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Top Gear: US Special
Top Gear: US Special was an episode of the popular series Top Gear, first broadcast on 11 February 2007 on BBC Two, as part of series 9. In this full-length story, presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May attempted to see if it was cheaper to buy a car for exploring the southern part of the United States for two weeks rather than renting one.
Overview
Upon their arrival in Miami, the three were given US$1000 to buy a used car. Over the next several hours they discovered that there were very few usable American cars available at that price. Eventually, Clarkson bought a 1991 Chevrolet Camaro RS; Hammond a Dodge Ram 150 pickup truck; and May a 1989 Cadillac Brougham.
The overall challenge would be to drive from Miami to New Orleans; at the end of this trip the cars would be sold to see which presenter could make the most money back.
Enroute to their first challenge, the presenters discussed the foibles of their respective cars. It was soon discovered that May's Cadillac was the only one with air conditioning, a point greatly appreciated in the Florida heat.
Challenge 1 (Fastest Race Track Lap): At Palm Beach International Raceway, the 3 cars had to complete the track length in the quickest time possible. Since the presenters had never seen the track before, the cars would be driven by the Stig's American cousin, an obese version of the second Stig. Clarkson's Camaro posted the fastest time; Hammond's Ram was not only last, but came off the track due to poor brakes.
Challenge 2 (0 mph-50 mph-0 mph): At the drag strip portion of the raceway's track, they all had to reach 50 mph (80 km/h) and brake as soon as they got to the speed. Ahead of them was a river, filled with alligators. The closest to the watery grave was, yet again, Hammond, by taking too long to reach the required speed and poor brakes.
Challenge 3 (Roadkill Rations): Each presenter was given money to buy something for their car that would "make the journey more comfortable", Hammond bought a grill, Clarkson bought a shower to replace his air conditioning and May bought a clothes rack. They were then told that they would be camping that night and dinner was whatever they could find dead at the side of the road. Clarkson found a possum but May ran over it; they then found a tortoise but refused to kill it, instead setting it back towards a nearby swamp. Hammond found a squirrel which was collected and spent a while trying to figure out how he would "peel" it. As Hammond and May set up camp, Clarkson went to look for more roadkill; he came back with an enormous dead cow, placed on the roof of the Camaro, which May refused to eat. Both the BBC and the UK media regulator OFCOM received complaints about this scene; the BBC defended the programme saying that the cow had died several days previously. <ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Later that night, Clarkson and Hammond successfully destroyed the Cadillac's air conditioning.
Challenge 4 (Lethal Car Decorating): Prior to entering Alabama, the presenters were instructed to roller-paint each other's cars with slogans which might lead to them getting shot by the locals. May painted pro-homosexual slogans on Hammond's car ("Man-love rules OK"), Hammond painted "Country and Western is Rubbish" on Clarkson's, and Clarkson painted "Hillary for President, "NASCAR sucks" and "I'm bi" on May's car. All three attempts were so successful at offending the locals that the presenters and the filming crew members were chased out of town by friends of the owner of State Line Pride gas station in Seminole, AL, who pelted the crew's vans with rocks. The frightened crew quickly aborted the challenge and washed the paint off the cars once they left Alabama.
Challenge 5 (Sell Cars in New Orleans): The team eventually aborted this challenge after arriving in New Orleans and witnessing the remaining damage caused by Hurricane Katrina the previous year. The presenters decided to give away the cars for free to a Christian mission. However, while Clarkson's and Hammond's were given away, James May was declared the loser as he was unable to find any claimants for his car. Immediately after filming for that segment was completed, a lawyer threatened to sue Clarkson for misrepresentation after she heard the car wasn't a 1991 Camaro (it was a 1989 model) but would drop the suit on payment of US$20,000.
Final results: Clarkson declared himself the winner and declared May the loser, although no points were given. They concluded that it was viable to buy, rather than rent, a car. Clarkson summed up the trip with his long-held opinion: "Don't go to America!" (The team would later return to America in Series 12, Episode 2.)
Similar to the credits of the 2007 Polar Challenge Special and the Botswana Special, other than the four main presenters (who are credited as Cletus Clarkson, Earl Hammond Jr., Ellie May May, and Roscoe P. Stig), each crew member name is listed with the words "Billy Bob" attached to the start, a reference to the American redneck stereotype.
The Production Notes section of the Top Gear website describes the creation and production of this episode as "one of the most gruelling shoots in Top Gear history, damn near finishing off several members of the crew through exhaustion."<ref>Template:Citation/core{{#if:|}}</ref>
DVD Release
In 2008, a 52-minute version of the US Special was released on DVD as part of the Top Gear: The Great Adventures set. Due to contractual reasons some of the music cues were changed, and some minor scenes were deleted (including a segment featuring a drive through a rainstorm, when the Camaro's wipers failed).
