Fifth Gear axed

[mp3manager]

She doesn't have the figure for a dress but does look good in a short skirt.

[gib6933]

Shame about losing a pro car program!

[off your marks]

I knew TG was on the slide as soon as the wife started watching it with me. It is entertaining though, just not a true car enthusiasts program.

5th gear though..... hmmmm; will miss it like a third armpit

[V8mate]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Yeah, but those chunky, stumpy legs are enough to make the baby jesus cry.

[fastfreddy]

Oh well, can't say it's surprising news. But if you want to watch the repeats, the good news is that series 3-16 will be going out on Dave soon, having been bought by UKTV.

You can see VBH looking like she did in some of those (very old) photos above!

On the bright side, Top Gear will be in HD from the next series

[Rochester TVR]

As much as I grew to dislike 5G, as I petrolhead its never good to loose a car program...

But how's this for an idea for a new program... (not sure how realistic the new boys are)

Loose:
Vicki Butler-Henderson
Tim Shaw
Jon Bentley

Keep:
Jason Plato
Tiff Needell
Tom Ford
Jonny Smith

New Boy:
Chris Harris

Format:
Plato - Performance Car Reviews
Needell - Performance Car Reviews
Smith - Presentor / Used car reviews / Scientific reports
Ford - Presentor / General Motoring / Lifesytle
Harris - Presentor / Performance Car reviews / experience reviews (driving F1 car etc)

Just my 2p.

[MikeO996]

OMG you would have to lose Tom Ford and Jonny Smith too - both of them total tts - and it's lose not loose, although in this case letting them loose isn't far off the mark.

No tears shed in this corner about 5th Gear - didn't watch any of the last series - and for me that's really saying something.

[hairykrishna]

MikeO996 said:

OMG you would have to lose Tom Ford and Jonny Smith too - both of them total tts - and it's lose not loose, although in this case letting them loose isn't far off the mark.

No tears shed in this corner about 5th Gear - didn't watch any of the last series - and for me that's really saying something.

Jonny Smith's ok - he's just hampered a bit by the fact that he always seems to get left with stty items on 5th gear. I'm with you on Tom Ford though.

[MikeO996]

hairykrishna said:

MikeO996 said:

OMG you would have to lose Tom Ford and Jonny Smith too - both of them total tts - and it's lose not loose, although in this case letting them loose isn't far off the mark.

No tears shed in this corner about 5th Gear - didn't watch any of the last series - and for me that's really saying something.

Jonny Smith's ok - he's just hampered a bit by the fact that he always seems to get left with stty items on 5th gear. I'm with you on Tom Ford though.

There is something very creepy about Jonny - he's very touchy and inuendo-y in a rather unpleasant way.

[TEKNOPUG]

I find it odd that people slate TG for only reviewing AMG’s and other cars that have no relevance to what “the ordinary man” can afford, yet praise FG for having Tiff & Plato demonstrate a cars potential……..as if their driving skills and therefore appreciation of a car have any relevance to the driving skills and therefore appreciation of “the ordinary man”……

I watched an episode of FG the other week, where Plato was bemoaning a Lambo because it’s traction control kept cutting in and he wasn’t able to throw it into a bend at 120mph at the precise angle he wanted to…..Tom Ford sensibly said that if it wasn’t for the traction control, most of Lambos’ customers would be dead (or words to that effect).

While it makes for a good spectacle having racing drivers throw cars around on a track, it really is of very little use if attempting to make an informative review of a car. I’d rather hear the opinions of someone who is not a driving god (like myself and 99.9% of the rest of the population).

[hairykrishna]

TEKNOPUG said:

I find it odd that people slate TG for only reviewing AMG’s and other cars that have no relevance to what “the ordinary man” can afford, yet praise FG for having Tiff & Plato demonstrate a cars potential……..as if their driving skills and therefore appreciation of a car have any relevance to the driving skills and therefore appreciation of “the ordinary man”……

I watched an episode of FG the other week, where Plato was bemoaning a Lambo because it’s traction control kept cutting in and he wasn’t able to throw it into a bend at 120mph at the precise angle he wanted to…..Tom Ford sensibly said that if it wasn’t for the traction control, most of Lambos’ customers would be dead (or words to that effect).

While it makes for a good spectacle having racing drivers throw cars around on a track, it really is of very little use if attempting to make an informative review of a car. I’d rather hear the opinions of someone who is not a driving god (like myself and 99.9% of the rest of the population).

Better that than someone who can't drive. At least we can aspire to be at Tiff/Platos standard. Remember Tom Ford repeatedly stalling that Maserati concept car?

[marcosgt]

TEKNOPUG said:

I find it odd that people slate TG for only reviewing AMG’s and other cars that have no relevance to what “the ordinary man” can afford, yet praise FG for having Tiff & Plato demonstrate a cars potential……..as if their driving skills and therefore appreciation of a car have any relevance to the driving skills and therefore appreciation of “the ordinary man”……

Come on! You're not saying they let you post on here WITHOUT proving you have the skills at least on a par with Plato and Needell are you?

I quite like VBH as a presenter, but I'd vote for a motoring programme (or maybe one on gardening or EVEN featuring Jamie Bloody Oliver) with Amanda Stretton in.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/amanda%20strett...

M.

M.

Edited by marcosgt on Tuesday 20th October 21:49

[hungry_hog]

Surely 50% of VBH's appeal is that she looks like she would go like the clappers

[im]

hungry_hog said:

Surely 50% of VBH's appeal is that she looks like she would go like the clappers

Yeah...with another girlie...

[papabear]

Rochester TVR said:

As much as I grew to dislike 5G, as I petrolhead its never good to loose a car program...

But how's this for an idea for a new program... (not sure how realistic the new boys are)

Loose:
Vicki Butler-Henderson
Tim Shaw
Jon Bentley

Keep:
Jason Plato
Tiff Needell
Tom Ford
Jonny Smith

New Boy:
Chris Harris

Format:
Plato - Performance Car Reviews
Needell - Performance Car Reviews
Smith - Presentor / Used car reviews / Scientific reports
Ford - Presentor / General Motoring / Lifesytle
Harris - Presentor / Performance Car reviews / experience reviews (driving F1 car etc)

Just my 2p.

Would be nice to throw some motorbike reviews into the mix, no reason you can't imo

[shakotan]

MikeO996 said:

hairykrishna said:

MikeO996 said:

OMG you would have to lose Tom Ford and Jonny Smith too - both of them total tts - and it's lose not loose, although in this case letting them loose isn't far off the mark.

No tears shed in this corner about 5th Gear - didn't watch any of the last series - and for me that's really saying something.

Jonny Smith's ok - he's just hampered a bit by the fact that he always seems to get left with stty items on 5th gear. I'm with you on Tom Ford though.

There is something very creepy about Jonny - he's very touchy and inuendo-y in a rather unpleasant way.

ROFL! Wait til I tell him...

[Rob13]

For me, the last series of 5th Gear was the best it has been, and I really enjoyed it. I like the balance of presenters, think Tom Ford, Tim Shaw & Johnny Smith bounce off each other well whilst the likes of Tiff and Plato can give a perspective from the racetrack. I like how 5th Gear try to appeal to a wider audience, throwing in cars which are affordable (as well as 2nd hand alternatives) without making it boring.

Its a shame to see it go, as I thought the format had just found its own space. TG on the other hand has really started to go the other way. The presenters are just a parody of themselves which has snowballed over the last 3 or 4 series. I hope they cut out some of idiocy as it just looks too false. Theyre not stupid so why act like it on telly.

[ooo000ooo]

V8mate said:

Really? I couldn't disagree more. I think he's a talented journalist - in print as much as TV - and is clearly very 'in to' his subject matter. I hope opportunities come his way to play a bigger role in any future motoring product so he can get away from often just being left with the smaller articles.

Caught him on some new series (industrial junkie) http://questtv.co.uk/index.php/programmes/industri... on Sky (quest TV apparently) the other night, I thought it was quite good.
It's on thursday nights at 9 apparently

[oobster]

ooo000ooo said:

V8mate said:

Really? I couldn't disagree more. I think he's a talented journalist - in print as much as TV - and is clearly very 'in to' his subject matter. I hope opportunities come his way to play a bigger role in any future motoring product so he can get away from often just being left with the smaller articles.

Caught him on some new series (industrial junkie) http://questtv.co.uk/index.php/programmes/industri... on Sky (quest TV apparently) the other night, I thought it was quite good.
It's on thursday nights at 9 apparently

He (Jonny) was on a recent Gareth Jones on Speed podcast and he was quite good. He certainly has a rather eclectic (spelling?) collection of motor cars!

[HereBeMonsters]

oobster said:

ooo000ooo said:

V8mate said:

Really? I couldn't disagree more. I think he's a talented journalist - in print as much as TV - and is clearly very 'in to' his subject matter. I hope opportunities come his way to play a bigger role in any future motoring product so he can get away from often just being left with the smaller articles.

Caught him on some new series (industrial junkie) http://questtv.co.uk/index.php/programmes/industri... on Sky (quest TV apparently) the other night, I thought it was quite good.
It's on thursday nights at 9 apparently

He (Jonny) was on a recent Gareth Jones on Speed podcast and he was quite good. He certainly has a rather eclectic (spelling?) collection of motor cars!

I think he's absolutely brilliant as a presenter, and a good bloke too. We chat on Twitter quite a lot - he shares many of my passions, shonky old cars, vintage r/c models etc.