Tonight's Topgear

Liked the fact that their disabilities dont get them down - unlike some able bodies that I know of....

I wish them luck for the D rally & hope they get into it....
 
Absolutely breathtaking to see those guys...

Will be asking tomorrow wether Nissan are sponsoring this series though, the pixo, micra, leaf and GTR all in the last three episodes :)
 
Just watching it on iplayer now, still in Lincoln atm though.
 
TheNissanMan said:
Absolutely breathtaking to see those guys...

Will be asking tomorrow wether Nissan are sponsoring this series though, the pixo, micra, leaf and GTR all in the last three episodes :)
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That would break the rules under which the BBC operate ;) Anyway, the fact that Paul Wilcox was worried about how they would portray the Leaf would suggest otherwise....;)
 
excellent segment, I was surprised to see Ben Collins back on Top Gear though.
 
I couldn't help but think of all the people with lesser disabilities who claim they can't work and should be ashamed of themselves.

The drivers/ex-soldiers are an inspiration to all.
 
yep - its really inspirational how these guys get on with their lives - some of our land is licenced to a social interprise that works with injured soldiers teaching them countryside skills like working in traces, ploughing, hedgelaying, woodland management , working sheep dogs etc - and its really impressive how they get over their disabilities and just drive forward to make the best of their lives

mind you drive and determination is one one of the marks of a good soldier anyway so itsnot too suprising that these guys have it in spades
 
Yea, it was great. I thought one of their faces rang a bell - the ginger lad, Corporal Tom Neathway of the Parachute Regiment, was featured in a TV program about recovering soldiers in Headley Court a couple of years ago. It was a touching program and I remember he was recovering alongside another lad who had lost a number of limbs and also his sight to an IED (it may have been the lad they were referring to in tonight's program re the banter and practical jokes whilst recovering).

That earlier program showed his determination to work hard to recover was amazing from the outset. If I remember correctly, he recovered enough to stand on parade using his prosthetics during his regiment's repatriation, literally months after suffering his injuries, which was far beyond everyone's expectations. True grit.
 
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fabs said:
The last segment, ex soldiers who lost limbs, gearing up for the Dakkar Rally. Inspirational, humbling or what?
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Spot on. Exactly 365 days ago, approx right now, I was hurtling my way over Breydon Water, Apocalyse Now style in a Seaking......

Whilst I may still bitch about my legs, at least they are still attached......... ;) I did :gag: when the chappie bent his prosthetic up to tuck it in.... and then twist it 180 deg.


Truly motivational and humbling and I can relate to the dark sense of humour they obviously have between themselves.

I so need a wildcat though - will be an awesome short cut machine when the A140 is blocked.......

Aventador first though....... :thinking:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
That would break the rules under which the BBC operate ;) Anyway, the fact that Paul Wilcox was worried about how they would portray the Leaf would suggest otherwise....;)
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Where did you see/hear a comment from PW?
 
Hmm, that's gonna stop me bitching and moaning at work (well, for at least half an hour). Great positive attitudes, brilliant stuff, inspirational.
 
Those guys were awesome :)

As much as I'm impressed with their attitude to life the attitude to the driving was top notch too. It takes quite a lot of brave pills to drive that hard on a normal track let alone a dirt track.
 
CaptainPenguin said:
Totally inspirational watching the army guys it puts all our day to day problems into perspective..
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Agreed, if the public were more aware of the amount of disabled soldiers and their needs I'm sure the donations would increase, we hear about the deaths on the national news but hear very little about the numbers returning with injuries this serious.

While this is the Top Gear thread, £35,000 for an electric car :eek: which is pretty much useless if you fancy a day out in it
 
thedooker said:
Those guys were awesome :)

As much as I'm impressed with their attitude to life the attitude to the driving was top notch too. It takes quite a lot of brave pills to drive that hard on a normal track let alone a dirt track.
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Surely it takes quite a few brave pills to walk around Afgan too. I should imagine if you excuse the poor taste pun, this was a walk in the park for them.
 
Seems a shame they didn't publicise the name of the project or the fact they're looking for donations, they seemed to present it as being a issue of capability/performance (being able to service the car and being able to drive fast enough) rather than funds.

wack61 said:
While this is the Top Gear thread, £35,000 for an electric car :eek: which is pretty much useless if you fancy a day out in it
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In fairness they're not for people who go for runs out. They're for people who only drive from one side of a city/town to the other to get to work and then back again. The lack of freedom would make them no good for me but I know plenty of people who never use their car beyond what an electric model would be capable of.
That still leaves the costs, they're not terribly attractive for the long term or bought second hand if you're going to be hit with a battery change bill but if they're low maintenance (other than the battery) and cheaper to run it might balance out.
And there's the early adopter issue. When a new type of product first comes out it's generally quite rudimentary and is soon replaced by something much more refined.
 
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That segment was the best I have ever seen on top gear. How those guys could laugh about a meer flesh wound loosing most of you leg. I hope we can all take a note out there book. Hope they win their class. Good luck guys.
 
DazJW said:
Seems a shame they didn't publicise the name of the project or the fact they're looking for donations, they seemed to present it as being a issue of capability/performance (being able to service the car and being able to drive fast enough) rather than funds.



In fairness they're not for people who go for runs out. They're for people who only drive from one side of a city/town to the other to get to work and then back again. The lack of freedom would make them no good for me but I know plenty of people who never use their car beyond what an electric model would be capable of.
That still leaves the costs, they're not terribly attractive for the long term or bought second hand if you're going to be hit with a battery change bill but if they're low maintenance (other than the battery) and cheaper to run it might balance out.
And there's the early adopter issue. When a new type of product first comes out it's generally quite rudimentary and is soon replaced by something much more refined.
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What really annoys me about the greenists and vegetablists is that they get all lah di dah about electric cars, and how they are saving the world etc etc, without thinking one iota about how many fossils got burned and carbons created in generating the electricity in the first place.
 
Hi all,

I am Gareth from Race2Recovery the group of soldiers you seen on Top Gear. Please support us as we need all the support we can get in this epic challange.

Our website is: www.race2recovery.co.uk

we are on Twitter and Facebook @race2recovery

Thanks for all your support and comments about the team!!
 
Refining petrol and diesel uses a massive amount of energy so it's a non argument about emissions from energy generation to power EVs.

Also what TG failed to mention was that they started out the trip with the imiev on 40% charge not 100%. I assume that was to make them both get stranded in Lincolnshire which didn't have any charging points. It's all just waffle.

EVs aren't intended for long range use. You'd use a hybrid for that. I bet you the range is perfectly adequate for the majority to go to and from work.
 
If you only need to get across town for work £35k would be a lot of bus fares rather than buying an electric car.
On local radio today I heard bbc/top gear had to apologise for Clarkson and May for parking in disabled spaces.
Me too for a Lambo.
 
Race2Recovery said:
Hi all,
I am Gareth from Race2Recovery the group of soldiers you seen on Top Gear. Please support us as we need all the support we can get in this epic challange.
Our website is: www.race2recovery.co.uk
we are on Twitter and Facebook @race2recovery
Thanks for all your support and comments about the team!!
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:thumbs:
 
Cedric Lynch covers long distances with his self-designed electric vehicles, but he's a "character" out at the end of a very long limb, where few dare to go.

But I digress...

Nephew and nieces visited a chap recovering in Selly Oak last week. They were impressed by the set-up and, while that's right and proper, non-combatants are feeling the cuts and having to dress their own wounds. Still, 25 years ago I heard about a new amputee sent home perhaps too early, who fell on his front step and had to return to hospital, so cutting corners has been going on for a long time, and ordinary folks are left to just get on with it.
 
srichards said:
Also what TG failed to mention was that they started out the trip with the imiev on 40% charge not 100%. I assume that was to make them both get stranded in Lincolnshire which didn't have any charging points. It's all just waffle.
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Not if you've got an electric car in Lincolnshire.

I know very little about electric cars but if it's true they cost £35,000, cost the same to do 100 miles as a golf blue motion diesel and will need £7000 worth of batteries in 5-7 years it's laughable they should even be in production.

It's OK saying they're for town use but a car is more than a runabout,my dad lives 150 miles away, if I got a phone call at 3am to say he wasn't well I'd need to borrow a car to go and see him because even if it did have a 150 mile range it'd be charging up. :bonk:
 
EVs to me are only suitable as a second car when you have another that is good for long distance. To me the hybrd is a much better solution and a pure electric one is just too much trouble.

Cost of replacement batteries at 100k might just be the same as you'd pay in engine related servicing you'd pay on a petrol/diesel car over the same 100k. It needs to be a whole calculation for people actually buy and use their cars. Most new car buyers keep the car a few years then get rid so they won't replace the batteries anyway. I don't think the costs are that straight forward and my gut feeling is that both cost the same if you buy new when you factor in depreciation, servicing and cost of purchase. A second hand petrol/diesel car will be much, much cheaper to buy and run unless you are doing stellar mileages and the battery cost is brought right down.

Personally I'd just buy an older normal older petrol car and save the £28k :D LPG or bio-ethanol conversion is the way to go I reckon. If we could turn all the rubbish that goes to landfill into fuel then it would be a start.
 
srichards said:
Personally I'd just buy an older normal older petrol car and save the £28k :D
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I'm with you 100% there, I'd be in tears if I paid £30k for a car that was worth 20k after 12 months
 
srichards said:
Cost of replacement batteries at 100k might just be the same as you'd pay in engine related servicing you'd pay on a petrol/diesel car over the same 100k.
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I reckon unless the cost of the battery (currently estimated at £6-7k for Leaf) comes down dramatically then even the predicted retained value after 3 years of 40% (CAP) will look really optimistic...
 
Plus the 30k for the leaf at least doesn't take into consideration the 5k government grant.
 
TheNissanMan said:
Plus the 30k for the leaf at least doesn't take into consideration the 5k government grant.
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That's worse then, that would suggest that after 3 years the car is only going to be worth a couple of grand more than the battery and very few used car buyers are going to want to buy something on three or four years' finance if it's going to, effectively, be worthless after a year or so.....
 
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