Top Gear

[Val & Frank]

I have just seen the TG caravan clip ( thanks to Allyson ). I am really p***** o** with the way my License Fee is being used. I am forced to pay £131.50 with no say in what is going on. The dangerous advice given by Clarkson with regard to a snake, could I am sure end up with him being sued, afterall he is a motoring authority !!!. Mind you now I can start to understand how a member of the elite motoring press ended up in hospital!!! With advice from Clarkson we could all go out and end up dead. Why has the CC or The C&CC not forced a statement from the BBC saying Clarksons advice was wrong ???. It would be nice to humble the tosser on TV. Oh and Kia could also say the TG team mis represented their car.

And yes we are Forced to pay the £131.50. I don't want the BBC, and technology does exsit to stop me receiving it. I can't get Sky sport unless I pay for it so why is the BBC not the same.

Val & Frank

rant over

Val & Frank

 

[sparkes]

Val or Frank

It was a micky take. Nothing more... Do you think they set light to a van in a c&cc club site and you never got to hear of it on the net.

Hell, if they did it by accident, it would have caused a right uproar with health and safty, the local council and the clubs. Did noone else notice that the awning they destroyed was not pegged down? and the owner went out fot the day!

 

[Lol1]

I can see where you're coming from, Frank. The show was full of inaccuracies and on the face of it very anti caravaning. What I would like to point out is the fact that anyone interested enough to watch Clarkson, and I include myself among them, knows what he gets up to and treats him the way he expects to be treated. He's there to put on a show and some of his exploits begger belief. He doesn't expect to be taken seriously most of the time and isn't. In fact Top Gear is one of the most entertaining shows on the TV, not exactly worth the license fee, but jewel in their crown non the less.

I too can't see why we still have to pay to watch BBC, while ITV1 etc just makes you sit through adverts, which are often as good if not better than the program you are viewing.

I also can't see why they wont put the road fund fee on the price of fuel, fairer on everyone.

Perhaps it's time for a new political party, that has these on the agenda?

 

[BrianStAlbans]

I dread to think what would happen if they scrapped the licence fee. Look whats happened since they scrapped dog licences. ;O)

Runs and hides...........................(",)

 

[Colinn]

I have just watched the clip too Frank. I can understand your fury Frank - but some things, like this sketch, are so over the top, so ridiculous, they lose all credibility.

Sure, the anti-caravan brigade will have had a field day - but we all know there's no talking them around anyway.

Everything in the film was so obviously staged, so ludicrously unreal, it should be seen for what it is - a joke, albeit with us caravanners as the butt! But really, we're big enough to laugh at it, aren't we?

And anyway, who could give any credibility to three grown men who get their kicks by gleefully car-spotting!!?? Sad, or what?

 

[sparkes]

Didn't Kanga use to brag about going caravaning with other men????

 

[BrianStAlbans]

Yes and they were all himself ;O)

 

[MikeP]

I found it very entertaining. The awning destruction and fire took place in a field somewhere, with footage of onlookers edited in. Most of it was staged:

- When they drove out of the garage and hit the post, the car must have passed within a couple of inches of the post in order to make the caravan strike it while driving in a straight line.

- After the "3 point turn" the caravan apparently fell off the towball. Note that the jockey was up, but the electrics were not connected. It's just for entertainment.

 

[Val & Frank]

I found it very entertaining. The awning destruction and fire took place in a field somewhere, with footage of onlookers edited in. Most of it was staged:

- When they drove out of the garage and hit the post, the car must have passed within a couple of inches of the post in order to make the caravan strike it while driving in a straight line.

- After the "3 point turn" the caravan apparently fell off the towball. Note that the jockey was up, but the electrics were not connected. It's just for entertainment.

The point is Clarkson said you accelerate out of a snake. You only need to look on this forum at some of the questions, and then you will understand how many people with caravans don't know what they are doing. It's only by being here that I know anything about MTPL, nose weight, how vital is correct tyre pressure etc. Clarkson gave the wrong advice, how many people watching, now think the way out of trouble is to speed up !!!

I don't want to be forced to pay for Clarkson and his Cowboy Buddies.

Val & Frank

 

[MikeP]

Oh yes, forgot about the snake bit.

I've heard experienced caravanners advise people to accelerate out of a snake. If someone relies on Clarkson for caravanning advice and does not read up/research/ask etc then there will be a few other ways that they will get into trouble besides accelerating out of a snake.

What didn't help is that the Kia appeared to be a bad match to the caravan. Am I right in saying that it was a 1.5 diesel? Not clever, and no stabiliser either.

 

[sparkes]

Actually accelerating out of a snake is correct... BUT!

To do this correctly, you need an awful lot of torque available at the time. The van will stabilise if pulled hard enough. The problem with this is that not many cars have that much power in reserve, so it is safer to do what the book says.

Steve

 

[JeremyClarksson]

I can believe that you could stabilise a snaking outfit by accelerating, but at some point you have to stop accelerating and slow down.

Unless circumstances change i.e. coming to a hill - will you not meet that point of snaking again?

I know that most snaking is caused by passing vehicles - are you saying accelerate out of the snake and then decellerate when there are no passing vehicles.

I have always lifted my foot on the accelerator a little or braked slightly.

Am I alone in believing that some white van drivers seem to make a game of coming past as close as possible and as fast as possible in a seamingly deliberate act of making you snake?

 

[sparkes]

No Garry I am not saying anything more than this. The laws of physics state that if you provide enough power to a snaking caravan then it will go straight with all other factors being even and the cause of the snake has gone. At no time will I suggest to anyone that its the way to stop a snake.

As for me, yes, I accelerate when passing a lorry. BUT, I know the capabilities of my car and know when not to do so.

With vans, If I see one about to overtake at speed I close the gap to force them over and then just before they pass I move to the left of my lane, that way the gap increases and less dirty air.

However, there is one other car that does give dirty air when passing at speed and thats the golf. no idea why but it does

Steve