Top Gear - last night...

Apart from the JD Power survey, are there any other surveys showing reliability etc.?

I have to say, I'd love an Alfa. A mate of mine had one once, 147? I think. The best sounding 4-cyl car I have ever heard - not sure if it was a flat boxer engine. Might be wrong on that one.

I considered the v6 Brera with 4wd drive. But I think it totalled more than the my new S3 order once options were added to give same level of spec as the S3. So what put me off was: cost of buying one new, reliability stigma, and obviously depreciation. But in terms of style, Italian cars like Alfas win hands down.

AL
 
AndyMac said:
"They did not show the size of the boot"
john2garden - you need to watch "does my boot look big in this" it's on channel 5 I think at 3am, - a very comprehensive guide to boot sizes through the ages and very useful for someone buying a new car but can't be ***** to actually go and test drive it themselves.
It's sister programme "Criminally Stupid" is also a must if you just don't have the time to sit in a car before you buy it.
Click to expand...


harsh....


but fair...!! anyone know when the repeat is on? Missed it :mad:
 
AL_B said:
Apart from the JD Power survey, are there any other surveys showing reliability etc.?

I have to say, I'd love an Alfa. A mate of mine had one once, 147? I think. The best sounding 4-cyl car I have ever heard - not sure if it was a flat boxer engine. Might be wrong on that one.

I considered the v6 Brera with 4wd drive. But I think it totalled more than the my new S3 order once options were added to give same level of spec as the S3. So what put me off was: cost of buying one new, reliability stigma, and obviously depreciation. But in terms of style, Italian cars like Alfas win hands down.

AL
Click to expand...

JD power concentrates more on dealer satisfaction than reliability,doesn't it ?
That warranty direct website seems to be used as a reliability yardstick quite a lot.
Like I said before,Alfa are below average on their site (way below the Jap manufacturers) but so are Audi (very close to Alfa) and Saab (worse than Alfa).
So according to warranty direct,you would probably avoid Audi,Alfa and Saab if you're looking for a reliable motor.
Yet in my experience (1 x Alfa,2 x Saabs) there is no way they can be described as unreliable,so I'm taking their 'advice' with a pinch of salt.

It really does seem to be luck of the draw.
As can be seen on here,you get good cars and you get bad cars from ANY manufacturer.
You just have to hope and pray you get a good one !

BTW,no boxer engines in Alfas.
Straight fours,but they do pay particular attention to exhaust note,so that even standard ones have a tasty little 'rasp'.
As far as I know,I think Subaru are the only people using boxer engines ?
 
Also the JD Power survey is a massive report to fill in. So you get a very skewed result with only the people who've had either a great experience or a terrible one bothering to fill it in. Anyone who's just "quite OK" with their car will never bother to fill it in. Which is why Skoda/Lexus/Daewoo always rank highly as owners tend to need a justification for their strange decision, so will always be the first in the queue to rant on about what a great decision it was.
Surely the AA or RAC would be the best bet for the real reliability data as they are at the coal face.
 
when alfa 156 first came out everyone said it was well made and alfas bad days were over, that was obviously wrong, (ask two of my mates who owned but rarely got to drive 156's). So who is now going to believe that the new alfas are again the models to end alfas bad days.
 
bowfer said:
BTW,no boxer engines in Alfas.
Straight fours,but they do pay particular attention to exhaust note,so that even standard ones have a tasty little 'rasp'.
As far as I know,I think Subaru are the only people using boxer engines ?
Click to expand...

Are the engines used in 911's boxer or 'flat six'? When does a boxer become a flat engine, and why isn't a boxer called a flat four then?!

:uhm:
 
Tooks said:
Are the engines used in 911's boxer or 'flat six'? When does a boxer become a flat engine, and why isn't a boxer called a flat four then?!

:uhm:
Click to expand...

Flat or Boxer the description means the same thing -> horizontally opposed pistons
 
bowfer said:
BTW,no boxer engines in Alfas.
Straight fours,but they do pay particular attention to exhaust note,so that even standard ones have a tasty little 'rasp'.
As far as I know,I think Subaru are the only people using boxer engines ?
Click to expand...

My fault. Got the car model wrong. It wasn't the 147 a friend had, it was the 145, and not the Cloverleaf. Think my mates was the 1.7 16v, which did have a boxer engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_145

AL
 
Crikey,the 145 is going back a bit !
I think my desire to own Alfas harks back to the Alfasud days.
God,I always wanted an Alfasud,but by the time I passed my test they'd all rusted away !
 
So how about last nights show (Sun 11th Feb)?

Top class entertainment from start to finish, me and the missus never stopped smiling/laughing throughout the whole show. Superb!

So good, I'll be watching it again when its repeated.

AL
 
It was superb.
Clarkson's shower in his motor was comedy gold.
Better than most of the BBC's genuine attempts at comedy !
I tell you something though,USD1000 doesn't get you as much car there as it would here.
Even at today's rates (nearly USD2 per GBP1) you'll get a far better car here.
I know plenty of lads who run cars bought for under a monkey.
MOT'd,taxed,the lot.
Not buckets either,but genuinely decent motors.
Mate of mine got an R plate Mondeo Ghia with full leather for £400 about 6 months ago.
No rust,no dents,everything works.

My uncle got a Mondeo Aspen (or something like that) for £350 too.
Woman reversed into it in a car park.
Little ding in the back wing.
Estimates were around the £400 mark,but he's not going to bother fixing it.
He's just going to pocket the dosh.
So,effectively,he's got a completely free motor now !
 
Hotscar said:
A car review program would be good though...
Click to expand...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

The ratings would disagree.

I guarantee you Top Gear attracts more viewers now than when it was a boring car review show,and that was when viewers only had 4 channels to choose from too !

Long live Top Gear.
It's still a car based programme and that's the important thing,IMO.
 
bowfer said:
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

The ratings would disagree.

I guarantee you Top Gear attracts more viewers now than when it was a boring car review show,and that was when viewers only had 4 channels to choose from too !

Long live Top Gear.
It's still a car based programme and that's the important thing,IMO.
Click to expand...

And the complaints for last nights show content are at what number...
 
what was there to complain about - unless your a boring old tw@t?!

It was class from start to finish. If you want a boring car show go and watch 5th Gear or something....
 
wilko said:
what was there to complain about - unless your a boring old tw@t?!

It was class from start to finish. If you want a boring car show go and watch 5th Gear or something....
Click to expand...

That's it, I must be boring...off to get an oil burner now!!! Oh, and I think I'll tell everyone about my warning triangle, first aid kit and storage pack because that's really exciting!
 
Theres no need to be like that...:faint: I'd have a S3 if I didn't do the mileage I do... And the boring old tw@t wasn't aimed at you personally, it was aimed at the people doing the complaining.
 
On average, almost 6m viewers watched TG last night (over 21% share). That's a big number for BBC2.

After the first show, I thought they had lost the plot, but I thought last night's was brilliant. If you accept that a lot is staged, then it was pure entertainment. I haven't laughed at a tv programme so much in ages. Even my wife wanted our daughter in bed and asleep before it started and she doesn't like cars that much.

Wasn't too keen on the bit exploiting the cow on the roof but that was more from an animal welfare persepctive. But then I have just finished my lamb stew for lunch, so I can't really complain!
 
Gotta say I thought the whole cow-on-the-roof thing was a bit tasteless, especially the J-turn to get it off the roof. There's no way they actually ate that cow so the whole thing was just a stunt for laughs, and a pretty poor one.

The rest of the show was good, though I thought they hyped up the rednecks' abuse a bit.
 
Let me guess...

The Florida association for it not being all that hot at all really.
The Alabama league against red-neck baiting.
The Association for roadkill rights.

blablablablablabla...
 
If you look a bit deeper, it was obvious the cow had been dead (bloated) for some time. It is not THAT unusual to see dead cattle in rural USA, staged but classic comedy - Alabama gas station, just lol. :)
 
To be fair to the 'rednecks' though,there are plenty of places in the UK where a similar scenario would get you in deep doo-doo.
Try driving around some ghetto council estate with 'chav scum' painted on your motor and you'd probably get more than rocks thrown at you.
Same with rural areas.
I'm sure there are plenty in the UK where an American with 'man love' painted on his truck wouldn't exactly get a warm hand upon his entrance...
 
Was a brilliant show, just gets better and better!

Alabama was the funniest and the cow on the roof was just wrong! lol

Defo a program not to be missed!
 
bowfer said:
Let me guess...

The Florida association for it not being all that hot at all really.
The Alabama league against red-neck baiting.
The Association for roadkill rights.

blablablablablabla...
Click to expand...

lol :) I thought the cow thing was hilarious
 
bowfer said:
I'm sure there are plenty in the UK where an American with 'man love' painted on his truck wouldn't exactly get a warm hand upon his entrance...
Click to expand...

A warm hand up his entrance he might enjoy tho ;)
 
wilko said:
what was there to complain about - unless your a boring old tw@t?!
Click to expand...

That's a little hostile LOL!!!

Not EVERYBODY likes the same things.

The handful of people on here who don't rave about it aren't alone, there are cross-sections on ALL car forums I visit that aren't fans.

It takes all sorts in this world remember ;)
 
bowfer said:
I'm sure there are plenty in the UK where an American with 'man love' painted on his truck wouldn't exactly get a warm hand upon his entrance...
Click to expand...

if he did it in brighton,im sure he would get a very polite welcome,from someone with a big hairy tash,dressed as someone out of the village people.
 
Have just seen the latest episode of TG and what can u say other then the show is great! Best motor program in the world with a great mix of serious tests and facts, comedy and action.

And I totaly agree with them about southern people in USA, dixies. They are rude, fat and have brain sizes like fishes. (Maybe not all of them but that the impression I got when I passed through Missisippi)
 
batwad said:
Gotta say I thought the whole cow-on-the-roof thing was a bit tasteless, especially the J-turn to get it off the roof. There's no way they actually ate that cow so the whole thing was just a stunt for laughs, and a pretty poor one.

The rest of the show was good, though I thought they hyped up the rednecks' abuse a bit.
Click to expand...
Agree with all that - but still, it was another great TG moment. Can you imagine that happening in the pre-studio series, 15 or 20 years ago?
 
Last nights TG was an absolute classic. The wife and I laughed so hard we woke up the little one upstairs.

I thought the Cow Juice on the passenger seat just tipped it.

I was crying with laughter with the Car Shower take.

Classic
 
audi upgrades
What about yesterdays show? The imagination never stops in Top gear. I thought it was incredible that they even got lift-off with their rocket.
 
Again it was superb - never fails to make me laugh and keep me hooked for the whole hour!
 
To be honest,I thought they lost the plot a bit with that one last night.
Going to America for a week and spending USD1000 on cars is one thing,but last night's stunt must have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds !!!
They'll have to be careful.
There's a massive difference between using your imagination and just throwing money at stuff.
 
I wonder how many complaints they'll get about Clarksons chainsaw demo without using safety gear.
 
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