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Top Gear (2002 TV series)

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Top Gear
File:TopGearLogo.jpg
The Top Gear logo
StarringJeremy Clarkson
Richard Hammond
James May
The Stig
Top Gear Dog
Country of originUK
Production
Running time60 minutes (in current format)
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release1978 –
present
Related
Fifth Gear
For other uses, see the television series.

Top Gear is a BBC television series about cars and motorsports. The eighth series (under current format) began airing on Sundays at 20:00 on BBC2 on 7 May 2006 with each episode available to view for the following seven days via the BBC website. Top Gear is estimated to have over 350 million viewers worldwide, 5 million of whom watch the programme each week in the UK. [1] Top Gear is currently hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, The Stig and a labradoodle called Top Gear Dog. It is provocative, humorous and light-hearted in tone.

Top Gear magazine is a publication produced by BBC Magazines which shares some contributors, editors and features with the TV show. It is available monthly.

History

1977 to 2001

Top Gear started in 1977 and was hosted by BBC anchorwoman Angela Rippon, although the show was initially not networked throughout Britain. Early presenters included Noel Edmonds, William Woollard and Chris Goffey, father of Supergrass drummer, Danny Goffey. The programme was 30 minutes long.

Originally, Top Gear was a fairly conventional magazine show reviewing new car models and other car-related issues such as road safety, but it saw a massive boost in its audience in the early 1990s when it became a more humorous, controversial, and unashamedly petrolhead-oriented programme, fronted by Jeremy Clarkson. Among Clarkson's contemporary presenters were Quentin Willson, a former used car salesman, and racing drivers Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson.

Despite enduring criticism that the show was overly macho, encouraged irresponsible driving behaviour, and ignored the environment, the show under Clarkson's presentation pulled in huge audiences. It became hugely influential with the motor manufacturers, since a critical word from the Top Gear team could have a severe negative effect on sales. One such example is the original Vauxhall Vectra about which Clarkson said: "I know it's the replacement for the Cavalier. I know. But I'm telling you it's just a box on wheels"

However, even more critical statements have not affected sales of the Toyota Corolla, and extreme praise did not help the Renault Alpine GTA/A610.

Since the early 1990s, the annual Top Gear J. D. Power Top 100 survey consulted thousands of UK residents on their car-ownership satisfaction. For legal reasons concerning the non-commercial nature of the BBC, the actual consultation is now restricted to the magazine format, although results are still used on the show. The survey is now conducted by Experian.

Following Jeremy Clarkson's departure in 1999 the Top Gear audience fell from six million to under three million, resulting in the BBC's cancellation of the programme in 2001. The remaining presenters moved to Five to launch a similar show, Fifth Gear, which continues today. After Top Gear's huge success in the mid-1990s, a number of similar programmes were also produced including Channel 4's Driven, ITV's Pulling Power and BBC World India's Wheels. [2]

2002 to today

File:TopGearNews.jpg
James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson during a news segment

After a period of doing other programmes, Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman successfully pitched a new format for Top Gear to the BBC, and a new series began airing in 2002.

The new format incorporated a number of major changes:

  • At one hour long, the new show was twice the length of the old Top Gear.
  • Two new presenters were introduced: Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe. James May replaced Dawe after the first series.
  • The Stig, an anonymous masked racing driver, was introduced as test driver.
  • The show was made at a fixed location- Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey. Here they were able to use a custom-built race circuit on the airfield and the large hangar for inside filming.
  • A standing studio audience with whom the presenters interact was introduced.
  • A number of new features were added (see below for more detail): Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car, "Cool Wall", "Car News", "Power Laps" as well as numerous one-off features such as races, competitions and caravan destruction.
  • The show has had a greater interaction between the presenters themselves and with the audience.
  • As of the start of the new series in 2006 a new 'presenter' the top gear dog, has been added to the crew, and he is aptly named, 'top gear dog'.

Segments

Races

The show has featured a number of races where Clarkson pilots a car against other forms of transport, typically involving Hammond and May taking the same journey by combinations of plane, train, ferry or bus:

All of the above races have been won by Clarkson in the car, although, with the exception of the race to Oslo, all have been extremely close.

Top Gear regularly reaffirms that the races do take place for real, and that many of the shots used in the film are then recorded over a few days by retracing the journey. In the case of the Bugatti race, the Stig drove the car back to Italy, although these shots are filmed so that it is not apparent that Clarkson is not driving. [3] High production values meant that this 32-minute feature took 33 16-hour days to edit. [4]

Other races have involved one of the presenters in a more modest car against an athlete on foot:

On all of the above occasions, the car has lost against the person on foot.

Presenter mocking

As well as amusing banter, argument and mockery with the studio audience, there is much between the presenters themselves. Each host's persona is paid almost as much attention as the cars they review. Hammond is ribbed for being short and supposedly having his teeth whitened, and was dubbed by Clarkson as Top Gear's "resident hamster". More recently, he has been accused of having acquired an interest in "oddly-shaped vegetables", following the launch of Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show on ITV1. May earned the nickname "Captain Slow" because of a lighter foot as compared to his colleagues, his refusal to run on camera, and a tendency to lose any competition where speed is the measure of victory. Clarkson is noted for his inconsistent yet strong opinions and ego, as well as his terrible dress sense. The other presenters also made fun of his Ford GT, which he bought for £126,000 and would continuously break down. He has since returned the car to Ford Motor Company for a refund[5]. He later repurchased the car, and it appeared in the 27 November, 2005 episode of the show.

Reviews

Top Gear normally reviews one new car, or group of cars, each week. These are not based on facts or figures, but the opinions of the presenters. They often take place in dramatic or interesting locations. Group tests normally involve the three presenters debating the merits and weaknesses of each car.

Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car

File:TopGearDamonHill.jpg
Damon Hill appearing as the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car

In each programme, a celebrity – usually of British fame – is interviewed by Clarkson. Discussion is normally amusing, and focuses on car-related matters, such as the celebrity's car history. Then Clarkson, the guest and the studio audience watch the guest's fastest lap on the Top Gear test track. Up to the eighth series of its current incarnation, the car driven was a Suzuki Liana. It was then replaced by a Chevrolet Lacetti (first aired Sunday 7th May 2006), with a new blank scoreboard. The car used is stock, except a rollcage and racing seats have been added as safety measures. Each guest first practises with The Stig and is then allowed a number of attempts to make his or her way around the test track in the fastest time. However, the star doesn't learn of his or her lap time until they are interviewed, and guests are often visibly anxious awaiting their results while in the studio. Practice laps, crashes and the drivers' facial expressions are also shown for amusement. For the eighth series, the format was changed so that each star would have 5 practice laps, and the a final timed lap, no allowance being given for mishaps. As a starter for the new car and format, an open day was held to which Clarkson claimed he had invited "everyone in here", whilst wielding the inches-thick "who's who" book. Seven stars recorded times that day: James Hewitt (who Jeremy and Richard failed to identify and referred to as Well Spoken Man), comedians Alan Davies and Jimmy Carr, rock stars Rick Wakeman and Justin Hawkins, the footballer Les Ferdinand and actor Trevor Eve who topped the time a 1 minute 47.0 seconds. Jimmy Carr spun out while doing his timed lap and got the slowest time ever around the track.

The two slowest laps on the Liana celebrity list are held by Terry Wogan and the late Richard Whiteley, both of whom were beaten by a completely blind man, Bosnia war veteran Billy Baxter, who wrenched the Liana through the track under nervous directions from Clarkson in the passenger seat.

The Liana endured considerable abuse from the stars when undertaking their laps, often to the delight and amusement of the hosts and the audience. In one famous incident, actor Michael Gambon clipped the final corner in such a spectacular fashion that the corner was henceforth named Gambon Corner. The week Lionel Richie drove the car, someone forgot to tighten up the wheel nuts, and the front wheel fell off. Trevor Eve also lost a wheel, invoking Clarkson to coin the term pulling a Lionel. British transport minister Stephen Ladyman added further injury to the Liana by denting the boot when he lost control during practice and slid backwards into a tyre wall. David Soul managed to destroy the clutch of two Lianas during his time on the show due to his unfamiliarity with manual cars. Christopher Eccleston was the only celebrity to use a Liana with an automatic transmission, because a hesitant Eccleston admitted he was "only qualified to drive an automatic". To accommodate his needs, Top Gear succeeded in borrowing an automatic Liana, of which only 40 existed in the UK. As a joke, with reference to his role in Doctor Who, the automatic Liana was shown materialising onto the racing track, with a TARDIS materialisation sound effect played over it.

The Liana has also been modified on several occasions. David Soul's Lianas featured a red police light and a white stripe in reference to his Starsky and Hutch days. Johnny Vegas was provided with 'L' plates as he hadn't passed his driving test at the time. When Justin Hawkins came on the show, the Liana he drove had flame decals pasted on it.

In its service, the Liana covered 1600 laps of the circuit, and its tyres and brakes were changed 400 times.

In July 2005, a Formula One driver appeared on the show for the first time as the star. All Formula One drivers are put into their own list with regard to lap times because of their exceptional skill level. The drivers (and their lap times) in order of appearance are Damon Hill (1:46.3), Mark Webber (1:47.52) (in very wet conditions), and Nigel Mansell (1:44.6).

  1. 1:46.7 – Ellen MacArthur
  2. 1:46.9 – Jimmy Carr
  3. 1:47.1 – Simon Cowell
  4. 1:47.3 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
  5. 1:47.8 – Ian Wright
  6. 1:47.9 – Chris Evans
  7. 1:47.9 – Rory Bremner
  8. 1:48.0 – Justin Hawkins
  9. 1:48.0 – Jodie Kidd
  10. 1:48.0 – Jay Kay
  11. 1:48.0 – Paul McKenna
  12. 1:48.0 – Trevor Eve
  13. 1:48.0 – Patrick Kielty
  14. 1:48.6 – Rob Brydon
  15. 1:48.8 – Stephen Ladyman
  16. 1:49.0 – Neil Morrissey
  17. 1:49.6 – Roger Daltrey1
  18. 1:50.0 – Jeremy Clarkson
  19. 1:50.0 – Patrick Stewart
  20. 1:50.0 – Martin Clunes
  21. 1:50.0 – Gordon Ramsay
  22. 1:50.0 – Jamie Oliver

1 Moist track 2 Wet track 3 Very wet track

Note: Aside from driver ability, the Top Gear hosts estimate a wet track as yielding an average time four seconds slower than a dry track surface. "Moist" and "very wet" can be estimated accordingly. Most drivers drive the car alone. However, Clarkson carried two passengers during his timed run. Trinny and Susannah were both present in the car for the other's lap, as were Johnny Vaughan and Denise Van Outen. Clarkson also rode along with Billy Baxter, navigating for him.

For the new series (first aired 7 May 2006) the Liana has been replaced by a Chevrolet Lacetti, which has of course necessitated a brand-new board.

Power Laps

File:TopGearStig.jpg
The Stig driving a Pagani Zonda-F

In the Power Laps segment, The Stig completes a lap around the Top Gear test track to gauge the performance of various cars. The Stig is the mystery-shrouded, masked driver who never says a word. Over the course of the show, there have only been two Stigs, who can be differentiated by the color of their jump suit, black (for series 1-2) or white (from series 3 onward). The black Stig was "killed off" in a stunt aboard the HMS Invincible in the first programme of series three when he drove a modified Jaguar XJS off the aircraft launch ramp and into the sea to see if he could get it from 0 to 100 mph (0 to 161 km/h) in 200 m. According to an article in the British newspaper, The Times, written by Clarkson, the origin of the name of the Stig derives from his school years: we started to think about reviving Top Gear in a new format, with a track, special guests and the Stig — new boys at Repton were always called Stig — and we thrashed it out over a couple of years.[6] In a book he wrote, Perry McCarthy claims to be the black Stig, though the presenters have not confirmed this. The white Stig is thought to be a number of different drivers, depending on availability.

The car raced by The Stig is usually a car that was reviewed by one of the presenters that episode, but sometimes it is a car reviewed from a previous programme. There are two separate lists, one for production cars and one for non-production cars. For comparison, it is interesting to note that the current record lap time for the Suzuki Liana is 1:44.6 by Nigel Mansell.

There is a separate board of times for non-production car times. The four times include Sea Harrier (0:31.2), Renault R24 Formula 1 Car (0:59.0), Aston Martin DBR9 (1:08.6) and the Radical (1:19.0).

Note: The following laps were clocked with the tested vehicle configured for maximum performance. That is to say, all adjustable suspensions were set at their most efficient, all gear shift maps were at their most aggressive, and driving aids such as traction control were deactivated. These lap times do not offer entirely reliable comparisons between the cars - the conditions are far from controlled.

  1. 1:18.4 – Pagani Zonda C12 F
  2. 1:18.9 – Maserati MC12
  3. 1.19.0 – Ferrari Enzo Ferrari
  4. 1:19.5 – Ariel Atom 2
  5. 1:19.8 – Porsche Carrera GT
  6. 1:20.4 – Koenigsegg CCX5
  7. 1:20.7 – Ascari KZ1
  8. 1:20.9 – Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
  9. 1:21.9 – Ford GT
  10. 1:22.3 – Ferrari Challenge Stradale
  11. 1:22.3 – Porsche 911 GT3 RS
  12. 1:22.9 – Ferrari F430
  13. 1:23.2 – Ferrari F430 Spider
  14. 1:23.7 – Lamborghini Murcielago
  15. 1:23.8 – Pagani Zonda C12 S 7.31
  16. 1:23.9 – Koenigsegg CC8S
  17. 1:24.8 – Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ400
  18. 1:24.8 – TVR Sagaris
  19. 1:24.8 – TVR Tuscan Mk 2
  20. 1:25.0 – Noble M12
  21. 1:25.6 – Audi RS4
  22. 1:25.8 – Lamborghini Gallardo2
  23. 1:25.9 – Morgan Aero 8 GTN
  24. 1:26.0 – Mitsubishi Evo VIII FQ320
  25. 1:26.2 – BMW M5
  26. 1:26.7 – Porsche Cayman S
  27. 1:26.8 – Chevrolet Corvette
  28. 1:26.8 – Ferrari 575M GTC
  29. 1:26.9 – Lotus Exige1
  30. 1:26.9 – Mercedes CLS55 AMG
  31. 1:27.1 – Aston Martin Vanquish S

1 Moist track 2 Wet track 3 Very wet track 4 Foggy conditions 5 A second attempt to garner a faster time resulted in the first crash on the Power Lap Segment.

Note: The most powerful production car ever featured on Top Gear, the 1001 bhp (746 kW) Bugatti Veyron, has not yet been taken around the track by The Stig.

The Cool Wall

The Cool Wall is a board where Clarkson and Hammond decide which cars are cool, and which aren't, and has nothing to do with how good or bad a car is. The categories are Sub Zero, Cool, Uncool, and Seriously Uncool. Initially, part of that "coolness" factor rested on the extent to which the presenters believed each car would impress English actress Kristin Scott Thomas. More recently, BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce has replaced Scott Thomas as their notional judge, after Kristin Scott Thomas said in a conversation with Clarkson that she owned the Honda Civic, which was deemed "uncool".

The Aston Martin DB9 has been put in a fridge of its own next to the wall as it was deemed just too cool for the wall. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage has since joined it. The 2005 BMW 3 Series (E90) was judged to be the first car that the presenters couldn't be bothered to put it on the wall, described as just "a lump of car" and being like "mild cheddar". The Toyota Prius was deemed so uncool that it was put in a zone "outside the cool wall" as the wall was deemed too small to show how uncool the Prius was, with the card showing an image of the car thrown to the back of the studio.

One rule is that cars owned by any of the Top Gear presenters are to be placed on the "uncool" or "seriously uncool" sections of the wall.

Clarkson often puts the cars he likes (or more often doesn't like) at the top of the wall if Hammond disagrees with him, so that the much shorter Hammond cannot reach to change it. For the first time, on the November 27, 2005 programme, the presenters came to blows over the placement of a car on the Cool Wall (the BMW M6) and it led to Hammond eating part of the picture. The situation was reversed after Clarkson slipped two discs in his back, and was unable to bend low enough to reach Hammond's low-lying pictures.

After Clarkson placed an order for a new Ford GT, the Ford vehicle gradually progressed up the board as Clarkson got closer to obtaining his dream vehicle.

Clarkson also has a hankering after Alfa Romeos, and in consequence no matter what other presenters think, any Alfa Romeo is either on the Cool wall, or the Super Cool Wall. In 2005, the Brera made it despite protestations from May and Hammond, and was favourably compared with Cameron Diaz.

Caravan destruction

Top Gear has a running joke about hating caravans. Various stunts have seen caravans destroyed by:

  • Using them as conkers suspended from cranes
  • Dropping one onto a Toyota Hi-Lux to prove the truck's indestructibility
  • Towing one to the point of aerodynamically-induced structural failure using a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in an attempt to set the world record for towing a caravan.
  • Dropping one from a crane after they failed to set the world record for towing a caravan
  • Clarkson towing one at full speed, upside down, along a runway with a Birds-Hartge performance-enhanced V8 Range Rover
  • Having the caravan as the bullseye on a giant car throwing dart board.
  • Having a Volvo jump over them.
  • Jumping a Lincoln Town Car Stretched Limo over a wedding party, consisting of chairs, alter, the cake, the guests' cars and their caravans - the limo didn't make it and crashed into the caravans.
  • Burning one with the exhaust of a jet powered drag racing car

Theme music

Top Gear has used the Allman Brothers Band instrumental hit Jessica as its theme song for many years. Initially the show used part of the original artist's recording of the song, but later seasons of Top Gear use updated cover versions. As part of a segment in the August 7, 2005 episode, James May recorded a version of Jessica (download available) using engine sounds from cars including a classic Bugatti, Mazda RX-8, Honda S2000, Fiat Panda and a Ferrari Enzo. Richard and Jeremy ridiculed the effort, with Clarkson telling May "You've taken a car and made it sound like a fat, talentless shop assistant farting."

For much of the original series' lifespan, Elton John's instrumental Out Of The Blue (from the Blue Moves album) played over the closing credits.

Nominations and awards

In November 2005, Top Gear won a 2005 International Emmy in the Non-Scripted Entertainment category. [7] In the episode where the presenters showed the award to the studio audience, Clarkson explained that he was unable to go to New York to receive the award since he was too busy writing the script for that episode.

Top Gear has also been nominated three consecutive years, 2004-2006, for the British Academy Television Awards in the Best Feature category. Host Jeremy Clarkson was also nominated in the best "Entertainment Performance" category in 2006. [8] In 2004 and 2005, Top Gear was also nominated for a National Television Award in the Most Popular Factual Programme category. [9]

Criticism

Top Gear has come under fire on more than one occasion for promoting irresponsible driving [10], causing ecological damage, and favouring performance over fuel efficiency and conservation.

Jeremy Clarkson has spurred several controversies in his capacity as a presenter for Top Gear. During the November 13, 2005 episode a news segment featuring BMW's MINI Concept from the Tokyo Motor Show showcased what Richard Hammond quoted as a "quintessentially British" integrated tea set. Clarkson responded by mocking that the German designed-and-owned MINI Cooper should be fitted with "a quintessentially German... sat-nav that only goes to Poland" in reference to the Nazi invasion of Poland that started WWII, and saying "[one] fan belt will last a thousand years," a reference to Adolf Hitler's propaganda slogan of "the thousand-year Reich". These statements gained negative attention in the British and German news media, such as the UK Daily Mail article which noted that the BBC would follow a formal investigation of any complaints made on the matter.

The BBC compensated a Bristol local parish in 2004 after Clarkson rammed a Toyota Hilux into a landmark tree[11] during a segment on proving the sturdiness and reliability of the truck through a series of "torture tests". The parish had no idea the damage had been caused by a BBC television show, believing that it had been the work of vandals.

Clarkson noted on the American broadcast of Top Gear that a segment he filmed using the Land Rover Discovery where he drove up a mountain in Scotland was the most criticised segment on Top Gear, with some enviromental groups claiming that Clarkson was "hurting the earth."

The road safety group Transport 2000 have asked the BBC to replace Top Gear[12] with a tamer, more environmentally-friendly "Third Gear." The group's reasons for this demand include claims of "substantial ecological damage" to a peat bog during an off-roading segment and disregard for speed limits in another segment where Clarkson was cited by police.

Top Gear was in negotiations to move to Enstone but has so far been unable to negotiate a deal and has had their initial application blocked after much opposition by local citizens because of fears that Top Gear would create pollution and noise. [13]

Clarkson has been critical of the BBC. In the February issue of Top Gear Magazine, Clarkson voices his opinion that the BBC does not take Top Gear seriously. He also appears to be annoyed with BBC bosses for often replacing the show with snooker, despite Top Gear having considerably higher viewer ratings, and the show's shortening season runs.[14]

The show, and Jeremy Clarkson in particular, has also been criticised in the past for it's 'pro-Ford' attitude, and regularly praising Ford-manufactured vehicles, or those from manufacturers owned by Ford, while simultaneously often unfairly criticising vehicles from other manufacturers - namely BMW.[15]

Car of the Year

Each year, the show presents a "Car of the Year" for the best new car in that year. Winners have included:

Some highlights

2003

  • In May, Hammond used a drag racer with a jet engine to incinerate the car he considered to be the worst of all time, an automatic, mid-eighties Nissan Sunny. At the end of the show he also used the racer to burn a caravan.
  • Clarkson tested the Koenigsegg CC8 which, with a top speed of 242 mph (389 km/h) was at the time the world's fastest production car. He couldn't resist a speed run on the test track. The record was 170 mph (274 km/h) set by the Pagani Zonda. This was smashed, with the Koenigsegg managing 174 mph (280 km/h). Clarkson later commented how he felt nervous before the run because engineers from Koenigsegg had asked him if they could put tape around the windscreen; he thought that the tape was to keep the windscreen from flying off.
  • Using a swimming pool, Hammond showed the dangers of being in a car that is sinking in water; and demonstrated that you should open the car doors as soon as it strikes the water, rather than waiting for the car to fill with water and the pressure to equalize.

2004

  • Clarkson undertook a challenge to see if he could evade being caught in missile lock from an AH-64D Apache anti-tank helicopter while driving a Lotus Exige. The helicopter failed to lock in on the Exige when remaining within the confines of the test track. However, when allowed to move further away, the helicopter acquired lock within seconds.
  • Recalling the "Fastest Faith" episode, Clarkson examines the divine characterstics of the Alfa Romeo 166, and Richard Hammond finds out if a nun can drive a monster truck.
  • Hammond demonstrated that it was safe to sit in a car struck by lightning by sitting in Volkswagen Golf in a huge lightning generator. In the same episode, Clarkson, May and Hammond tested the BMW 645i, Jaguar XK-R and Porsche 911 on Pendine Sands in the rain. Clarkson successfully made an allusion to the nature of each car, and also interestingly had each presenter matched to their cars to perfection 'You've (May) got the Business jet (the 645i), I've got the Tornado (The Jag) - where's Hammond with the Messerschmitt (the 911) ?'
  • The team participated in two experiments in the form of races to test whether public transport could beat a car. The format is that Hammond and May take public transport while Clarkson attempts to beat them in a car. In the first race they used France's TGV Atlantic trains in an attempt to beat him to Monte Carlo. Clarkson drove the Aston Martin DB9 and won by a significant margin. In the second race they attempted to get from London to Verbier in Switzerland using a plane while Clarkson drove there in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. He won again but this time only just, passing his colleagues barely 100 metres from their destination.
  • After much practice, Clarkson took a Jaguar S-Type Diesel around the Nürburgring in just under ten minutes. His instructor, Sabine Schmitz, exclaimed "I could do that in a van". She then took the Jaguar out and recorded a lap time almost a minute quicker on her first try. In the following series she was given the opportunity to prove her "van" boast, and using a standard diesel Ford Transit posted a lap time only seven seconds slower than Clarksons Jaguar lap.


See also: List of Top Gear episodes

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ellen on BBC TWO’S Top Gear." Team Ellen. 2 December 2005. Accessed 28 December 2005.
  2. ^ "Road shows." Jason Deans. 24 November 2004. Accessed 1 January 2006
  3. ^ Top Gear TV: Bugatti vs. Plane Top Gear|Galleries
  4. ^ Clarkson's right on cue Top Gear Website
  5. ^ Clarkson asks for money back The Times Online
  6. ^ "The backroom boy who put Top Gear on top of the world." Jeremy Clarkson. Accessed 10 January 2006.
  7. ^ "BBC picks up two International Emmy Awards." BBC. 23 November 2005. Accessed 28 December 2005.
  8. ^ "This year's nominations." BAFTA. Accessed 18 April 2006.
  9. ^ "Awards for "Top Gear"." IMDb. Accessed 1 January 2006.
  10. ^ "'Petrolheads' under attack." BBC. 12 April 2005. Accessed 28 December 2005.
  11. ^ "BBC stumps up for tree stunt." BBC. 21 February 2004. Accessed 9 January 2006.
  12. ^ "Campaigners say scrap Top Gear and replace it with ‘Third Gear’ version promoting sensible driving." Transport 2000. 11 April2005. Accessed 9 January2006.
  13. ^ "Villagers put the brake on Top Gear." Telegraph. 20 February 2006. Accessed 20 February 2006.
  14. ^ "Clarkson's right on cue." Top Gear Magazine. 1 February 2006. Accessed 6 March 2006.
  15. ^ Jeremy Clarkson reviews the BMW 1-Series and acknowledges his percieved anti-BMW attitude
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