jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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bit shocking tbh, and certainly makes me less of a fan of the programe
http://www.stratossupersite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7683
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Neo
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Registered: 20th Feb 07
Location: Essex
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DB error James 
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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works for me, its a very popular thread atm
this is what was said
[Quote]
Re: Top Gear Filming
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As you know I don't often make comments on the forum but I think that the facts as I see them need to be aired. I was there at the top gear studio all day and saw everything outside the studio first hand. Because of my personal view of the programme I refused the offer of participating inside the studio.I was informed after the recording of what was said and shown by my friends from Noble Motorsport who were also there on the day.
We know that Nico volunteered his car at very short notice to the people at Top Gear who has asked for an Alitalia. Nico made it abundantly clear in his many emails to them that the car had been standing and had been rallied over the last few years and was a little 'distressed'. They arranged transportation for the car to be collected from Edinburgh and delivered to the studios where it was filmed with sticking brakes and showing the Stig getting out of the car after it had broken down. But they omitted to report that they had blown the engine. The Stig then leant on the side window and it crashed down, then the wiper blade dropped off. The Stig walked away. Then they transported the car back to Nico in Edinburgh declaring only trouble with the brakes and still not admitting to an engine problem and a broken door where they had pushed it so far back it had broken the check strap and cracked the fibre glass edge!
This is the point where I came in. I was asked by Nico if I could collect the car from him and put a new engine in which the BBC would pay for (after liaising with the BBC they agreed to pay for a new engine and my transportation from Edinburgh to Dunsfold via my workshop). Due to the short timeframe in which I had to work on the car I had to drop everything to collect the car from Edinburgh. I collected and fitted the engine and gearbox kindly donated by Ken from his Rothmans car. In addition Nico also wanted ugrades to the gearbox by fitting a 2 litre diff and an Alfa LSD - I duly obliged. Nico then arranged with Talon to put extra spotlights on the front and fill the empty lamp pod with working spotlights and all associated wiring and respray of stonechips. A new set of wheels was supplied by them with slick racing tyres in an effort to give the car a quick time. On investigating the problem with the brakes - I identified this as a sticky slider and not wanting to risk any further problems, new callipers and pads (the old pads were glazed and overheated to such an extent that they were breaking up) were put on the front and a new master cylinder fitted. I had problems bleeding the brakes and could't understand why I wasn't getting a pedal.Again, time was running out and I had to take the car to Talon for them to fit the front end and wire in the new spotlights. While I was there we all three tried to sort out the prblems with the brake - to no avail. The next day after a sleepless night I took out the pedal assembly and discovered that it was bent out of line and not giving any stroke on the pedal. After re-jigging everything the pedal was restored and we had good working brakes. A late night that night!!
Early start next morning to load the car and all tools for a shake down test at Bruntingthorpe. After a couple of slow bedding-in laps, checking temps and levels, etc (this was the first time that the car had run). The speed was gradually built up and everything seemed OK. My biggest concern was that Nico was unable to keep the car on the track for very long resulting in some spectacular spins across the grass and once into the tyres, narrowly avoiding damage. Owing to Nico's time constraints no adjustments were made to the suspension in any way - setting of shocks, tyre pressures, tracking etc. My concerns had already been raised regarding the fitting of the secondhand shocks from his green car. Later I put this issue in writing but time was spent on getting the car to look spectacular - which it did!
Back at the workshop more work was carried out as instructed to further enhance the appearance of the car by painting in the stonechips and polishing etc. I must admit the car did look brand new.
On Wednesday, the day of filming, I had to be at the studios by 8am which meant leaving home at 4.30am.
After off loading the car on its slick tyres I went through the start procedue with them and handed over the keys. I then went to park up my truck and trailer away from the studio but with a good vantage point of the test track. At 9am the editor came to ask me if I wouldn't mind fitting the 2nd set of wet weather tyres as it was pouring with rain and he said that they wouldn't get far on the slicks - I duly obliged. Then this week's Stig driver came round(Andy something, I think) and got in the car, started the engine revving it's nuts off making it bounce off the rev limiter. To which he remarked "I thought I was pressing the brake" - I explained to him that the brake is the next one along and the clutch the next one after that. Off he shot.
The car flashed down the track and to me it sounded as though it was firing on 5 cylinders but it was going so fast and it was raining so hard it was difficult to tell.
For the next hour and a half I watched through binoculars as they filmed the supposed one power lap. In fact he drives two or three laps and then the camera team move to the next corner and he does two or three more laps and so on. In all he must have done 30+ laps. Then he did the supposed spinning out of control on the power lap. I must admit though, he is a very good driver in the way that he provoked and recovered the spins - or maybe they were just his practice ones. From this you can see how contrived it all was.
My view is that from the outset this was the direction that the programme was going to take. Even if the car had performed spectacularly they would have still slated it.
Nico went in to the studio filming and immediately expressed his anger and concern over the way everything had been handled and portrayed. Including Clarksons comments - a great looking car but a crap build (or words to that effect).
My emails and telephone conversations with the BBC were met with 'media talk' and I was told hat they were going to show the footage and nothing was going to change. Legal action by Gerry and Nico to remove all footage of the car and all references to it have just been sidestepped by the BBC.
What have we come away with? Nico has come away with hurt pride. Gerry has had his most excellent product criticized and future worldwide sales jeopordised and I, although not mentioned by name, everyone knows that I built the car originally and they will associate it's failings with me. However, I have to carry out work as per my customers' instructions over and above my personal preferences.
The script for the show was written even before they had the car and the issue is with the people who design the programme and not the three stooges who front it. It just goes to show that these are no different to any other treacherous bastards in the media. Both Gerry and I are absolutely devastated about the programme and fear the negative knock on effect on our businesses. I am personally well known throughout the industry - as is Gerry.
I have a meeting with one of my prized customers on Wednesday and I have 14 of his cars in my workshops. I am dreading what his thoughts will be about me and my capabilities after he sees the programme as he knows that I built the car.
I believe that in future if a car is offered to any influential media for road testing etc it is only fair that it should first be vetted and approved by the manufacturer before it 'goes out'.
If this does have a negative effect I am sure that there will be 3 suicides in the motor industry very soon.
In my view it is no good whinging about the media if you are going to sit and watch this type of programme every week or indeed go out and buy their books etc - you are just encouraging them. Take my advice and turn the twats off and go and read someone else's quality publication instead.
Chris
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Matt L
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Registered: 17th Apr 06
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read through it earlier (posted in the tg thread in offday).
does make the bbc sound like badgers but i have to say the person who wrote that also seems to have blown it out of proportion a bit as from the show i wouldnt have a sodding clue he made it or who owned it as i cant say i heard them mention names and tbh i cant say after seeing it how i would put the problems down to the builder.
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jonnysri
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Registered: 16th Jun 05
Location: Leeds (Ilkley)
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id be fucking appauled if id built it. to be fair clarkson is a twat at times and some of the stuff he says is very contraversial. but to slate a car like that built to that quality is a disgrace.
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Richardhhha
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Registered: 29th Sep 07
Location: Croydon, Greater London
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fecking hell, that does say a lot...
they were taking the piss tho with the car saying it was built in a shed ect..
and if the guy gets the legal action towards the bbc i'd like to see what happens..
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FruitBooTeR
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Registered: 18th Jan 07
Location: Wolverhampton Drives: S15
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quote:
For the next hour and a half I watched through binoculars as they filmed the supposed one power lap. In fact he drives two or three laps and then the camera team move to the next corner and he does two or three more laps and so on. In all he must have done 30+ laps.
Im a bit confused about this bit...so is he saying that when we saw the video of the car doing the wet power lap it was actually made up of many different laps?
If this is the case then how can we believe the times are correct?
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chrisritch
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Registered: 2nd Sep 08
Location: Northants Drives: V40
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the times would be accurate but we just get clips from all the other laps so it gets a good looking video
like when they do the comparative power tests with two screens and they finish at the same time etc but still have different lap times.
and tbf it is just entertainment, they slate noble and lotus saying they are built by turnip farmers in norwich but they didnt complain
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M16KE B
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Registered: 24th Feb 04
Location: Stirling
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to be perfectly honest, the guy that wrote that, whom the car doesnt even belong to, sounds like a complete knobber.
if youve watched more than 5 mins of TG / Clarkson in your life then you should what to expect if you decided to lend a car to the programme.
tough shit i say!
[Edited on 30-11-2009 by M16KE B]
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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thats bollocks mike, TG clearly lied and made up false statements about a car which is clearly better than it was made out to be
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Ojc
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Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
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Well well am I suprised? No. The show is an absolute farce, it has it's own agendas since the first episode.
I don't waste my time watching it, load of bollocks.
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Ojc
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Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
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Infact this has infuriated me.
People should listen to this guys advice
In my view it is no good whinging about the media if you are going to sit and watch this type of programme every week or indeed go out and buy their books etc - you are just encouraging them. Take my advice and turn the twats off and go and read someone else's quality publication instead
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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Anyone with a brain knows Top Gear is set up...
I'll still watch it. Just wouldn't lend them my car if I ever had something worthy of going on that program 
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Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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quote:
Originally posted by jr
thats bollocks mike, TG clearly lied and made up false statements about a car which is clearly better than it was made out to be
but they lie about most cars?
they've said before a mercedes of some sort had enough torque to make the world go backwards or something.
obviously it's a lie but no one moans about the little things.
at the end of the day, it's an entertainment programme, with cars involved now.
like jeremy clarkson said before, if you want to see proper car stuff, buy his car dvd's. if you want to watch an entertainment programme with 3 blokes playing pranks and arsing about, watch top gear.
[Edited on 30-11-2009 by Ben G]
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Paul_J
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Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
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Top Gear do such stupid things these days, where they just loosen things off so they purposely fall off, i.e. the earlier car where every panel fell off.
I wouldn't be surprised if the window wiper fell off because it was loosened on this car too.
The thing is, it's going to be Top Gear's down fall imo... The team behind it, think they have to do stupid things all the time to make it 'entertaining' and it's looking more and more fake all the time.
I thought it was quite bad that the stig spun the car several times during that 'power lap' considering it's obvious the way they film it and the fact that they do many laps.
I'd be pissed off if you put all the money / effort in as described above, just for the program to take the piss as much as they did.
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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ok ben
the blew the engine up - didnt tell the owner - lie
they took the car, even though the owner said the brake was sticking as the car had been layed up, and it needed to be sorted - they put it in the programme anyway and blamed self buit cars will allways brake
they put it round the track, purposly making it spin, so it recorded a low time for entertainment value
so thats pretty much written of the whole point of the lap board IMO, making the whole thing a farce
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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As in the earlier thread in offday, this is all well known, anybody who still thinks its all above board and accurate is a bit slow in the head.
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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there is allways doubts, but this sort of makes it all a bit to gay imo 
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Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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yes jr i get what you're saying, but it was good entertainment.
and i enjoyed the ''lap'' of it with all the spins, so i guess it had the desired effect of entertaining people.
they paid for a new engine anyway so i don't see the problem there?
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chloe16v
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Registered: 29th Nov 07
Location: Rotherham
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i enjoyed it, end of 
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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quote:
Originally posted by Ben G
yes jr i get what you're saying, but it was good entertainment.
and i enjoyed the ''lap'' of it with all the spins, so i guess it had the desired effect of entertaining people.
they paid for a new engine anyway so i don't see the problem there?
the fact they didnt mention it untill someone pushed them to pay for it would anger me
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Pretty bad to have lied about quality of the car etc....
But still amazes me that people dont understand how television is made 
no wonder people believe the actors in soaps are their charecters in real life.
This country needs help
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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all i ever wanted was for the lap times to be real
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pow
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Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
Pretty bad to have lied about quality of the car etc....
But still amazes me that people dont understand how television is made
no wonder people believe the actors in soaps are their charecters in real life.
This country needs help
Sums it up fairly well tbh.
I didn't find last nights episode at all amusing tbh
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: Im the real one!
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'ring times are where its at anyway.
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