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Clarkson's 25 favourite cars

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2K views 24 replies 17 participants last post by  Squadrone Rosso 
#1 ·
The Brera & Fiat Bravo feature here :cool:
 
#9 ·
In that test he concluded that it you had a brain, you would of gone for the Golf..

As the 147 GTA was to quote "An Insane car"

I do like clarkson as a journalist, but I agree he is in no way technical....In fact the GTA review he gave, he just took the **** out of it.
 
#8 ·
he's a journalist who can barely drive and doesnt understand the first thing about chassis dynamics. he cant even change spark plugs in a reasonable amount of time. i have no respect for his opinion of any car because he is not qualifed to have that opinion.
 
#13 ·
"First, as you drive along you can feel the Alfa-ness of this car, the little tingles and the droplets of feedback that you don’t really get from anything else in this class.

You haven’t bought a car to drive around in like your hair’s on fire. You’re not a yob. You’re not a bore. You’ve bought something for one reason only: because it’s beautiful."...Classic Clarkson!! I think he is a cracking guy, and yes; a bit up himself. There is times I wish I was him :wow:
 
#17 ·
id say working topgear for 20 odd years makes him more than qualified to pass judgement on cars.
i'd say that makes him qualifed to host a TV show.

what the fcuk has being able to change spark plugs got to do with anything? i wonder how many F1 drivers can change spark plugs? do they know nothing as well?
his lack of familiarity under the bonnet strongly suggests he does not have any experience of cars in his past. i think you'd have a hard time finding an F1 driver who couldnt change plugs, they would have been changing them track side in their kart days. JC came to top gear as a journalist who likes cars, not a car expert who likes presenting. if he wants to tell me how to write a good column i'm all ears, if he tries to tell me what makes a car handle well i would laugh, he woudnt even know the difference between castor and camber. he cant even use the jargon correctly, saying torques instead of torque is a good example, i mean WTF is torques?! i emailed him about that but had no reply :(
 
G
#21 ·
I'm afraid most journalists start off knowing nothing about their subject. They start as "journalists" writing for anything and everything and then tend to specialize as they get older and more experienced. They know a lot about a subject area but that's only because they have been writing about it for years - they never started out as automotive engineers or fashion designers or MPs or whatever. They aren't paid very well and that's why you don't get "experts" becoming journalists (they couldn't afford the drop in salary). Folks like Clarkson amass many years of writing about a subject which makes them better qualified than other journalists to write about their chosen subject. The problem is that experts generally don't make good journalists and presenters, because they aren't trained to write and present.

There are of course a few exceptions, but I'm afraid I reallly enjoy Clarkson's journalism and I also respect his views. He does go "off on one" at times just to be controversial but the prose in kanerz's post above summarizes exactly why I love Alfas so much. And beautifully put as well.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
#22 ·
Doe`s anybody really care what JC thinks? I drive an Alfa because I love it. I couldn`t really care what anyone else thinks. I know that journo`s reports influence the car buying public to a large degree and I firmly believe that some people, perhaps a large majority,will buy a marque because the media in all its guises says it`s a good car. They may have given no consideration to that marque previously. In the early 80`s when I first started driving Alfas the media did rubbish them on a regular basis-justifyably some may say. This did two things.Firstly it made secondhand Alfas fantastic value for money. Anyone who tried to px an Alfa during that period will know what I mean.Secondly it nearly killed Alfa in the Uk.
I think what should be remembered is that Alfas were big sellers in the Uk during the 70`s, thanks to the sud. Now IMHO they are a niche marque and are bought by people who owned Alfas during the glory days and people who appreciate the marques history. Alfas future is safe.Bloody hell even that other great Italian, Lancia, is making its way back to the Uk. Sod Clarkson.Let him have the peoples car.
 
#23 ·
Clarkson has said:

"You cannot be a true petrolhead until you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo – it’s like having really great sex which leaves you with an embarrassing itch".

Last time I checked I think there were 3 Alfas in the cool and one in sub-zero so he's alrigh by me.
 
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