From News Ltd Paper..

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006343,00.html

"FILMING of the Australian series of Top Gear has turned into a demolition derby with a repair bill close to $200,000.

Eager driving and wild stunts have left a trail of destruction behind the Top Gear team that goes beyond the expected bill for bald tyres from slides and burnouts.

Luxury cars have needed total resprays because of flying stones, and lesser brands have reported damage from silly stunts created for the SBS TV series, which is unofficially confirmed for a second series in Australia in 2009.

Some of the most expensive repair bills involved a Lamborghini, which is believed to have sustained about $25,000 damage during filming, while a group of Holden Astras needed $30,000 to restore them after they were used in a game of "lawn bowls".

"We have no appetite for automotive Jackass," the spokesman for one of the damaged brands said.

"When they revisit series two, they will encounter a lot of shut doors," said another.

The damage bill for Top Gear goes way beyond anything seen in any form of Australian motoring journalism.

"All we will say is that it turned out to be a very expensive test drive," said Holden spokeswoman Kate Lonsdale of the Astra bowls stunt"

 

"All we will say is that it turned out to be a very expensive test drive," said Holden spokeswoman Kate Lonsdale of the Astra bowls stunt"

I would have thought Holden made inquiries as to what they were going to do with their Astra's before they handed them over?

Or are the Facts and Truth actually fudged.

Top Gear will be interesting to see without any Automobiles to test.

 

If true, the attitudes displayed by the comments of various brand minders is remarkably short-sighted. Although pretty lame, TGA attracted a reasonable audience. Haven't they heard of brand exposure? I wouldn't mind betting that the suppliers of TGUK's 'reasonably priced car' don't mind paying for the odd patch up job, knowing that every week millions watch their product being flung around a track. What would that kind of advertising cost?

Bloody Aussie middle management - tools.

 

To me it sounds like they are crossed because Holden does not know what is coming. When I saw the clip, I said to myself: SBS was rich to get brand new cars for a bingle. I would have thought they would buy the Astras to do this stunt, repair them and sell it off with history attached, hopefully breakeven (- the repair costs)

However, doing it to a borrowed car... I will be crossed too coz that shows the lack of respect to other people's property. I am sorry.

 

Ditto, no value to a brand having their cars trashed.

Lets face it, it's not the target market for the Astra crowd! In the UK maybe, cause the show is mainstream, main channel variety entertainment, but in Aus on SBS got to have a much higher enthusiast bias.

They simply don't have the cachet of the UK stars and did do some pretty destructive things to brands that probably regret having their vehicles mauled.

 

Totally agree on this one...exposure YES, but trashing your product is not Good Exposure.

The juveniles get a laugh out of it, that's about all.

When you see it once (UK Series) was enough, to repeat a similar stunt does not do much for me.

If they need to trash cars do it with Bombs...like they did on the Holden Versus Ford, versus, a Toyota?

 

WTF were the car manufactures thinking? if anyone in the car industry isn't aware of what the UK topgear does to cars they shouldn't be in the industry. topgear uk is a world wide phenomenon and they should crawl out from under their rocks.

supposedly some of the cars are Jeremy clarkson's personal vehicles and some are from owners, however there is a fair amount of cars donated by the manufacturers. like the koenigsegg they crashed and they fitted a rear spoiler for it's return.

if your too scared of having your vehicle damaged in the process of promotion then don't give it to them. it's not like car manufacturers don't destroy vehicles in normal advertising. most 4wd adds tend to kill 2-3 vehicles in the filming of one advert and the production costs for the add would be way more than the 2-3 vehicles lost. so when you look at the cost of one respray for a tv show highlighting your product it's not a bad deal if you ask me.

 

I still think there was some brand value in the Astras being used in a 'fun' way and I'm also betting that the TGA audience wasn't only enthusiast based - top heavy with them maybe, but still some average punters tuning in I'd suspect. At the very least, it gets the car in front of the viewers and increases recognition, for the price of fixing some minor panel damage. It's not like they used them as conkers (remember the caravans!).

As to whether the manufacturers knew what was going to be done with them, you've got to be kidding me. If they lend cars without knowing, they really are dumb. As Jarl says, this show is known for its irreverent attitude and the risks taken with all things automotive...designed to make it entertaining and thereby bring said average punters in to watch a car show. If local manufacturers want to restrict the local boys to mere tame road tests and the odd safe drift on a closed airstrip, pretty soon the audience will diminish to enthusiasts alone. We may not need the stunts, etc to appreciate a good car show but I know from my non-carhead friends that they are the kind of things they enjoy seeing a la, "did you see what those crazy bastards got up to on Top Gear last night? yada yada yada".

 

You don't see UK Top Gear wrecking or abusing new cars, intentionally, apart from the Soccer game and Clarkson with the Daimler (or was it RR) where he cooked/split the rear tyre.

The Koenigssssseeeeggggg was an accident by the Stig.

The blond hair guy in Aussie TG, well all he can do is smoke a cars tyres like a Yobbo.....does not amuse me in the slightest.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

 

whats the difference? the aussie guy just doesn't know how to do it right. Jeremy just flogs the crap out of them. jeremy smoking them up until he ends up doing a 180 is the same thing TG .au tried but didn't film it as well.

 

Again, let's not get carried away here.

The Astras were hardly 'wrecked' - all I saw was some minor panel damage from bottoming out on the ramp and some soft touches as they neared the 'jack' - hardly demo derby stuff. The cars used in TGUK's soccer game copped far worse damage.

And there's definitely more sideways action on TGUK - the former race drivers on TGA probably have a hard time shaking the habit of keeping it straight and fast.

 

The TGA "test" of the Audi A8 was all smoke, I recall that's all the Yobbo did.
Most of the shoot (well it just looked that way IMO) was donut burnouts one after the other. I think he talked about the car for about 10 seconds

 

Agree ASH,

When you recall the way that they did on the EVO X, 4 wheel drifting it around the subaru. Now that is art!
Improve the image of the brand, makes me want to buy and EVO X.

Well donuting the R8 does not make me want to buy an R8. It just make me think the driver is an idiot.

 

Yeah, sorry that is R8

 

Talking about trashing the brand, did anyone see last night's TGUK segment on clapped out Alfa's? They say that everyone has to have an Alfa in their life. I've had mine.

 

200k for a 6 series show is not really that much in the scheme of things.

Anyone has figures to compare it to first season of TGUK, in todays money?

 

While there are other aspects of the program worthy of criticism, I think this comment by the various mfrs and suppliers shows exactly why it is hard to sustain a decent motoring program in Australia. Surely, they would have been well aware of the types of testing TGUK undertakes, and some damage is inevitable. As Azza says, quite small in the scheme of things

 

Agreed Timbo. They're risk-averse and would prefer an hour long infomercial flogging their product for them, a la The Car Show with Ridgey boy.

Agreed also that wanton destruction is just dumb but if some minor damage is the by-product of something intended to be entertaining (which is always subjective) then what's the problem?

As for smoking tyres, did you see Clarkson smoking the bags on the Brooklands until one finally blew...yeah, nothing hoonish about that at all....

 

Gawd!

 

....and I bet he sold a swag of Bentleys on the back of that. The trouble with the car companies here is that they're more worried about where they're next taxpayer-funded subsidies are coming from than thinking about how they can exploit these antics for commercial gain.

 

Agreed. Too many conservative cardigan-wearers.

Mind you, with our small market, it is understandable. Most times the local boys have tried something novel it has bitten them. Styling of AU is a case in point. I think they much prefer to play it safe and go crying to the govt to prop them up than try anything risky.

Really, it's not a viable industry but there's too much political emotion involved to let it die off. I personally couldn't give a crap - I swore long ago that the locals would have to lift their game considerably to tempt me back into any of their showrooms...