Mad About Cars

Fifth Gear is one of Channel 5’s most popular programmes, having been broadcast since 2002. The show is an indirect successor to BBC’s Top Gear programme, whilst Top Gear was revamped and is more of an entertainment-style programme, Fifth Gear remains more of a factual, magazine-style show (although it does include some entertainment sections)

Many of the Fifth Gear presenters joined the show from the ‘old’ Top Gear, including Tiff Neddell (who is the show’s de facto main presenter), Quentin Wilson and Vicky Butler-Henderson, and for many years the show was also written and edited by former Top Gear editor Jon Bentley.

The show’s format is very similar to the ‘old’ Top Gear show; featuring magazine style features on new cars, road tests and articles about road safety. Notably, the show has staged road accidents under controlled conditions (with cars powered by remote control); to highlight how cars stand up to crashes.

Perhaps due to the show’s close resemblance to the ‘old’ Top Gear (prior to Top Gear’s extensive revamp), the two shows enjoy a small rivalry as the two major motoring shows on UK television. Whilst the Top Gear presenters dismiss Fifth Gear as a pale imitation, fans of Fifth Gear claim the show is a more creditable motoring show, arguing that Top Gear is now more of a light entertainment show.

Whilst Fifth Gear is not as popular with the general public as Top Gear, the show has nonetheless gained a large following and continues to be popular.

BBC’s Top Gear show has in recent years become one of the UK’s most popular TV shows. Originally devised in 1977, the show was produced by BBC Birmingham, and was broadcast by BBC 2. For its first 24 years, the show was presented in a magazine-style format, compromising of various short articles, usually headlined by a review of a new car (quite often an exotic supercar or luxury car which led to criticism from some, although the programme counteracted by reviewing plenty of ‘everyday’ cars as well). Other features included topical issues on road safety, features on used cars and motorsport (a spin off series called ‘Top Gear Motorsport’ was produced during the 1990s)

The most popular presenter of the show was Jeremy Clarkson, who whilst often criticised for his outspoken views, helped make the show a success. However, when Clarkson left in 1999, the show’s fortunes suffered, as viewing figures halved from six to three million. Many of the key Top Gear presenters (including Tiff Neddell and Vicky Butler-Henderson) left the show, later producing a very similar show on Channel Five called Fifth Gear.

In response, Top Gear was totally revised in 2001 with great assistance from Jeremy Clarkson who re-joined the show.  He was accompanied by Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe (replaced by former Top Gear presenter James May after the second series).

Since the re-launch, the series changed from being a magazine style show to a studio set up, filmed from the Top Gear ‘headquarters’ an airfield complete with hangar and test-track. The format of the show has changed from being a factual, magazine show to an entertainment show, featuring unique races between cars and public transport and challenges where the three presenters are pitted against each other. A popular character on the show is the mysterious ‘Stig’ a ‘tamed racing driver’ who is always seen in overalls and helmet and test drives cars on the show’s test track. The Stig’s identity is unknown (originally the character was played by ex-sports car driver Perry McCarthy, but the current Stig’s identity remains a mystery although strong rumours circulate as to the true identity.)

The new show has become a huge success, drawing in much large audience figures than that of its predecessors. Some feel the new show is more of an entertainment show than a true motoring show, although the show’s popularity will seeming sly ensure that Top Gear will remain the nation’s favourite car show

MTV’s popular show Pimp My Ride has become one of the most popular car programmes of the last decade, running for four years until 2007 (with versions of the show still being produced in other areas of the world). The basis of the show is relatively simple, a viewer whose car is in poor condition asks the presenter (in the US version, rapper Xzibit) to ‘pimp’ their ride. From this, the presenter takes the car to a custom garage, who build a dream custom car from the viewer’s old car. Typically, the viewer will have genuine reasons why they deserved to have their car pimped, they will either be portrayed as a hard working person who deserves a good break, or the car is a tired old family hand-me-down, deserving of a makeover.

The level of customisation performed on the old cars is exquisite, and tailored to meet the driver’s interests or livelihood, with unique features and accessories added to change the car beyond all recognition.

The show has become one of MTV’s most popular worldwide shows, and a UK follow-up was also produced, with hip-hop DJ Westwood taking the presenter’s role, along with this a version of the show is also produced in the Baltic countries, along with a Brazilian version of the show.

In addition, the UK version of the show has also ‘pimped’ celebrity cars, former Happy Mondays member Bez has his prized London Taxi (complete with Chevrolet V8 engine) featured on she show, along with a special edition where a Volkswagen LT van was pimped for Madonna for use in her music video ‘Sorry’

The show (and name) has entered popular culture, and the producers of the company, Viacom, have looked to preserve the brand name with a number of legal threats made against businesses that have tried to use the ‘Pimp My’ name for their business.