Top Gear wasn't always as biased against electric or hybrid cars as you might imagine. Found this gem from 2000 on you tube. It isn't Jeremy though; Whereas this 10 year old clip does have Clarksons views on the Prius. He hated it then and hates it today. Or did he just hate what it stood for? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSkg-Xmxqj0&feature=related"]Jeremy- Is The Toyota Prius good and.... - YouTube[/ame] The following is a bit of fun as to why he was popular as a presenter; http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=bateVoomrTY&feature=endscreen
So the original insight was more expensive than the original prius. As for JC, the 45mpg he mentioned would have been USA mpg not UK so deffo out to diss the prius. And I doubt he is bullet proof either
Clarkson is entertainment first, facts second. His life is spent reviewing and driving cars he doesn't own, that cater to a minute crowd of wealthy, and so his perception of what cars should be (fun first, utility second) means that a car with utility first fun, well honestly never, is worthless. It must kill him to see hybrid numbers go up, but he doesn't appreciate that the majority of the world couldn't care less about how fast or performance oriented their car is.
Hammond is the only decent guy on Top Gear UK...I would probably kick Jeremy in the plums should I run into him
I'm from the UK and I really love Top Gear - last night's episode with the rallycross was superb. JC's extreme right wing views do get out of hand tho. Don't expect the facts. The review of the Gen 2 Prius is a case in point (hard to find now online) he says the 0-60 time is 13 secs (for example) - entertainment 1st, facts a very poor 2nd.
+1 His Times review of the Mazda 6 Sport 2,2 td is a case in point. Widely regarded as a superb driver's car with excellent torque and eco; the review was basically him saying that he looked at it in his driveway and couldn't be bothered driving it because he thought it was boring... Why does he even bother with these kind of reviews? Just stick with TV show JC.
He does it because people keep watching. It's a bit like foxnews. They'll tell you what you want to hear, not what you should hear.
First guy is funny as heck. Clarkson seems like he might be the instigator for all the redneck type hate over here for Prius ... the diesel trucks fuming black smoke into Prius and all. I'll bet Clarkson still thinks Prius sucks. Saw one episode where the two of 'em think Hydrogen cars are going to be all the rage ... they must be paid off by oil companies.
