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The Top Gear Megathread! Mark II
- Thread starter CortexRock
- Start date
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EDIT: I came across this short article describing how a McLaren that had suffered a serious engine fire was rebuilt last year. Perhaps the most germane point from the article is that the insurance company actually favored the expensive rebuild rather than furrowing its brows and threatening a writeoff.
The level of service is truly otherworldly.
I highly doubt, even if it were totaled, that Atkinson would say "Ah, well then, I guess someone else can have a crack at it". If a crack can be had, he will take it and so will McLaren. These cars are simply not easily available, regardless how much money one has. At any rate, it's all up to McLaren, not the insurance company. Only McLaren can determine whether the car can be repaired or not. This isn't a Toyota that can be repaired in any body shop. It isn't really even a car - it's an investment/museum piece on wheels. Normal rules do not apply here.
These cars don't lose value, even when damaged, the same way a regular production car does. These days McLaren F1s fetch about double their original value, putting the value of Atkinson's car at about 2 million pounds before you factor in the celebrity association which might increase the value. It might cost him seven figures to get it repaired, but I'm still going to lean towards it being potentially salvageable, insurance people be damned. If you Google around the internet you'll see a couple instances where McLarens have been repaired after suffering fairly serious engine fires that look like they'd be an automatic writeoff for your Toyota.
Yes, in fact it was the very same car we are speaking of here. He rear-ended someone and extensively damaged the front bodywork, ending up with a 100,000ish pound repair bill.
The level of service is truly otherworldly.
I highly doubt, even if it were totaled, that Atkinson would say "Ah, well then, I guess someone else can have a crack at it". If a crack can be had, he will take it and so will McLaren. These cars are simply not easily available, regardless how much money one has. At any rate, it's all up to McLaren, not the insurance company. Only McLaren can determine whether the car can be repaired or not. This isn't a Toyota that can be repaired in any body shop. It isn't really even a car - it's an investment/museum piece on wheels. Normal rules do not apply here.
These cars don't lose value, even when damaged, the same way a regular production car does. These days McLaren F1s fetch about double their original value, putting the value of Atkinson's car at about 2 million pounds before you factor in the celebrity association which might increase the value. It might cost him seven figures to get it repaired, but I'm still going to lean towards it being potentially salvageable, insurance people be damned. If you Google around the internet you'll see a couple instances where McLarens have been repaired after suffering fairly serious engine fires that look like they'd be an automatic writeoff for your Toyota.
Big-TDI-Guy said:
Yes, in fact it was the very same car we are speaking of here. He rear-ended someone and extensively damaged the front bodywork, ending up with a 100,000ish pound repair bill.
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I don't understand why you keep bringing some of this stuff up. I understand the value of the vehicle. Do you understand how insurance works for expensive, one-off/custom equipment? Insurance companies don't like ownership changes during the settlement process. You're the one who brought up an outside buyer. I pointed out that this potential buyer only gets a crack at it after the insurance company decides what to do.
BTW, when an insurance company total losses a piece of equipment, that piece of equipment belongs to them now, not to you. You can try to buy it back, but depending on the regulations, the insurance company doesn't have to play ball with you.
BTW, when an insurance company total losses a piece of equipment, that piece of equipment belongs to them now, not to you. You can try to buy it back, but depending on the regulations, the insurance company doesn't have to play ball with you.
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it was over $2000-3000 an hour. Ferrari dealerships charge way more than $1000 (CAD at least...) an hour. When my girlfriend ran into the back of my dads car it cost $2000 for each hour of labour. I remember the guy telling me that it would have been even more an hour if it were a rarer car like 430 Scuderia or Enzo/F50 whatever. So a McLaren F1 will be some large coin.
Do you? Would you be so good as to explain it for us? I'm not being at all sarcastic, I want you to elaborate on your knowledge. I don't know what Atkinson's insurance policy says (I don't even know the name of the company? Do you?), I don't know what the precise value of the car is, and I don't know what McLaren's assessment of the damage is in terms of cost. Without this information (which you cannot possibly know either, unless you're Rowan Atkinson's insurance agent or a McLaren service technician), we're just guessing.
I have indeed had a car written off, I'm fully aware of the process when it comes to workaday production cars. This is not such a car, as you pointed out - McLarens are not considered disposable the way Toyotas may be. Given what I know, I'm guessing it will not be a total loss. Fair enough, it's just my opinion.
To go back to a previous post:
Signal-11 said:
Here is where you are mistaken in my opinion. There is a HUGE difference between the way an insuarance company treats, say, a $4m Liebherr haul truck and a Ferrari 250 GTO. The former is valuable because it is a functioning piece of heavy equipment, the latter because it is a rare and historic automobile that is also considered an art object. The decision whether to declare these two vehicles a "total loss" after damage rests on fundamentally different considerations. In the case of the haul truck, the possibility of "economic repair" is the over-arching consideration. In the case of the Ferrari, the concern would be whether enough of the original fabric of the car remains after rebuilding it so that it can still be considered an "original" item. The possibility of "economic repair" may not be the primary consideration, especially when the vehicle in question is long out of production (or was never a production vehicle in the first place) and its value is established based on a small number of auction prices for similar examples.
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Ferrari has completely re-tubbed Enzo's, essentially making a completely new vehicle. Just like the McLaren, a full ground up rebuild costs less than the market place value, making it tough to total. For an example of value, Larry Ellison's McLaren F1 went under the auction hammer last year and fetched north of $3.4M+ as their value has more than tripled over original list price. Some of the high costs in creating the car have actually decreased over time such as the manufacture of carbon fibre parts.
Not strictly on-topic, but here's lots of sports cars being involved in one of the worlds most expensive crash.
Anyone seen the new Christmas Special yet?
It's definitely not as good as Vietnam...or actually any other TG special, but it has its moments. Everything kinda seemed pointless though. They didn't get any challenges other than to advertize Britain.
They went overboard with the scripting. I mean really? Hammond really didn't notice his Mini being destroyed by the winch? =/
On the other hand, the straight six cricket was awesome! And even though I was looking for some hidden message in those banners, I still laughed when they ripped and revealed what they said. Scripted yes but still funny. I enjoyed when May finally got his revenge but laughed harder when Jeremy and Richard "fixed" May's brake/horn.
It's definitely not as good as Vietnam...or actually any other TG special, but it has its moments. Everything kinda seemed pointless though. They didn't get any challenges other than to advertize Britain.
They went overboard with the scripting. I mean really? Hammond really didn't notice his Mini being destroyed by the winch? =/
On the other hand, the straight six cricket was awesome! And even though I was looking for some hidden message in those banners, I still laughed when they ripped and revealed what they said. Scripted yes but still funny. I enjoyed when May finally got his revenge but laughed harder when Jeremy and Richard "fixed" May's brake/horn.
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I chuckled a few times. Enjoyed the horn being wired into a the brakes. I appreciate humour when it takes some work to set up
It wasn't the best (my favourite is the North Pole), but still a worthwhile 1.5 hours worth of viewing.
It did seem a bit pointless though, normally the trio have an objective, rather that the arbitrary mission they were set.
It wasn't the best (my favourite is the North Pole), but still a worthwhile 1.5 hours worth of viewing.
It did seem a bit pointless though, normally the trio have an objective, rather that the arbitrary mission they were set.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I gave it a 7. I find myself more and more groaning at their "cocking about" than I do laughing.
Hammond's deliberate attempt to not look at his Mini was almost as bad as Clarkson's deliberate attempt not to look at his Leaning Tower of Citroen as it fell from a cliff in series 15.
The final outcome of the banner messages were obvious when they mounted them spanning two rail cars, but it was still funny to see when they finally separated the cars. I bet they edit out showing the second one when it makes it to BBC America... maybe even the first one (although the whole railway trip scene basically sets up this gag and the sabotaging of James May's car). Come to think of it, the whole Mexican flag thing will be lost on BBC America, as the setup for it was edited out on BBC America.
It could have something to do with the fact that the file I downloaded was corrupted, making the show jumpy and artifact-ridden, but I found this special to be rather boring.
I still occasionally like the cheap car challenges and the reviews are usually worth watching, but the show is really starting to run its course for me. The big specials have become self-indulgent to the point of lameness.
I like the Tata Nano though. Bring it to the US. Though, if built with US labor they'd have to sell for what a new Focus costs...
I still occasionally like the cheap car challenges and the reviews are usually worth watching, but the show is really starting to run its course for me. The big specials have become self-indulgent to the point of lameness.
I like the Tata Nano though. Bring it to the US. Though, if built with US labor they'd have to sell for what a new Focus costs...
The only interesting bit of the christmas special was how incredible their tiffin delivery network is. Something we can't get anywhere close to. The garden party was awkward because it was so inevitably contrived.
My 6 year old laughed, I guess that's the level they're going for now?
My 6 year old laughed, I guess that's the level they're going for now?
It seems like it's not just us who were unimpressed by the Xmas Special...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16526687
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16526687
The India Special was... bleh. No real interaction with the locals, every joke was staged without any real effort made to deliver. The cars were boring, (though Kudos on the Mini). These guys gotta mix things up, stop with the James picking the same ole, and Jeremy picking the same ole... Hammond being a physical dope... I hope that was just a bad episode, and not a sign of things down the road.
I had to fire up some older TG episodes to make me forget the latest special...
Don't get me wrong, toilet humor, political incorrectness and slapstick was fine, when it was between some actual content or drama. But when a special consists of nothing but filler, tougher pill to swallow.
I had to fire up some older TG episodes to make me forget the latest special...
Don't get me wrong, toilet humor, political incorrectness and slapstick was fine, when it was between some actual content or drama. But when a special consists of nothing but filler, tougher pill to swallow.
Personally i enjoyed the recent Christmas special, it's light hearted entertainment at the end of the day not to be taken too seriously, not the best but still good fun, having said that i can't help but compare everything to the Vietnam special which was superb and is easily Top Gears finest moment imo.
Unfortunately, complaints like this actually make the show seem more exciting than it is...the problem is not too much edginess, it'd too little content. Frankly, I wouldn't even mind going back to the old, boring, pre-reboot Top Gear. At least it was mostly about cars.
Of course, the Reliant Robin Space Shuttle episode was the moment when TG jumped the shark, so we shouldn't be too shocked about a downward spiral of quality. I think the best days of the show are well in the past.
This sneaked up on me, but apparently there's a new series of TG starting tonight (Sunday) on BBC 2 / BBC HD at 8pm