Ford GT, and how Jeremy Clarkson wet himself

[MorningFlight]

Hi Guys,

Right up front, I have to tell you that I'm a big fan of Jeremy Clarkson. Yesterday morning, I decided to search for all his Ford GT - Top Gear videos on You Tube. Most of you will have seen at least some of them, but at the risk of repeating earlier posts about Clarkson, here are the clips I found worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bw83S9pacY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4h7tHpBuKs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvvBknZC3oc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp7e1IRBqRE&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4N1vyOxKXM&feature=related

Someone on this forum mentioned that Top Gear uses a professional driver for the high-speed stuff. That's probably true, but as you can see in the videos, Jeremy must be doing at least some of the driving himself. And he's no slouch.

Enjoy!

Hal Heindel
www.printshopmakeover.com

 

[B O N Y]

Hal,
I see you have a FGT, have you filled out the registry above?
See you tittle, I have changed it.
Cheers,
daniel

 

[MorningFlight]

Hi Daniel,

I was wondering about that (I had filled out the Registry). Thanks for upgrading me from Spectator.

Hal

 

[Kirby Vieira]

Thanks for posting these. His GTX1 video is also pretty exhilarating www.gtx1.com. :cheers

 

[Empty Pockets]

I like Clarkson too, Hal. But, I'm still a little "miffed" at Top Gear for poking fun at Clarkson's FGT when it failed to start, etc. That pblm was 100% the fault of the gov't mandated anti-theft system (a non-Ford, after market system) ... and THAT little detail was never really spelled out. Ya, I KNOW it was all in the name of doing a "humorous bit", but still...

However, I'm getting over it.:biggrin

 

[MorningFlight]

True, they could easily have pointed out that it was an aftermarket item that kept the engine from firing, and it wouldn't have lessened the humor of the bit one iota. To his credit, Clarkson did mention somewhere that the car itself was fine.

That's not to say the GT is faultless, mind you. Enough members have complained on this forum about the battery, and rightfully so. If the battery tender isn't hooked up when I know the GT is going to sit idle for a couple of weeks, there isn't anough cranking power left to wake up a small rodent. And I do mean "Battery Tender," not the toy charger supplied by Ford. Minor quibbles. How much soul would a car possess if it didn't test us now and then.

At least the GT is more thoughtful in that department than the 2006 Corvette I bought on the same day. Neither car gets driven in the winter, or even on a rainy day. After I had parked the Vette for a couple of months (before I bought half a dozen battery tenders, hindsight being 20/20), the battery went dead which is something I can live with except the damned car wouldn't even let me open the door so I could open the hood to recharge the battery. Which would then have allowed me to open the door so I could open the hood . . .

Here I was, in my own garage, and I couldn't get into one of my own cars because, unlike the GT, this one totally lacked a keyhole. What's more, there was no quick way to find out how to get inside because that piece of intelligence was hidden in the manual which, you guessed it, was safely tucked away in the glove compartment. Turns out there is a hidden keyhole beneath the rear license plate that lets you open the hatch. You have to crawl in through there to contort yourself into the driver's seat and that, too, is not something you might be eager to do in public.

I love cars, but there are times when it's difficult to feel the same about the safety geniuses who insist on keeping us from damaging ourselves. I suppose not letting us get into the car in the first place is a level of prevention even Ralph Nader could support.

Hal

 

[MorningFlight]

Thanks for posting these. His GTX1 video is also pretty exhilarating www.gtx1.com.

Kirby, the GTX1 clip makes up the second half of one of the Clarkson videos on my list, third item from the top.

Hal

Just saw on TV that another storm is heading your way. Stay safe and cover up that GT.

 

[B O N Y]

True, they could easily have pointed out that it was an aftermarket item that kept the engine from firing, and it wouldn't have lessened the humor of the bit one iota. To his credit, Clarkson did mention somewhere that the car itself was fine.

That's not to say the GT is faultless, mind you. Enough members have complained on this forum about the battery, and rightfully so. If the battery tender isn't hooked up when I know the GT is going to sit idle for a couple of weeks, there isn't anough cranking power left to wake up a small rodent. And I do mean "Battery Tender," not the toy charger supplied by Ford. Minor quibbles. How much soul would a car possess if it didn't test us now and then.

At least the GT is more thoughtful in that department than the 2006 Corvette I bought on the same day. Neither car gets driven in the winter, or even on a rainy day. After I had parked the Vette for a couple of months (before I bought half a dozen battery tenders, hindsight being 20/20), the battery went dead which is something I can live with except the damned car wouldn't even let me open the door so I could open the hood to recharge the battery. Which would then have allowed me to open the door so I could open the hood . . .

Here I was, in my own garage, and I couldn't get into one of my own cars because, unlike the GT, this one totally lacked a keyhole. What's more, there was no quick way to find out how to get inside because that piece of intelligence was hidden in the manual which, you guessed it, was safely tucked away in the glove compartment. Turns out there is a hidden keyhole beneath the rear license plate that lets you open the hatch. You have to crawl in through there to contort yourself into the driver's seat and that, too, is not something you might be eager to do in public.

I love cars, but there are times when it's difficult to feel the same about the safety geniuses who insist on keeping us from damaging ourselves. I suppose not letting us get into the car in the first place is a level of prevention even Ralph Nader could support.

Hal

good points Hal, the joys of Western NY.... as I used to say, two seasons, the 4th of July and Winter:biggrin Happy to see you posting:thumbsup

 

[Kirby Vieira]

Kirby, the GTX1 clip makes up the second half of one of the Clarkson videos on my list, third item from the top.

Hal

Just saw on TV that another storm is heading your way. Stay safe and cover up that GT.

Thanks, Hal. It's strange weather. Sunny and streets are dry but potential storms and tornadoes continue to hit different spots throughout the metro area. :cheers

 

[Neilda]

Crap weather here too in the UK!

Hal, I spent the day with Clarkson not so long ago (Pheasant shooting) and I put him straight on the reliability of the GT from my perspective! :biggrin He's probably more amusing in person than he is on screen and a genuinely nice and generous person. There's a poll running in the UK to elect him for Prime Minister. :lol

 

[Kingman]

........ There's a poll running in the UK to elect him for Prime Minister. :lol

We need a 'car guy' here. He'd be a damn sight better that what we are looking at here all around.

How 'bout resurrecting the drafting of Dan Gurney for President!?

 

[AlohaGT]

I like Clarkson too, Hal. But, I'm still a little "miffed" at Top Gear for poking fun at Clarkson's FGT when it failed to start, etc. That pblm was 100% the fault of the gov't mandated anti-theft system (a non-Ford, after market system) ... and THAT little detail was never really spelled out. Ya, I KNOW it was all in the name of doing a "humorous bit", but still...

However, I'm getting over it.:biggrin

Completely agree with you, EP; however, it was still painful viewing those first couple videos again. :frown

 

[MorningFlight]

There's a poll running in the UK to elect him for Prime Minister.

He'd get my vote if I were eligible. An absentee ballot, maybe? In Chicago they tell you to vote early, vote often. Think they'd notice in the UK? Then again, we have our hands full with elections here at the moment. You must have read about it. It's in all the papers. And here I was really looking forward to enjoying the summer this year . . .

Hal

 

[MorningFlight]

We need a 'car guy' here. He'd be a damn sight better that what we are looking at here all around. How 'bout resurrecting the drafting of Dan Gurney for President!?

Amen to that. Here's another thought, why not Jay Leno for President and Clarkson as his running mate? Oh crap, I forgot, he probably wasn't born here.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Hal, I spent the day with Clarkson not so long ago (Pheasant shooting)...

By any chance, did wunna you happen to get shot in the face as a result ??? (a little "inside" U.S. political humor there. ...'Darn little upon reflection.)

I don't understand all the personal attacks he seems to get from so many people. Especially from others in the 'field. 'JEALOUSY, perhaps?

He's great at what he does.

 

[Neilda]

I don't understand all the personal attacks he seems to get from so many people.

It's because of all the PC B.S. that we have in the UK - he says what most think, but dare not say. The vocal minority (usually weirdie-beardie wig-wam lentilists) then attack him.

Clarkson has just published what he considers the UK's oath or pledge should be:

“I apologise for my country’s shameful involvement in the slave trade. I vow to be homosexual whenever possible and to burn anyone driving a Range Rover. Long live Al Gore and death to the infidel.”

Sounds perfectly reasonable.

He went on to say:

"In America, it doesn’t matter whether you are a topiarist or a hedge-fund manager, a petrol-pump attendant in Arizona or a retired Jewish lady in Miami; everyone is united by the American Way. The country is seen as a place where you can get on, where you will be rewarded for hard work, ambition and drive.

There is no sense of that here. In his first budget, Alistair Darling announced that if you’re too stupid and lazy to get off your fat arse and do any work, you will be given free loft insulation; and that if you are honest, and industrious, you will be financially raped. "

 

[Empty Pockets]

It's because of all the PC B.S. that we have in the UK - he says what most think, but dare not say. The vocal minority (usually weirdie-beardie wig-wam lentilists) then attack him.

Clarkson has just published what he considers the UK's oath or pledge should be:

“I apologise for my country’s shameful involvement in the slave trade. I vow to be homosexual whenever possible and to burn anyone driving a Range Rover. Long live Al Gore and death to the infidel.”

Sounds perfectly reasonable.

He went on to say:

"In America, it doesn’t matter whether you are a topiarist or a hedge-fund manager, a petrol-pump attendant in Arizona or a retired Jewish lady in Miami; everyone is united by the American Way. The country is seen as a place where you can get on, where you will be rewarded for hard work, ambition and drive.

There is no sense of that here. In his first budget, Alistair Darling announced that if you’re too stupid and lazy to get off your fat arse and do any work, you will be given free loft insulation; and that if you are honest, and industrious, you will be financially raped. "

I have news for Mr. Clarkson. America ISN'T what it use to be...

 

[Joehand1]

I've read a lot of Jeremy's articles in the past year and watched a lot of Top Gear on BBC America and You Tube.

I think too many folks here and in Britain take him too seriously, but really he IS spot on in a lot of his observations. I agree with Neil, the PC weirdos can't take the truth. For instance, yes, my 911 is really an upgraded VW Beetle (God, its' heater controls are on the floor!) Also yes, we Americans are very fat and many down here in the South, where he almost got attacked by rednecks, are stupid beyond comprehension. (I should know, I am an anesthesiologist in Misssissippi, the fattest state in the Union). He goes on and on, but he doesn't discriminate, he makes fun of the Germans, the Italians, the Russians, the French and even his fellow British.

But Jeremy really is the reason I bought my GT.

He can be the harshest of critics when it comes to cars, and yes he made some comments about the GT's reliability ( I think for comedy's sake) but when it came down to one of his last assessments of the car in California, he said "It's the kind of car I know Michael Shumaker likes, a very pointy precise front with a loose backside, God it's good, I just love it! And it is a pant-wetting combination of beauty and aggression".

He rarely says that about any car.

We Have a car club here with a few Ferraris, GT3s and 911 Turbos, Ford GTs, Maseratis, Shelby's, ZO6s and Vipers. Our web site, the forum section of www.Hattiesburgcarclub.org has a forum with links to many of Jeremy's musings from Top Gear. He is getting to be quite popular here in south Mississippi.

I'd fly to Britain tommorrow if I could meet him.

 

[Mark06GT]

I watched every Clarkson FGT video I could find before ordering my GT. In fact, he is probably the biggest reason I bought one. Thanks Jeremy!

 

[Empty Pockets]

"...and many down here in the South, where he almost got attacked by rednecks, are stupid beyond comprehension."


I remember that one! 'First thought was, "I wonder if he did any MEANINGFUL, SERIOUS research on that area of the south B4 they went off the deep end?"

'Only way I'da done that is with a couple Marines or a Navy Seal or two following in a chase car!