Comments on: TGIF Video: Top Gear on the Ford F-150

By: ty

ty — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:13:47 +0000

just to add a little fuel to the fire. ive owned f150’s since ive been driving and my father owned them before that. out of all the trucks we have owned ive only seen one that had bad fitting in the interior and that was because it was a rental truck that was wrecked on the drivers side. i saw the interior on the pickup he was driving and was shocked at how bad it appeared to be put together. granted the interior of the f-150 is bland compared to a porshe or bmw that you guys seem to love so very much, but seriously why have all the bells and whistles of a luxury car in a vehicle that is intended for rugged work use.

i just recently purchased one of the new f-150’s and find it to handle very well and the interior is very well put together. all the cars ive owned i had for well over 100,000 miles and had no mechanical deffects after i traded them in, despite being used to haul loads heavier than suggested. so before u criticize an american car please look at an unaltered straight from the factory specimen. that would give a better representation of how american cars are put together. oh by the way you have great tea in england, just a lack of ice for our “fizzy drinks”

By: JohnnyBlazE

JohnnyBlazE — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 16:33:51 +0000

Clarkson loves getting thick Americans riled up… love it.

By: Annie Lingus

Annie Lingus — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 15:02:28 +0000

The license plate says that the truck was registered in Manchester England between March 01 2005 and Ausgust 31 2005. Probably imported by Bauer and Millett the respected American car importer and supplier of Escalades to Manchester United players.

By: Ke

Ke — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 14:47:16 +0000

Well, as you already know, things work differently between US and UK.

By: 1c3d0g

1c3d0g — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 14:01:03 +0000

Ke: I didn’t know license plates could tell the age of a car, that’s amazing. ‘Cause for instance, I have 2006 plates, yet my SUV is from 2001… :-/

By: R

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 08:01:37 +0000

“Most people that go for a walk in the American countryside are eaten by a bear, so they need a gunrack. But most people who go for a walk in the English countryside AREN’T eaten by a bear, so they don’t.”

I love Clarkson. It’s not like he takes himself seriously, so I don’t, either. And it IS a funny review.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 07:04:42 +0000

lol I just happen too know enough

By: Ke

Ke — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 04:12:13 +0000

Actually, Dark Gable #40, from the license plate, you can tell that the car they used in the review is VERY new.

By: Annie Lingus

Annie Lingus — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:18:00 +0000

Doesn’t David Hassellhoff, I mean Mitch, just know everything about everything?

By: 2006300C

2006300C — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 21:42:41 +0000

The English electronics that were installed when he recieved the GT40 are faulty, not the hardware from the U.S. Imagine that, bad british electrics, never heard any stories about that before.

By: Dark Gable

Dark Gable — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 20:08:14 +0000

I’m a former Ford mid-level manager. Before I comment, let me make a couple of things clear. I’ve driven lots of Fords including preproduction prototypes. I’ve never purchased a Ford vehicle outright. I don’t own or ever plan to own a pickup. The comments (and the tidbits in the video) about interior quality and hideous gaps are way off base. Even if you go to a salvage yard, you won’t be able to find the kind of fit and finish and absurd gaps shown in that video. That vehicle was either wrecked, salvage, driven extremely hard (test vehicles frequently are) or all of the above. If that vehicle were representative of FORD quality, 900k copies a year wouldn’t role out the door. The US marketplace (even for pickups) is the most competitive in the world and is becoming more so with each passing day. There are plenty of reasons that F150’s will never sell well outside the U.S., but fit & finish is not one of them.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 17:15:47 +0000

Hey 29 the SRT-10 is even more rare and niche than the SVT F-150 Lightning. The huge quad cab 1500 base is huge and heavy. It does have a real nice enterior and that V-10 engine has an even worse service record than the Ford GTs. The scheduled maintance was recently cut to a tune up ever 30k miles instead of 60K. Like i said thoug its really rare here in Texas which is one of the predominately Truck and SUV areas of the US youll see maybe 10 to 13 Lightnings in a day compared to 1 or 2 SRT-10s in a week. Plus as much as I like Ford the F series truck has been around since the revamping of the American Auto Industries following WWII. THe GM and Mopar trucks have been repeatedly renamed and changed where ford just updated and changed the F series and left the name.

Oh in reference to the WWII thing Pearl Harbor did bring us in officialy but what happened to the Lend- Lease Program of supplying your guys with destroyers, P-51 fighters, P-40 fighters, Sherman Tanks, Jeeps, Liberty ships, and food stuffs and ammo before we entered. When we sent the British Government Catalina flying boats we sent whole crews to fly them till the British pilots could learn how to fly the complex Catalinas. We did the same for the Russina but on a smaller scale. The US lost sailors, marines, airman and Merchant Marine Sailors in mass before Pearl. Our Isolationist views kept the Government out of the war but the President stretched his power to help the English people and military as best he could legaly. Im not saying we shouldnt have done more but just remember we did still help.

By: PAUL

PAUL — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 16:55:07 +0000

Clarkson is not Anti-US, he just knows who builds a superior automobile. And it sounds like his Ford GT is showing him the truth

By: BloodWyn

BloodWyn — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 15:22:26 +0000

#33 Ke, hah, love your little reference there

By: Prince Charles

Prince Charles — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:41:47 +0000

That was to comment eight

By: Prince Charles

Prince Charles — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:40:42 +0000

If Clarkson is all these bad things then why do you american persist on watching Top Gear. When he says Corvette wasn’t a bad car you praised him and now he says this F150 is plain **** of which it is then you mock him. Typiical unpredictable Americans liking things that are harmful to the earth.

By the way (comment you only joined the war becuase you got raped by the japanese in pearl habour. Then to top it of you make a decent fightinng plain which couldn’t even make it to Germany where the war was. It only when Rolls Royce (ENGLISH)put their engines and done their engineering work did the spitfire became useful and even won the war for both countries. Before that Germany was able to beat both asses at the same time because their engineering was so superior then england and americans. Nice to know things never change.

Next time you see a history book read it you clown.

By: 1c3d0g

1c3d0g — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:24:51 +0000

Clarkson is an idiot. His anti-U.S bias and “we British are holier than thou” attitude is overwhelming, to say the least…

By: Ke

Ke — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:22:57 +0000

To jamie: Perhaps the same could be said of all Americans.

By: Ant

Ant — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:20:53 +0000

I remember seeing that review on Top Gear and it was funny then and still is now. Jeremy’s Ford GT spends more time at ford that he does driving it.

By: g-man

g-man — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 12:29:00 +0000

to be completly honest even if it hadn’t been converted it would be still be crap because it is a bad idea? a pick-up truck is meant for load-lugging in dirty and forests so why try (and fail) to make it a sports car?

as for the niche market thing wasn’t the ram srt-10 the best selling pick up not so long ago? an thats much better but still its a pick up. picks are great for thier job. hauling tonnes of stuff over rough ground. compared to a similarly priced road car it will of course be crap.

By: A3

A3 — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 12:06:24 +0000

From this huge list of countries, I can see the UK, japs, pakis and indians are the ones that have drivers on the right. SOme asians too, but the rest are tiny little insifnificant islands population wise, and some african countries like Kenya and Mozambique.
I’d shrink down the list to 7 or 8 “real countries”.
And No, the new F-150 doesn’t have a Lexus interior, it’s got th smell of it, the touch of it, but it ain’t IT.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 08:27:53 +0000

Just to point it out, the truck was made in Canada.

By: BloodWyn

BloodWyn — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 06:06:20 +0000

If anyone cares to see that Russian Jeep I drove in Saigon, you can watch it over at google videos

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Jeremy+Clarkson+MotorWorld

The Vietnam episode obviously, the others are very much worth watching also.

By: Jim in LA

Jim in LA — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 04:44:21 +0000

#22, all vestiges of the former british empire, very nearly (japan being a notable exception), or places where their influence was felt through their early hegemony in vehicle distribution.

it’s amazing to think of england having built, in separate factories, dozens of brands at one point. now, with the exception of small firms, virtually all foreign owned.

i miss my austin-healey 3000 from high school. what a great car.

By: Dav

Dav — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:20:57 +0000

btw rock and rule, wow. i am genuinely impressed.

By: Dav

Dav — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:19:02 +0000

kpz already made a very good point in saying that it was from a british buyers point of view, and it was mostly ignored. had i looked into one of those, i would have bought right hand drive, obviously, and the conversion is appauling. maybe it was done badly, but that video just reassures my decision not to consider one.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:31:20 +0000

nice list, fine ill recant and say who ever made that backwards conversion for the opposite side of the lightning did a bad job. The truck was still designed for the american market who doesnt drive on the right hand side. It great that those 74 countries are blessed with having American designed Ford products but it still doesnt change that the trucks performance is hindered in the driving and stability department by the change in sides of the steering column and the links to the front wheels. Nice reasearch though i tip my hat top ya.

By: Rock and Rule

Rock and Rule — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:27:17 +0000

The following is a list of countries of the world whose inhabitants drive on the left-hand side of the road. Most of the drivers of these countries use right-hand-drive vehicles.

1. Anguilla
2. Antigua and Barbuda
3. Australia
4. Bahamas
5. Bangladesh
6. Barbados
7. Bermuda
8. Bhutan
9. Botswana
10. Brunei
11. Cayman Islands
12. Christmas Island (Australia)
13. Cook Islands
14. Cyprus
15. Dominica
16. East Timor
17. Falkland Islands
18. Fiji
19. Grenada
20. Guernsey (Channel Islands)
21. Guyana
22. Hong Kong
23. India
24. Indonesia
25. Ireland
26. Isle of Man
27. Jamaica
28. Japan
29. Jersey (Channel Islands)
30. Kenya
31. Kiribati
32. Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)
33. Lesotho
34. Macau
35. Malawi
36. Malaysia
37. Maldives
38. Malta
39. Mauritius
40. Montserrat
41. Mozambique
42. Namibia
43. Nauru
44. Nepal
45. New Zealand
46. Niue
47. Norfolk Island (Australia)
48. Pakistan
49. Papua New Guinea
50. Pitcairn Islands (Britain)
51. Saint Helena
52. Saint Kitts and Nevis
53. Saint Lucia
54. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
55. Seychelles
56. Singapore
57. Solomon Islands
58. South Africa
59. Sri Lanka
60. Suriname
61. Swaziland
62. Tanzania
63. Thailand
64. Tokelau (New Zealand)
65. Tonga
66. Trinidad and Tobago
67. Turks and Caicos Islands
68. Tuvalu
69. Uganda
70. United Kingdom
71. Virgin Islands (British)
72. Virgin Islands (US)
73. Zambia
74. Zimbabwe

By: Mitch

Mitch — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:26:14 +0000

yeah but the one tested was older than 03 it was one of the original years for the Gen. II lightning. I guess it was good he didn’t go way back and pick up a Gen. I, since they didn’t get the superchargers; pretty trucks though that early 90’s body was nice.

By: Rock and Rule

Rock and Rule — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:24:53 +0000

MItch, who said it was converted in England? Could have been done in SOuth Africa, India, New Zealand or Australia or Japan or any of the other countries in the world that drive on the left side of the road. It may even have been converted ny FOrd in the Good Ol US of A.

By: 2006300C

2006300C — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:23:05 +0000

The model he tested stopped being made in 2003. The video is from 2005.

By: BMG Van Ness AVE SF

BMG Van Ness AVE SF — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:07:23 +0000

#15 “the guy jumping in might have 4 inches of mud on his boots.” how is that an excuse for a poor quality interior?

By: kpz

kpz — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:05:14 +0000

firstly its not “wrong-hand drive” its right-hand drive, and he was testing itfrom a british buyers point of view so that is the one we would get. It is an old video so stop complaining about it being an old model, i doubt the new model will be very suited for a british market or for british roads either and thats why it still isnt sold in huge numbers.As for “the guy jumping in might have 4 inches of mud on his boots.” wouldnt he be better off with 4wd?

By: Dav

Dav — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 21:40:52 +0000

Ryan, top gear tests performance vehicles; its not motorweek. Beside that, he wouldnt have like the base any better, since it would be by far less powerful, and even LESS sporty. all the years i grew up in the UK i never saw one of those, and after i saw that the first time i knew why.(that and they didnt make that my entire childhood.)

By: 2006300C

2006300C — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 20:17:26 +0000

I hate to have to defend these damn things but I have to do it. The truck he tested dates back to the mid nineties when the interior of nearly every vehicle was a plastic covered rectangle. The reason this vehicle had a particularly bad finish is because some brit, in his shed, with a hacksaw converted it to wrong hand drive. The new f-150 has the interior quality of (gasp) a Lexus sedan so says Car & Driver which is the most ardent critic of the U.S. industry. Leather covered doors and dash people. There are many, MANY valid criticisms of the U.S. industry but these blanket statements that all American cars are bad do nothing but display the ignorance and stupidity of many of these posters.