Hammond may be a knob but hes got a heart.

I watched that episode and it was very good of them to do that

Alabama almost killed them.

"Clarkson revealed that after filming of the last segment of the film had been done, a lawyer had approached the group representing the mission and threatened to sue them for misrepresentation after it transpired that Clarkson's Camaro wasn't a 1991 model as promised but a 1989 model, further stating that they were told the lawsuit would be dropped on a settlement payment of US$20,000."

Just for the clear :) Imagine someone gave you a car, because you probably have nothing, a hurricane took all your stuff etc. and you sue that guy, because the car actually was 2 years older.

Yeeeah..., "Don't go to America!"

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* Except for James May because nobody wanted his car.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/homophone

I forgot a B

..i call james may 'choad', cause he's usually between a dick and an asshole

Horrible knock off. Never should have been made.

That's not an American thing it's a litigious asshole thing.

That's an American thing as hell. One of the first things comes to my mind when I think about, ehem, The United States Of America, is being sued for everything, on every step, from random people you meet.

Definitely not an aspect unique to America. There are examples of litigious behavior across the globe.

It's an American thing because rando claims like that can just get thrown out before being heard in other countries.

Also, in sensible places, losing a case in court means you pay the legal fees of both sides, so there is no risk for someone who has done nothing wrong getting sued.

In the US, they just have to make it so going to court is more expensive than just paying them off so you get people suing over all sorts of stupid shit.

You mean gooch? Or Taint?

You’re a choad for trying so hard at a half inflated joke.

..different cultures have different words

https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/chode/

No, this was UK Top Gear doing a Special in the US.

& people who didn't watch that episode think you're joking.

What's wrong with Richard ? Jez is clearly a twat. But James and Richard are fucking gold pal.

>lawsuit would be dropped on a settlement payment of US$20,000.

This is exactly why people do things like this and get away with it. Corporations think it will cost them $50,000+ to defend a case so it's better to have a $20,000 settlement.

Too many people think a frivolous lawsuit will mean an easy payday for them. What most don't realize is that they'll be taxed on the full amount and then the lawyer will take their payment - often leaving the suer with little to nothing, or even owing a large sum.

This is also way many grocery stores will throw out perfectly good food as opposed to donating it.

..james is the man, hammond is ok but he's a bit of a dick, and jeremy is clearly the asshole

It happening in other places doesn't change how America in particular is infamous for litigious idiocy.

Such sensitive folks

I grew up on all of them so love all 3 of them for different reasons. I just don't see it with Hammond.

It’s also a joke

..imo he just leaned into some of the controversial bits a little too much, felt like he was trying to be like jeremy a little too hard at times.

I would love you to point me at some of these.

..his mexican car rant comes to mind

This was revealed on the show itself.

And added an N

What did he say about Mexican cars? 😂😂

..what he said about the car wasnt the worst bit. I liked hammond when he was being himself, quirky, offbeat, funny, i didnt like him when he tried to be clarkson.

nascar sucks! i loved the scene when they have been at the gas station and the white pickup people organized.

I've watch a metric ton of top gear. When ever I see an ep rerun it's one I've seen. Never once have I seen him imitate jez.

Snowflakes you could call them

No it's definitely an American thing. People sue for any and everything here. Fucking guy running from the police trips in a yard and breaks his ankle can sue the owner of that property and win. Guy breaks into your home and you harm him in a fight, he or his family if he dies can sue you.

Sure lawsuits happen everywhere, but only here are they so often so absolutely absurd and in such numbers

The fastest jump start in history

Part of me wants to believe it escalated because Clarkson said "We're going to die now" and due to his accent and her hickness, it got lost in translation even though it's the same damn language, and she took it as a threat, based on her reaction to it. But my god what a bunch of windowlickers

>Yeeeah...,
>
>"Don't go to America!"

I'm wondering how many people caught that Snatch reference

That's right, that's where I learned it from.

I watched the full thing for the first time today.

“They’re the same picture”

• Hellabama

They wrote "Country and Western is rubbish" and "Hilary Clinton for President" and "I'm gay" on their cars......IN ALABAMA!

​

I mean, no wonder that happened. It'd be like being surprised they got bit by a shark if they swam in shark infested waters covered in fish guts.

2 Things that I find American that most non-americans don't

1. Suing people
2. Casseroles

It was totes a '91-'92 model, unless a previous owner swapped out the ground effects for the scoopy looking ones.

There's no defending the response they got. State or interests don't justify in that when they clearly could see it was a) a joke and b) being filmed with three of the biggest wind ups on the planet... Of course they probably don't watch TV, chanting trump, whilst watching your sister getting in the shower doesn't leave a lot of time for TV does it

What a homophone

People really don't read the linked articles, do they?

Title could just be renamed to "Today I watched the Top Gear US special"

Constant commercials for "medication"

or healthcare, or guns, or unhealthy food, there is some good things in america but these come to my mind right away

guns and hamburger boi, yeeeeha

Casseroles? As in Cassoulet, Moussaka, Timaballo?

Oh and the Casseroles they cook in England, Australia, NZ?

Ok you said most - but they are maybe a lot more common than you think. I grew up eating and cooking them in the UK. Lancashire Hotpot is yum

But suing people. Oh yeah that's an American thing. Though it is creeping into other countries like the UK. Thanks for that.

Nearly stopped a couple of times when he crashed

I wonder what their insurance rate is like? Especially in the UK as well when it's the driver that's insured, not the car (so not anyone can drive it). And to have insurance to drive anything. And with a record of not always driving under the speed limit (with a ton on evidence and millions of witnesses after the fact)

And then, insurance for getting sued by litigious arseholes.

Are you American? Cause this has literally never affected me or anyone I know and I’ve lived all across this country. It’s a myth perpetuated by businesses to make employees and customers seem frivolous

It is truly amazing that so many people on here don't realize this is all fake. It's a TV SHOW, folks! Top Gear's "specials" are always goosed for the camera.

Are you sure this isn't a joke? It sounds like they donated $20k to charity

And IIRC correctly they actually got sued over it

EDIT: Someone else in these comments talked about it more. They apparently got sues by the group they donated it to for $20k because they "misrepresented" the Camaro as a '91 when it was, in fact, an '89.

And then they went to Argentina

>. Lancashire Hotpot is yum

I'm sitting here hungry and you made it worse by making me think of this!! Gonna have to make one this weekend.

Boi did you never see them trying to escape Argentina over a license plate.

America is a particularly litigious country. I have lived there, and in Sweden, in the UK and I am Irish. There is no doubt that the US tops those four countries in terms of its litigiousness and legal awareness

Is that true though? When I watched it I just got Sense of it being dramatized for tv. You know, like every reality show. But every comment makes it seem like they were in 100% danger

It's not all fake, you think James May & Hammond almost killed themselves in fake stunts?

And, you can't fake the reaction of huckleberry hicks like the ones in that special.

I grew up in Sweden and I remember being in primary school like 20 years ago and hearing all these crazy stories about Americans suing over crazy stuff. The most memorable ones were a lady who put her cat in the microwave cuz it was cold or something and it blew up, so she sued the microwave company. And another one where a drunk driver crashed into a tree on someones’s property and sued them for planting the tree there. Probably no truth to these stories but its interesting that the “americans will sue you for anything” steretype was prevalent even then, in a small (population-wise) country like Sweden.

Ah yes, the covid defense. "I've never seen it so its not as bad as you make it"

and then they were sued because the year they said one of the cars was wrong. it was a 91 not a 92 or some shit and the person who got it tried to sue the hell out of them for false advertising.

Ah yes, the COVID denier defense. I saw Fox News panicking about it so it just be true

>Also, in sensible places, losing a case in court means you pay the legal fees of both sides, so there is no risk for someone who has done nothing wrong getting sued.

If you have to pay both parties' legal fees if you lose, doesn't that make it basically impossible to sue somebody who can afford better lawyers than you?

You can't fake the reaction? Really? It would be impossible to have the show's producers yell things off camera to "scare" the hosts for post production? You notice you don't see anyone yelling specifically (they make it seem like the white van/truck guy kind of says something driving by, but he's clearly leaving the area and his lips aren't moving!), just off screen yells.

Anyone whose face is shown speaking on camera has to sign a release to their likeness rights. So this woman signed something to let them use their likeness: https://youtu.be/pKcJ-0bAHB4?t=294

Then this "ominous truck" arrives (spoiler, it's people getting some lunch with spooky music under it). We never see the truck actually chase them, just some spooky music and people running like the Blair Witch Project.

https://youtu.be/pKcJ-0bAHB4?t=348

Obviously, Hammond and co. have had horrific injuries due to performing stunts. That's not fake. What is easily faked is the sense of danger on a tv "documentary".

Username references ingredients

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It's easy to say a lawyer had approached them threatening to sue, I can say I was approached by a lawyer and threatened with legal action for writing this comment. That doesn't mean it happened. I'd bet a million to win a pound that it was poking fun at the sueing culture that exists in the USA.

Perhaps there's some clause that changes things since they're driving for entertainment/journalistic purposes?

As someone that used to have a bumper sticker that said “Stop Inbreeding. Ban country music.” I can honestly believe they were in danger. I got rid of the bumper sticker after 3 different hillbilly trucks tried to run me off the road on separate occasions.

It was May’s turn in the last special they did. Introduced an Evo side on to a wall at 70mph.

Yeah I saw that. Mr Slow crashing at speed ? Who’d have thunk it?

Though he did nearly come a cropper when he nearly exited the Veyron doing 70.

I had an extremely abusive ex that treated me like a dog last year.

Final straw was when she tried to feed me unseasoned casserole with no stuffing on Thanksgiving.

Finally worked up the courage to stand up for myself finally and get rid of her.

Just from the TV episode I would agree. But they maintain in interviews that it was not planned to turn out like that.

So? They're a bunch of wealthy men. And they didn't buy those cars themselves.

Why? They didn't buy the cars with their own money.

Chode is a dick thicker than it is long. Like a tuna can

Wide as a pancake and as long as my big toe

While that is true what's not necessarily known is why lawyers and courts accept people filing frivolous lawsuits. Lawyers will tend to take on 'unwinnable" cases because they will negotiate high fees and awards if the miraculously win the case.

..https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/chode/

Lawyers will take unwinnable cases because you pay them a retainer. No lawyer is taking an unwinnable case on contingency.

..clarkson was so adept at going for shock value that when hammond, who was generally good-natured, tried to be malicious it definitely came off as 'trying to be clarkson', i loved the show but clearly not as much of a fan as you.

It's a courts decision, so not necessarily guaranteed. There was a case here where a semi-famous entertainer got sued for defamation, and just before the case went to trial the person suing withdrew the case (cos it was bullshit in my opinion) and the court ordered him to pay all legal costs. I think the judge was pissed he wasted everyone's time.

But you're right, that can be a downside, but I think that'll be true of all systems. You lost your court case because they could afford better lawyers. Or not even better lawyers, they could just afford to drag out the case until you went bankrupt with legal fees.

Ngl I hate the show. I really actually do. I hate it with a passion like no other. Having said that I love the hosts and the chemistry. My dad was a bit shit when we were younger. A sit down and shut up. Seen and not heard kinda dude. I had to watch almost a comical amout of top gear. I don't even like cars. 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

..but their chemistry was due to clarkson being an asshole, hammond being funny and may being analytical. When hammond was being malicious it didnt feel genuine to me.

I think they and the producers highly underestimated how people in the South will react to certain things. I think they figured they'd get a bit of a response and it would be entertaining, but had no idea how offended some would get by what they were doing/saying.

I do get that. Having said that sometimes it's fucking impossible to find a good thing to say about something. Like a Nissan cube. Who in the fuck could put a positive spin on that?

..nissan cube? It was produced for over 20 years.. i guess longevity is a positive?

Nah they were definitely in a bit of danger. I doubt the hillbilly’s would’ve shot em or anything but someone might’ve got punched or something for sure.

Okay. I'm beat on that 🤣😂🤣😂

..nah you're right iam just being a dickhead

I dunno, sounds like a fun way to get some assholes thrown in jail to me. Just put a 5 point harness in a beater, strap on a helmet, put a bunch of dashcams pointing everywhere, and enjoy the ride!

The opposite.

In the US, rich people can afford to hire expensive lawyers to just hold up proceedings until the poor people can no longer afford to continue (see Trump)

Elsewhere, if you have a case, the better lawyers will be on your side because they know they'll get paid. You also get to keep all of your awarded money rather than having to spend most of it on your own legal team.

But if you don't have a case (see above litigious asshole thing) then you deserve to have to pay for wasting everyone's time.

Win win

That does sound amusing but I didn’t have the cash for those safety accessories at the time. And my little Nissan Sentra wasn’t exactly equipped to deal with that kind of abuse.

Most business owners will happily throw money at a lawsuit or investigator if they feel being personally wronged. It is half of my income these days.

Most corporations that can make the choice to piss away 20k over a fraudulent case, will fight you tooth and nail because they most likely have a fixed fee for the legal assistance they pay each month already anyways. And they will make sure it is gonna cost you a whole lot more too. Suing a company as an individual is a thing you need deep pockets for. Receiving a letter from a random lawyer means fuck all. I even doubt it would get accepted into court to begin with. It is a myth random claims will get you anywhere. It is not a myth when a company fucks up something like a wrongful termination or violation of regulated rights, you can (and should btw) take them to court. Sometimes it is an honest mistake, usually it is a calculated risk or they don't care. Getting donated a car and then suing for it being advertised as a different car, suggest, being advertised, that it was a sale. It is a donation. It is free. You have zero damages from the deal. Shit ain't gonna fly.

On the random remark about grocery stores, some codes prohibit donating it because food that has been on display all day can't be proven to have been stored at the mandatory temps etc or after 2 hours it is not allowed to go back into the storage. Since you failed the code, you are not allowed to donate it because it could potentially be "hazardous". I know, I know, just don't ask. We used to donate our leftover food to a homeless shelter. Then we got slapped on the wrist by the authority and from there on out we would fill 1 or 2 small containers with perfectly fine food after an event. *shrug*

This so much. Not sure what the legal boundaries are for a lawyer in the USA, but over here the lawyer has to "defend his clients interests". A lawyer has no obligation to to refuse a case because it is pure horseshit. If you are paying him because you want to go to trial, he will do so because you are paying him. At some point he should mention "well it is unlikely we will win" but after that, if you insist and you keep paying, the lawyer will keep going.

Richard said, "we're going to die now"

Because police in Alabama are totally reasonable people who will be on your side.

/s

Their filming method doesn't conform to typical "reality TV standards."

Sure, they go into episodes with a plan in mind. That does not make it scripted. Sometimes the plan works, sometimes it doesn't. If the plan fails bad enough, they scrap it in the editing. Sometimes, the plan exceeds all expectations (Reliant Robin NASA).

They had a plan in Alabama: piss people off. They did not hire extras to appear pissed off. It was candid, single-take. They did not plan how it would go.

They had similar issues while in Argentina. There, they weren't accused of faking it. Rather, they were accused of inciting a riot due to the license plate, a claim they were able to deny with proof (interview with the person who bought the car for the show).

There is literally not a single person being aggressive toward them on camera in the USA clip. They play spooky music under what looks like a truck full of migrant workers and zoom in on a dog. It’s all in editing. Did they get yelled at? I’m sure. Was it to the level of the literal fleeing for their lives they depicted it as? There’s no way.

Seemed to me like they made that up

> rando claims like that can just get thrown out before being heard in other countries. > > Also, in sensible places, losing a case in court means you pay the legal fees of both sides, so there is no risk for someone who has done nothing wrong getting sued.

Damn, so exactly the same system the US has...

Just because you don't want to believe that hiccas Americans can be so fucking stupid and horrible, doesn't mean you're right. I've seen that episode several times and it's very obvious that she called a group of guys and they showed up and then chased them there was 3 vehicles. Were you in one of these vehicles and you're just trying to play it down?

You're probably the type of person who would say that the attempted overthrow of a democratically elected president on January 6th, was just a little nothing Burger...

Why are you getting downvoted? People why is he being downvoted?

Blimey.... I guess someone really doesn't like me. And his only 4 friends

Lol, ya got me! I’m a trump supporter because Top Gear, like all television shows, is exaggerated for entertainment. Lol.

The white lady who’s anti-gay and Hillary called a truck full of non-white people as cavalry?

I’ve seen every episode of TG. They exaggerate for entertainment in literally every episode.

You are showing yourselves as fools that believe negative hype. Yeah, ok, I haven't seen this show. No matter. Most people only know the darker, generally exaggerated, Alabama. Born and raised in a small North Alabama town. Backward? No. Simple? Used to be. I grew up about 30 minutes south of where Werner Von Braun helped develop America's entrants in the Space Race. Are there places I am nervous to go, even if I'm armed. Oh yeah. But I'm more comfortable there than in the likes of New York, Chicago or Detroit. All cities probably with worse crime rates in 1 year than Alabama. So think a little before believing everything you hear.

Do I have guns? Yes, it is my right. I'm not into shooting up anything, however. I'd more likely be the 1 read about having stopped a mass shooting. Am I a practicing Christian? You best believe I know where I'll end up. Do you? Am I a backward hick, hillbilly? No. My gifted level IQ prevents it.

Just for fun, you should look up the FBI's crime statistics. In 2020 (the last year before they started a change in how things were reported which has made it so some states aren't easily viewed) Alabama's violent crime rate was higher than the national average and also higher than New York's, Illinois', and Michigan's. This year Alabama has the honor of being the third most violent state in the nation.

I believe you may be more comfortable there than going to the other places you named because it is what you know. That's true for many people but it doesn't make that opinion correct.

Oftentimes, violent crime is related to poverty and Alabama has a high poverty rate which may help explain the violent crime rate.

> Do I have guns? Yes, it is my right. I'm not into shooting up anything, however. I'd more likely be the 1 read about having stopped a mass shooting. Am I a practicing Christian? You best believe I know where I'll end up. Do you? Am I a backward hick, hillbilly? No. My gifted level IQ prevents it.

This is some amazing r/Iamthemaincharacter material right there!

That would be a breach of rule 2 as it's a personal anecdote.

Also, wouldn't that type of phrasing apply to all of the posts on this subreddit?

​

• Today I watched a documentary about silk
• Today I read a book about Jerusalem
• Today I read a newspaper article about the FBI
• Today I read a web article about Bobby Dunbar

It's a joke

My bad. It's too easy to misread the tone of voice in text.

Yeah, ok. The stopping a mass shooting part may be a bit much. I'll admit it. I have an active imagination. So much tabletop RPGing in my younger years probably don't help that.

No, I didn't look up stats and I should have. I let a little anger, frustration & disgust get the better of me and I know better.

I am surprised at the numbers however. Although with Huntsville, Mobile and Birmingham to consider I shouldn't be. I remember being told by a former officer there was a suburb of Mobile where the police didn't want to go out of fear. That was like 20 years ago I was told.

I can only go by the small town I grew up in. I can only think of 2 murders there off the top of my head in my 47 years of life. There may be more, only 2 come to mind at the moment.

Yes there is definitely poverty here. Although I did see that Alabama was number 4 on a list of states with the lowest cost of living. That is from a story from October 6 of this year.

So fixated on their feelings, they ignore the facts.

Guns are a great force equalizer in the face of injury or death. God made man, Samuel Colt made man equal.

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Yeah I think it was dramatized.

If you listen to what the people were shouting it doesn't match up with what the show was claiming.

If I remember correctly it was actually something like they were upset that they had driven through some landscaping and sprayed gravel everywhere.

He's not defending the response. He's saying they should've seen it coming.

Pretty much everyone I know who has owned a small business has been threatened with/had suits filed against them.