Funkerstation » To which I would say two things: 1

Its known as The Grand Tour, though maybe the spiritual successor to the popular car show Top Gear should have been called Overdrive.But thats a word that carries negative connotations when it comes to cars and driving, and negativity is something that Jeremy Clarkson and his cohorts Richard Hammond and James May want to put in the rearview mirror.Clarksons long tenure with the BBC ended suddenly and with rancor in March 2015 when he allegedly punched a junior Top Gear producer who failed to arrange for a hot meal at the end of a long day of filming. Technically not fired (his contract was not renewed), Clarkson was soon joined in support by his co-hosts May and Hammond, and one of the BBCs top-rated shows was left scrambling to reinvent itself.Despite the public humiliation that marked his departure, Clarkson did a remarkable job of landing on his feet. He, along with his trusty mates Hammond and May (plus producer Andy Wilman), have essentially taken a bootleg version of Top Gear on the road -- a real-life grand tour. And theyve gotten Amazon to foot the bill.While Top Gear lurched on, fronted by English disc jockey Chris Evans (since departed) and Matt Le Blanc (yes, the guy from Friends) along with a handful of newcomers, the familiar trio of Hammond, May and Clarkson took what many perceived as their show and changed the way it is delivered to the viewer. The first season of a dozen new programs already has four shows in the can, with new episodes released every Friday on Amazon Prime.This new delivery mechanism -- video on demand -- will be the key to the success of The Grand Tour. But its not the first time that these stars were at the forefront of a sea change. While Hammond came from a broadcasting background, May and Clarkson made the transition to television from the world of car magazines -- and in the process, changed the dynamic of how we learn about cars.Now they are pioneers again, taking content distribution away from a traditional TV network and trusting it to Amazon, which is featuring The Grand Tour as one of its marquee attractions as it tries to increase its presence in the video streaming market.We dont sit there saying, Hey, good morning, trailblazer, how are you? Hammond said in a recent telephone interview with ESPN.com. But were definitely doing something new. Its great for three middle-aged men to be reinventing the medium theyve worked in for years and years.Cars are a universal subject, he added. Everybody is affected by cars, whether they love them and are, as you call them, gearheads, or someone completely the opposite. People can hate them, or they use them to parade and display and tell the world things about themselves. Which makes them for us, as a subject, very enjoyable and interesting. If we can make it fun as well, thats the best gift you can give somebody.All the hallmarks the trio made famous on their former show are present on The Grand Tour. Its a big-budget affair, with top-notch videography and audio production, on an even more ambitious scale with a portable studio that will be set up in locations around the world. The first three studio segments were filmed in the United States, South Africa and England.What really set Top Gear apart from other motoring programs was the way it made the subject of cars entertaining. Much of that was thanks to the vivid personalities of Clarkson, Hammond and May -- as well as Wilman, the brains behind the operation and a key figure in devising many of the famous car-related challenges for which the show gained renown.With Top Gear, even the simplest road test of a Ford Fiesta could turn into a military-level operation.Its very, very easy to just get a car and say what you think about it, Clarkson said. But today, almost all cars are identical. So theres no point to doing that because a Kia is fine, a Chevy is fine, a VW is fine.Its what you can do with them that makes it more interesting, he continued. Can you drive them to the North Pole? Can you drive a car across the middle of Africa? Thats much more exciting -- what can you do with a car, not what is the car like.Theyre making the new show the same way they always did, but with its more ambitious scope its a time-consuming process. Fourteen months of work have already gone into the first season, and filming continues, with the most recent studio session taking place Nov. 21 in Nashville.Production is similar to that of Larry Davids HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, with a loosely defined outline and very little actual scripting.As John Coltrane once said about jazz, its preconceived, but sometimes only a second or two before it happens, May said.With two of the 12 shows recorded predominantly in the U.S., The Grand Tour is putting slightly more emphasis on the American audience. The most obvious thing viewers will note is that veteran NASCAR racer Mike Skinner (The American) has replaced The Stig, a never-identified tame racing driver whom Top Gear used to track-test cars.We thought it would be tactful to have an American driver -- we do have American paymasters, Clarkson said. He was a good find -- exactly what we wanted. I know hes from California, but we wanted a proper Southern NASCAR racer.But its not Americanized, because there are 6.75 billion people in the world who arent American, he added. Its much less like a village now -- we do it for the whole world. We just happen to be British.Also we used to present it from Britain and now were British people wandering the world - slightly witlessly and not necessarily understanding everything about where we are, added May. So thats a part of the material itself, and we have to be conscious of that.Apart from a bit more cursing, the new show hasnt really explored the potential freedom that comes from being away from a traditional television network, with censors at the corporate and governmental level.Thats because the hosts -- the often controversial and outspoken Clarkson excepted -- generally do a good job of policing themselves.The restrictions naturally come from us, to be honest, because were middle-aged men who wouldnt want to go too far with it, Hammond said. Its far funnier for us to say Gentlemans Sausage than a ruder word for the same thing.Nearly 15 years since they came together on Top Gear, all three hosts still share a love of cars -- though if you press them, they will admit that they often enjoy driving old bangers more than modern machines.If its got a slipping clutch and some very weird smoke coming out of the top of the cylinder head, Im much happier than if I am in a new Ferrari, Clarkson said. Much happier.They often grouse about the advent of hybrid and electric cars, but the significant changes on the horizon for the auto industry could turn into tremendous fodder for a program like The Grand Tour.I think theres pleasure to be derived from the fact that there has never been a more exciting time, Hammond said. We said earlier the problem is that all cars are generally the same and they all work. The fun to be had is in finding massive flaws and faults.Because theres this sort of reinvention of them, with changes in resources and new forms of engines, etc., that means people are going to make mistakes. All of a sudden there will be cars that come along with huge and hilarious problems.Clarkson and his cohorts have signed on for three years with Amazon, which is good news for car enthusiasts around the world. The name of the show has changed, but just about everything else is comfortable and familiar. You just have to look somewhere else to find it.James still doesnt drive fast, Richard still doesnt get stuff, and I still say things which are inappropriate, Clarkson said.Confirmed Hammond: Were still us. We cant change who we are, or our outlook on the world. Adidas Eqt Schweiz . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Adidas Nmd r2 Schweiz .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. http://www.nmdschweizkaufen.ch/ . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Nmd r2 Damen Schweiz . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Adidas Eqt Damen Sale . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less.DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Chinas Xiong Zhao Zhong picked himself up off the canvas to outpoint Denver Cuello of the Philippines on Friday night to retain the WBC strawweight title. Considered the best boxer from China, Xiong struggled early in the 12-round fight against the veteran Cuello, who connected with a left hook in the first round that sent the champion to the ground. But with Cuello injuring his riight shoulder in the buildup to the fight, Xiong recovered and began to control the bout.dddddddddddd. Xiong landed several good punches in the fourth round and again in the eighth when the ringside doctor was called to treat Cuello. By the ninth round, Cuello was bleeding from his forehead. Xiong won the split decision 115-112, 113-110, 113-113. Xiong improved to 21-4-1. Cuello fell to 33-5-6. ' ' '