You are supposed to take everything he says with a heavy pinch of salt.

I hate to generalise again, but this is British humour, which consists of subtle jibes at other people and quietly enforcing non-believed stereotypes.

Statistically the USA does have the fastest-growing obesity rate in the world. America is frequently cited as the fattest country in the world with an obesity rate of 30% and another 35% classified as "overweight." Malta and the UK aren't too far behind though, so maybe it is unfair to single out the US. But its funny, and that makes it okay in the right context, such as a funny non-PC program.

Clarkson calls cars "a bit ginger beer" (slang for queer, meaning homosexual) but thats just funny and doesnt offend me at all. But still some people complained cos they took it out of context - you wouldnt want to see that on the news or in a serious newspaper.

So I say grow up, stop being so paranoid that people take jibes at you. Yes okay we do make fun of Americans for being fat, ruining the English language and being stupid. Those are just silly generalisations that people don't really believe (unless theyre stupid themselves). If you arent fat or stupid, then great - you dont fit into the stereotype and youre awesome and the generalisation doesnt apply. If you are, then you need to do something about it and you deserve to be laughed at until you do (usually).

Stereotyping is fun.


As for cars, German cars rule, Italian ones are fun, some others are OK. American cars don't usually stand out, but there are exceptions. Same opinion as Clarkson & Co.

As for this topic, stay on topic and don't let these stereotypes get in the way of a good wholesome discussion.