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Jeremy Clarkson and MG

7K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  CJJ 
#1 ·
Apologies for all if you've seen this before, but for those that haven't, prepare to be gobsmacked.

What with all the Clarkson bashing on these forums, you would naturally assume that Clarkson always spouted filth about MG.

So imagine how shocked I was when I was watching this whilst having lunch today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsTEqn8YDec&feature=related

Skip to 6.23 and you'll see what I mean.

For those who are at work and can't get to Youtube, then I'll summarise:

Jeremy Clarkson, on national television (in 2004), whilst stood in front of a Mazda MX-5, a Toyota MR2 and a Fiat Barchetta, saying he would rather have an MG TF.

Didn't see that coming.
 
#3 ·
Why is it/was it that the MGTF never appeared on this type of show?

Some deeply worrying anti-british product feeling going on there.

Perhaps it's Clarkson reflecting society's memory of anything from the BLMC empire (or it's siblings) and regarding it with the distrust that it diserves. Old under-invested shoddy product.

Jeez can you remember the Morris Ital? A moment of madness I think.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=angouleme&wrapid=tlif12947501160831&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
 
#5 ·
Actually, my first thought on watching this segment was "where the hell is the MG TF?". They were reviewing small-ish engined, small sportcars. They even refer to British sportscars all the way through the first part. And yet they didnt have the major british sportscar of the time...?

Even my 04 plate ZS has remnants of the shoddy work - project drive was really the epitome of it all. In my view, it essentially comes down to the fact that manufacturing lower grade stuff in this country can't be competitive and so requires cost cutting elsewhere.
 
#6 ·
Why is it/was it that the MGTF never appeared on this type of show?

Some deeply worrying anti-british product feeling going on there.
If you listen to the intro I think the point of the piece was that the British have always made sports cars well and the idea was to review products that weren't British to see how they measured up, and the fact that Clarkson said he would rather have an MG TF, whether for reaction or not, was certainly not anti-British. The fact that Hammond took the proverbial out of him for it was, especially given his pro-British rantings on a certain supermarket advertisement.
 
#4 ·
Perhaps, but then if you look back through some of the reviews they have done (particularly of the MG side), then they're not all that bad. Granted, some are back handed compliments...
The ZS and ZT were favourably reviewed by Tiff Needell, the ZT260 was given an ok-ish review, the SV was liked, the ZS was favourably reviewed by Clarkson in his Times article.
 
#9 ·
Jeremy Clarkson, on national television (in 2004), whilst stood in front of a Mazda MX-5, a Toyota MR2 and a Fiat Barchetta, saying he would rather have an MG TF.

Didn't see that coming.
Funnily enough I caught that the other day and thought it odd that it wasn't in the line-up. Gutted as I'm literally about to buy one and would have liked Jezza's opinion.
 
#14 ·
I was also wondering why didnt they test the TF or even F perhaps?

I didn't see that particular show but it's a shame it wasn't in it or in any for that matter. I've seen Vicky doing a review of it waaaaay back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj8RgXlD7-M

Really shame no TF was ever featured in any of these shows.......tons of worse cars were. :(
It seems to me that for a car to be reviewed on this show it needs to either have enough grunt for Jeremy to smoke the tyres on every bend on the race track or to be so bad that they can take the micky out of it and hope that they can break it.
 
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