Top gear lc500

[Linas.P]

I generally like Chris Harris - he is great auto journalist and I said one day he going to grow in proper Clarkson replacement. He is on the point, he is funny when needed etc. but this Civic vs LC500 thing is just plainly stupid - LC500 not meant to be on the track furthermore racing some junk track trash like civics. It is clearly GT car meant for luxury and comfort - yes it has power level which can be described as "plenty".. but it never meant to be race car. I am not defending it either - there are faster cars there and maybe Lexus is not ultimate sports car around if we look at it from that angle - yet it never even tried to challenge somebody on speed - rather, built quality, luxury, materials and comfort. That is where it should be compared and contrasted ... in summary that is one of the worst works from Chris... I reckon some stupid producers influence as well.

[rich1068]

30 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

I said one day he going to grow in proper Clarkson replacement.

Sounds like he's already there.

[Linas.P]

15 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

Sounds like he's already there.

I know what you mean - Yes he is a host of Top gear... but No he is not replacement for Clarkson, nor LeBlanc is replacement of May, nor the "other" guy is replacement of Hammond, nor current Topgear can be considered even a shadow of previous one with Clarkson. To be clear, I believe Clarkson is getting old, but Topgear with him was one of the greatest shows every, now it is awful - accidentally discovered second "new new" series is available free on my amazon Prime - and what a joke it is. They are just 3 losers at the moment... except of Chris who in my opinion one day will have same authority as Clarkson had in motoring world. Again that is just my opinion...  

[gdh300]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

I generally like Chris Harris - he is great auto journalist and I said one day he going to grow in proper Clarkson replacement. He is on the point, he is funny when needed etc. but this Civic vs LC500 thing is just plainly stupid - LC500 not meant to be on the track furthermore racing some junk track trash like civics. It is clearly GT car meant for luxury and comfort - yes it has power level which can be described as "plenty".. but it never meant to be race car. I am not defending it either - there are faster cars there and maybe Lexus is not ultimate sports car around if we look at it from that angle - yet it never even tried to challenge somebody on speed - rather, built quality, luxury, materials and comfort. That is where it should be compared and contrasted ... in summary that is one of the worst works from Chris... I reckon some stupid producers influence as well.

Agreed, Chris Harris is possibly one of the best car journalists. Him, Harry Metcalf and Henry Catchpole I could watch all day. They just "get" cars and driving.

Although it was a terrific opportunity for him to be on Top Gear, I did get a feeling at the time of: "oh well, it was fun while it lasted". From what you are saying Linas - and I haven't watched any episode of Top Gear for years - it sounds like what you describe (idiot TV producers included) is exactly what I feared. By no means is an LC500 a track car, not without the rumoured F version, and may be not even then. Chris H has had good words to say about Lexus in the past even when the idiots at Autocar et al have not, busy as they were cashing the cheques from their big advertisers. Witness his review of the RC-F review and more recently GS-F. May be it is just an aberration...

[The-Acre]

All nonsense to me, I buy a car because I like it, not because someone else does or doesn't.

[Linas.P]

@gdh300 - Chris seems to be very balance when describing the cars, quite stark difference from Jeremy - where it is either total rubbish or miracle, but lets face it probably for last decade Jeremy was all show and very little substance. Still great show and car related that is why I liked it..

What is the problem with current shows, compared to old days - talking like old guy now.... but I have watched all Top gears for last 20 years and even some older, and other shows as well... The problem is that in older shows Journalist were real car connoisseurs, weighted opinion, comparing and contrasting agaist rivals, reviewing from practical, functional perspective and maybe helping to build opinions about the brands, in short - educating the audience about the cars. Nowadays it seems all opposite, they just say what the viewers want to hear - in some way re-telling what is popular to get most views... so that is Civic vs. LC video - very few viewers going to be educated to understand on how many levels it is wrong and even less would care, how much apples vs. oranges it is.

Sort of Entertain vs. Educate nowadays... 

[rayaans]

Watched it today.  May as well compare apples to oranges but the initial part was good. Didn't understand the pricing point either because it's relatively cheap compared to other cars of its class.

Didn't understand why it was tested on a track though. Stupid really.

[Linas.P]

Well the class is little bit fluid... Starts from BMW M6 and 6... all the way to Aston Martin, Mercedes AMG GT and Bentley... so the class is anywhere from £60k and £300k... For me price for new LC seems to be just right - it is really more about where Lexus tried to focus the car and the level of "customisation and options" allowed - which isn't much on Lexus. So they cannot really target more expensive GT cars which are almost bespoke and made to order, yet LC is too well equipped for £60k mark. So here we have it - it is more expensive than base GT's yet not trying to rival ultimate bespoke luxury and endless list of options. Used market is much more complex LC500 V8 goes against Aston Martins which are double the price, yet LC500h goes against BMW i8 which is cheaper when used.

One way or another, nobody buys it to do track days, not to rival civics... 

[Guest]

When they tested individually they had exactly the same lap time. Ergo there is no way an overtake should have happened once the LC beat the civic into the first corner.



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[dutchie01]

8 minutes ago, Comedian said:

When they tested individually they had exactly the same lap time. Ergo there is no way an overtake should have happened once the LC beat the civic into the first corner.



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Of course it should have happened as it said so in the script!

the format is that it needs good television it is not a documentary or journalistic programme. So chris harris needs to drift around corners and there needs to be a RACE. ( whats new, i sometimes like the old chris harris on cars better stop those powerslides in each and every corner have seen it by now).

I think the majority if viewers just belueves whatever is presented as they have no clue anyway.

as long as it makes good television!!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, dutchie01 said:

Of course it should have happened as it said so in the script!

 

as long as it makes good television!!

That was my point.

And that is the problem - it doesn't seem to.

[Chafford1]

Now this Motor Trend comparison with the DB11 is much more like it!

http://www.motortrend.com/news/aston-martin-db11-v8-faces-off-with-lexus-lc-500-on-head-2-head/

 

As is this article on the LC500 by EVO:

http://www.evo.co.uk/lexus/lc

 

 

[malcolmw]

Thanks for linking to these reviews. They both seem very appropriate and sensible.

[Chafford1]

On 13/03/2018 at 5:30 PM, malcolmw said:

Thanks for linking to these reviews. They both seem very appropriate and sensible.

Worth buying April's Car Magazine - excellent article on the LC500 on California's Highway 33 - V8 of course!

There's even a brief technical comparison with the LFA.