Top 5 Reasons Top Gear was the Best Car Show Ever

I have a small confession to make. I don't know the first thing about cars when it comes to the stuff 'under the hood.' When they were teaching Mechanics 101 in Princess School, I was, well... Here. You know. On Earth. Oops. 

So, I don't know a carburetor from a cooling tank, or even whether or not cars have cooling tanks, but guess what I do know? I know cars. I know that I love Jeeps. I know that Hummers are excessive. I know that Bugattis are the TARDISes of personal transport (that is, of course, besides segways.) I know that caravans are rubbish. I know that a V8 is something you want in your Ferrari and that a V2 is something you put in your lawnmower, and not the other way around. I know that certain numbers in the 500's for horsepower, and 2's and 3's for naught to sixty should take your breath away, and I know that certain cars are pure works of art. And it's all thanks to a little show the BBC used to make called Top Gear. 

1. The Presenters. There's no doubt in my mind that what made Top Gear top was the presenters. Sure, the flashy cars and the cool racetrack and the stunts are a huge part of what made Top Gear so globally successful, but, ultimately, it was the presenter's enthusiasm about the cars and the racetracks and the challenges that made Top Gear so enjoyable to watch. If Richard, Jeremy, and James didn't legitimately love cars, Top Gear would be a bust. And yeah, maybe it'd be a little less fun to watch if they were driving around Wales in a 1998 Honda Accord instead of traipsing about in the most dangerous of the colonies with the cheapest cars money can unreasonably buy or sliding down the best racetracks in the world with Bugattis and Ferraris, but I think I'd still watch it. 
2. The Cars. This almost goes without saying. 
3. The Challenges. What fun would it have been without the challenges? 
4. The Specials. I personally loved each of the specials where the guys went to another country. 
5. The Stig. Some say that he really is Santa Claus. 

And that's why BBC's Top Gear 2002-2015 is the only Top Gear in my mind. I know they have Top Gear: America and Top Gear: Russia and all that, and that they'll probably continue this Top Gear with new presenters, but really, they're all Second Gear: An Okay Car Show to me.

Is Top Gear Over? A Tribute to Its Greatness

Is Top Gear over now that Jeremy Clarkson has been let go once and for all by the BBC? Perhaps. Perhaps not. In any case, I'd like to give the Clarkson era a mighty sendoff, and I couldn't think of any better way to do it than with Jeremy's own words:

This is a car program. There will be no cushions. There will be no rag rolling. No one will sing, and at the end of the series, no one will have a recording contract. This is our new base, and this is our purpose-built test track. There are no traffic jams here - well, apart from this one - and no bus lanes either. This is Top Gear. 

Well, Top Gear may have been more than a car program by its end, but there's no doubt about it - no matter what, it was always top. And on that bombshell - goodbye, Jeremy.

The BBC Fires Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear

As a long-time Top Gear fan and all-around gearhead, I am going to miss Jeremy Clarkson. While I understand the reasons behind his termination, Top Gear just won't be the same without him. You won't be forgotten, you silly old pickle. ♥︎ 🚘  ♥︎