Top Gear obnoxious asshole drives a Sebring Convertible
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And trashes it, of course.
First, let me say that I have only watched Top Gear a couple of times, an didn’t like it.
It’s way too gimmicky for my taste.
So this guy is on a trip to the US and drives a rental Sebring Convertible.
And of course, hates it. Like anyone who is used to drive BMWs and Porsches on a regular basis would.
But on top of that, he makes hateful claims like “Because America is a new country, the people who live there have no sense of history. And if you have no concept of “the past”, it is extremely difficult to grapple with the idea of “the future”, trying to explain the poor quality of US cars.
Click on the title and read it for yourself. It just pissed me off.
I am not in love with Chrylser cars (MY review of the 2.7 Liter 300 is coming up), but I am also tired of millionaire TV stars reviewing regular cars…
Now, just wait for the “Burlapp Show”….
How come Honda can pump out a new (benchmark)Civic every 5 years, and BMW a new 7-Series (overladen with new technology)every 7 years, when all Chevy can do is cobble together a “miserable little car” (as per Consumer Reports) like the Aveo, out of an already aging Korean platform?
General Motors is overburdened with too many brands cannabalizing sales, none of which really has a set identity. Ford takes relative millenia to cobble together a lineup of uninspiring, underperforming, ugly boxes that it shills to lazy consumers for waaay too long. Look at the Ranger, Crown Victoria, Focus, Escape…
And Chrysler is just a compete wreck. The 300 looks nice, and the Challenger looks promising, but every single Chrysler interior I’ve encountered (A lot – I’m a car salesman at a large, reputable dealership) feels exactly like Clarkson has described.
I really hope these companies get their acts together. They all seem to have promising ideas in the pipeline, but there is a lot that needs to be done for these guys to fully recover from the last 10 years…
Clarkson is a pompous ass, but he is right. Compared to the European cars he is used to, the Sebring is a sorry piece of American garbage (like most of the vehicles the big 3 produce). The bad news is someone will recognize him one day on the streets of the U.S. and A. and describe their feelings to him…..wink wink
Sorry Vince but I can’t entirely disagree with Clarkson even though sometimes he is a wanker. I wouldn’t say it’s hateful, and you have to admit America is rather in the ‘here-and-now’ frame of mind.
His comments on Iraq and the financial crisis are particularly apt I think. All the new cars coming out of America that get rated as excellent in the States usually get rated as very average elsewhere in the world.
“We see this with so many American cars. Dynamically, some of them are pretty good these days. One or two are even a match for what the Chinese are doing.”
lol….sad, but when it comes to what Chrylser and GM is putting today. I think he is on to something!
Jeremy Clarkson is brilliant. I really love his tongue and cheek humor. Of course they LOVE making fun of America. Initially I took offense to their jabs, but c’mon, it’s hilarious. And when you think of the state of what’s left of the British auto industry, there’s not much to brag about lately. So the Brits need to do whatever it takes to make themselves feel superior.
And also, the Sebring is a piss-poor example of automotive engineering. It deserves all the criticisms it gets.
I agree, I watch Top Gear, but Jeremy Clarkson is an idiot. he disses American cars, but fails to realize that British cars cost more and are lower quality, plus every single British brand is owned by either Indian (Jaguar, Land Rover, Daimler), Chinese (Rover/Roewe), American (Vauxhall) or German (Rolls-Royce) companies.
First time I head you say a bad word, and about time.
Clarkson is the Lord to some folks, I find him cool, but I think they plan out that Jeremy always wins
in a race.
Jeremy Clarkson hates American cars and japanese cars.
He Seems to only like cars that are $400,000 upwards.
He likes british cars except for vauxhall(He only likes the monaro)which is stange because british cars are crap.
Do I sense a hint of jealousy? Top Gear is probably the best show on TV. Get over yourself.
Ah, yes…the truth hurts doesn’t it?
This guy is a fuckin’ cockroach (in Al Pacino accent) Vince. He says stupid stuff in an attempt to create controversy to sell his sorry ass show.
I guess if we follow his logic, the “new” country should be more like the UK with its vastly superior technology, all helped by its sense of history? Maybe he’s just pissed that UK’s glory is all but faded.
Hmm..let’s see.
1. MG Rover = dead.
2. Jaguar = sold by for to Tata(how embarassing)
3. Rolls Royce = owned by BMW
4. Bentley = owned by VW
5. Lotus = Proton (Malaysia)
6. Aston Martin = sold by Ford to Kuwaiti (apparently another historical hub of auto industry)
…and on and on.
Point is, don’t throw rocks when you life in a glass house you bloody wanker.
I feel let down by both clarkson and chrysler , clarkson for bad mouthing america and chrysler for thinking that we will buy crap !
He’s right, but the thing i cant understand is if england has soo much history and has soo much on america why are there cars so low on the jd powers list ? why do most english cars fail miserably in the reliability dept ?
why do most english made cars have such a bad rap here in america ?
I do agree with ya on the top gear being so laughy laughy and gimmicky and find fifth gear very stunning in there filming and there detailed reporting on the cars..
Now lets all get settled in for americas top gear and find out how bad eric stromer is and his inability to report trufully on cars, he was only hired to have all the girls watch !
Burlapp, I know u r not happy about top gear and Jermey, I know he doesn’t like American and Japanese car(if they sell in US) IMO, there is goo reson for it. In reality there is som fact is there. Its not for us to reliaze, its American auto company’s job is to fix it. for example why there is why 2.7L engine is makin only 185hp??? take it some in good manner
I agree. CLarkson’s an idiot. The couple times I’ve seen that show I wondered why nobody had the nads to tell him to STFU.
He’s not even obnoxiously amusing. Just an irritant.
Wow Vince! Chill!
Its Jeremy Clarkson -the guy’s detached from reality… yet i have to admit, quite funny.
On the night Rover went bankrupt he went on TV and made loads of jokes about all of the workers who had lost their jobs!
You’re being a bit unfair to Clarkson. I am a European who regularly drives rental cars in the US and they are all, without exception, dreadful. They feel cheap, they handle like wet towels, they have a ride that induces sea-sickness and the plastics are of the same quality used to make Tic-Tac boxes. It’s got nothing to do with being a millionaire who regularly drives BMWs and Porsches. If you have driven mostly European cars, even ordinary ones like Peugeots and VWs, then you can’t help but be astounded by how bad the average American car is by any objective standard. Clarkson may have a style that is brash and obnoxious but nothing he said about the Sebring was unwarranted. Come on Vince, wouldn’t you rather have an Alfa-Romeo Spider?
Fuck Clarkson and the boat he sailed in on. Where the hell is the British auto industry? I thought so.
Chinese? WTF? They disassemble and reverse engineer (using the word loosely here) and copy everything from laptops to nikes. The things they do make right are learned from the Americans. That comment alone makes him lose all credibility.
He’s probably pissed because his sorry excuse of a show didn’t get him a better rental car (hey dickwad, if you wanna better “American” rental, pay a little more), making him miss his happy hour (the fuckin’ drunk).
Hey Clarkson, why don’t you check your history books to see who came to save your sorry fuckin’ country when it was being carpet bombed to hell and back.
Dickwad.
i agree with Jeremy Clarkson 100%
Truth hurts sometimes – but it still the truth
And what about British cars?
All of the major manufacturers
have been bought out, the last
one of course was Rover, which
went bust in 2005.
What does that say about Britain?
Defunct old country that can’t
deal with today’s challenges.
Because it’s stuck in the past
since it’s such an ancient country.
…according to Clarkson’s logic atleast.
At least Chrysler is still
American, and even if it gets
bought, we have GM (Which owns
Vauxhall btw) and Ford
(which according to TopGear, some
English people have mistaken for
English). Take that Clarkson
american cars (bar malibu) are all shit and the sebring tops the list. jeremy clearly knows a good euro car UNLIKE SHITTY CHRYSLERS!
Saw a Sebring convertible here in Northern Australia the other day. They are rare here, as in unloved. For a supposedly medium size car it was heavy looking, pug ugly, and just looked like it had been force fed the all trans-fats diet. I always had a soft spot for Chrysler (the Australian Valiants were terrific) but this thing is just awful. it deserves to fail.
The little Euro-Runt is just a slave of the EU State so who cares. The Brits are weak-minded envy-ridden losers who voted themselves into slavery…and they like it that way.
Yeah, so the Chrysler Sebring isn’t exactly the best car in the world, but why is Clarkson road-testing a RENTAl car? Rental cars are usually as mistreated as an old mule. Wouldn’t a new Sebring have been a better choice? Some “journalist” he is.
But he couldn’t leave his review with the car. He has to start criticizing America as a country. He talks about AIG and Lehman Brothers and the war in Iraq like he might know something about them, but he proves himself to be just another ignorant eurotrash douchebag. The Hank and Billy-Bob Clarkson insultingly mentions are geniuses compared to this moron. As far as not having any sense of history, how about this — England is a sorry shell of its former self, and we kicked their asses twice and than saved those same sorry asses from having to learn German twice.
Stick to reviewing cars Jeremy. You can fool more people into thinking you’re some kind of expert on that subject. Leave the real tough subjects to somebody else.
wait wait wait, from one of the videos i saw, didn’t he love the new holden HSV and the old pontiac monaro? oh and what about the CTS-V and the ZR-1? Clarksons a good guy and rather comical at times. But vince u have to understand that he’s not use to drving around a 25,000 dollar chrysler. I’m all for GM and drive nothing but, but god, that sebring is just awful.
Vince .. Clakson is right on about the Sebring, and American cars. I would say 80% of the junk that they sale should say Mattel on it.
How about those high-quality British cars…..oh yeah, there aren’t any….
If jeremy steps out of a $2million bugatti veyron and steps in to a sebring, of course he is going to rubbish it…
Vince, get over it.
You know, I know, everyone knows the Chrysler Sebring is a big steaming pile of dog turd.
If ever a car company needed putting out of its misery its Chrysler.
Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t hate all American cars. He bought a Ford GT as his personal car, and he was mostly complimentary to the Mustang and Corvette… aside from their universally despised chintzy interiors. The issues that he points out with American cars are the same issues that most Americans have with American cars. Let’s face it, domestic cars are still mostly uncompetitive, and their shortcomings are often in-your-face every time you sit in one. And no snaggletoothed Brit is going to overlook that reality as easily as a flag-waiving American will. He’s equally as critical of Japanese cars, which I thoroughly appreciate.
Oh yeah… God bless the queen! Whatever that means.
Vince, I have always been a fan of your blog, but might I say you are quite wrong with this. Take some time out and watch Clarkson… his reviews are REAL LIFE, and he is completely right about this American junkpile.
Maybe we should say goodbye to the American car industry and focus on rebuilding our economy, and bringing our poor soldiers back from a useless war. We’re not going anywhere with the car companies anyways, except for down the drain.
One thing tha thas to be understood when American cars are packaged is the keeping it inexpensive and playing it safe principles. Except for European cars, which this market decided long ago should not be bread and butter (except VW) but propped up as automotive jewelry, cars here are decidedly about practicality, commuting to work, pleasing the kids more than the driver/other adults, stuff like that. In basic, these cars are not dressed to the nines and tuned for enthusiasts. From Camrys to Cobalts, they’re cut corners on four wheels. That’s this market, the most competitive in the world.
arseholes are arseholes
“Maybe we should say goodbye to the American car industry and focus on rebuilding our economy, and bringing our poor soldiers back from a useless war. We’re not going anywhere with the car companies anyways, except for down the drain.”
Finally, someone who gets it! American cars are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Too many years of complacency have caught up to them. People are tired of hearing about their failures and poor sales. The American government should have thought about the economy before sending troops into Iraq for some a healthy does of warcrimes at the expense of the American taxpayer. Now the entire American auto industry faces collapse. You’re right, it’s too late….the Big 3 is pretty much history.
Top Gear isn’t about reviewing cars. It’s more of a comedy that keeps repeating itself. James is slow, Hamster is short, and Clarkson is tall. They usually drive fast cars and scream about how brilliant they are. They also seem to like racing skateboarders, marathoners, etc., as if we care. The show has become obviously scripted. Some of the so-called funny bits can be painful to watch. It’s typical lame British humor that targets people with low self esteem and rotten teeth.
A lot of good knowing “History” does those Borg Collective Euro-Runts.,,All they do is sit around and bitch about it like little girls.
Europe “History” a murderous joke of political/religous slavery and wars between unevolved/tribal euro-monkeys…With bad teeth.
First of all as someone said most British car companies aren’t even owned by the Brits anymore. Even if they were I can’t imagine they’d be any worse, what with all those Jeeps catching on fire. Secondly, they don’t need to ‘sell’ their show. It become popular in it’s own right.
And the last guy who posted about Europe’s history. You’re a dick. You think America has a civilised, sophisticated history? You think you guys just appeared out of no where? You came from England and everybody evolved the same way. Wars. Slavery. Tribes. Domination. And using the ‘bad teeth’ cliche is pathetic. I bet there are more hicks in America with bad or no teeth than the UK. At least they have healthcare.
You guys are only at the top of the food chain because you hold a gun to anyone’s head who suggests otherwise.
It is like Chrysler engineers are stuck in the 70s…Their cars seem so primitive.
“Borg Collective Euro-Runts”
You meet one Euro, you have met them all. They are Borg Drones and they like it that way.
Europe ‘History’ is oppression and wars…Castles and Churches…The Monuments of slavery.
Now lets talk about the UK auto industry……Owned by Germans.
We are at the “top of the food chain” because we work for a living and most are not ‘socialist’ parasites and crybabies who demand other people’s money.
lets see….
Packard…..dead
Hudson……dead
Studebaker..dead
Willys……dead
AMC………dead
GM……….life support
Chrysler….life support, dumped by the EUROPEANS who threw good money after bad buying it.
Ford……..would be dead if American business didn’t suck the lifeblood out of the American taxpayer (as you all finally now realize.
Not really that much more than the British to be proud of there is there.
Wouldn’t it be a pisser if Chery or Geely took over Chrysler…or Ford.
There are some really ignorant and xenophobic comments on here.
It really is a shame to read through some of this trash. This is the reason why America is always being made fun of.
Vince – No need to get your knickers in a knot over Clarkson. Being obnoxious is his shtick –it’s partly why so many people watch and read him every week. In fact, he’s so overt and upfront about it, that there’s even a link somewhere on his site to a list of insulting comments he’s made about every car-producing country on the planet, with exception of course to Britain. While he often makes some very worthwhile comments about cars (e.g. the Chrysler Sebring…), it’s important to remember that his own unique sense of humor is at the core of most of what he says in print and on TV. Quite frankly, I’m disappointed that you are not more familiar with him. He’s kind of like a British Automotive version of Bill O’Reilly – a highly-paid buffoon whom most people know not to take too seriously and get too upset about.
“Maybe we should say goodbye to the American car industry and focus on rebuilding our economy, and bringing our poor soldiers back from a useless war. We’re not going anywhere with the car companies anyways, except for down the drain.”
Finally, someone who gets it! American cars are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Too many years of complacency have caught up to them. People are tired of hearing about their failures and poor sales. The American government should have thought about the economy before sending troops into Iraq for some a healthy does of warcrimes at the expense of the American taxpayer. Now the entire American auto industry faces collapse. You’re right, it’s too late….the Big 3 is pretty much history.”
Thanks for agreeing with my original comment!:)
Let the socialist euro-borg make fun…It’s the only thing they have left to make them happy.
That and beer.
To all you people ranting about the British car industry and the pink glasses Clarkon sees it trough: have you ever read his Top Gear Magazine? In quite literally EVERY drive in an English car, he states that its build quality is rather poor. ‘But however, it’s British. We shouldn’t criticise.’
Top Gear has a lot of rightness over it in its articles and shows, but it’s comedy most of all.
abolutely useless….
“There are some really ignorant and xenophobic comments on here.”
Yeah, and Clarkson’s Hank and Billy-Bob comment isn’t? He’s not the first eurotrash elitist to cop that ignorant attitude and he won’t be the last. Which is why you losers get made fun of, too.
clarkson the bum blaster
WOW!!!
Can I pile on too?
You Brits need to have your wonderful “Socialist” government purchase some dentists from Hungary.
The NHS is such a wonderful value! Worth every penny, Eh?
this is beong what ia can say this fucking assole should stay in england where thye all live in that 3rd world country anye way the k on l
Way to go douchebag. We’ve been wondering if you were still alive.
Those Labour scumbags Bliar and Brown have made the Brits kinda pissy with their socialist slavery…Ya gotta kinda feel sorry for them.