Warning: Spoilers are in the review.
Segment 1: $1000 Moonshine Car Competition Introduction and the First Challenge,
Ford Tunderbird TurboCoupe |
Nissan 300ZX |
Cadillac Coupe DeVille |
Segment 2: Moonshiner's Camp
The Boys are told that they will be camping in their cars since moonshine runners camped in their cars to evade the police. On the ray to the campsite, Rutledge's car overheats and pulls over. In continuing with the Top Gear UK tradition, when one host pulls over due to car problems, the other hosts drive off without him. Adam and Tanner joke about how "bad" they feel about leaving Rutledge behind. They joke that Rutledge would "Yes Ma'am" his way into a hot shower and a bed. Rutledge fix his car by loosing up the thermostat and putting muddy water in the radiator. Rutledge joins the other two at the campsite and they pull out the moonshine. The guys past the time by spitting moonshine on the fire. After several hours of drinking moonshine, the guys call it a night and sleep in their cars.
Segment 3: The News
Porsche 918 |
Lamborghini Chainsaw |
Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca |
The show returns to the studio as the guys call Rutledge a wuss for not being able to handle moonshine even though he is from the South. The guys start the news. The first topic is the Porche 918 concept car, a hybrid super car. The say that Porsche believes the 918 will doe 198 mph and gets 78 mpg. The guys like the 918. Rutledge says that he would rather have the 918 over the terrible Prius. Adam jokes about an Italian electric machine and shows a Lamborghini electric chainsaw. Tanner then brings up a Nevada governor candidate who wants to make it legal to drive 90 mph for 24 hours after paying $25. The audience loves the idea. Adam then brings up a San Francisco survey about the cars that are most likely to get a speeding ticket and the cars that are least likely to get a speeding ticket. People are most likely to get a ticket in a Toyota Camry Solara, a Scion TC, and a Hummer. People are least likely to get a speeding ticket in a Mazda Tribute, a Kia Spectre, a Buick LaCrosse, and a Buick Rainier. The guys joke that the reason people are less likely to get speeding tickets in Buicks is that Buicks are bought by old people. Rutledge makes a joke "Buick, it worked for Tiger Woods." Rutledge then shows off the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca. He talks about how it is an upgraded Mustang GT and that it went faster around the Laguna Seca track than the BMW M3.
Segment 3: Ty Burrell in the Suzuki SX4.
Ty Burrell |
Segment 4: Moonshine Runner's Obstacle Course
The guys are trying to recover from a sleepless night. They arrive at an off road course and are given an envelope containing details about the second challenge. The track is designed for dirt bikes and off-road vehicles and includes steep turns, a mud section, and a huge jump. This is a test of the cars' durability and again, whoever completes the course in the fastest time wins. Tanner goes first and drives further than he needs to go. He has a few broken bottles. Rutledge goes second and struggles with the turns put has no problems with the jump. He broke a few bottles. Adam went last and the guys joke that Adam will get stuck. Adam is nervous in his Cadillac. Adam is speeding through the course until he goes up a hill and gets stuck. He eventually gets unstuck and makes it to the jump. He lands and the Cadillac bends at two spots. Adam made have finished the course, but his car is in bad condition. The door is stuck, the car was leaking fluids, and the windshield is cracked. Tanner reveals the times. Rutledge did the course in 2:38, Tanner did the course in 2:01, and Adam did the course in 1:52. He may have won, but his car was dead. To add insult to injury, all the bottles in the trunk of the Cadillac broke. Adam could not drive his car away from the off-road course.
Segment 5: Outrun the Stig
The Stig |
Segment 6: The Winner is Revealed
The show ends with a montage of the Moonshine Runner Challenge and the points are added up.Tanner won the J-Turn and Police challenges and had the most moonshine left. Adam had the best night sleep at the campsite and won the off-road track challenge. Rutledge did not win at any challenge. Tanner was the overall winner and proved that the best moonshine runner car was a 1987 Nissan 300ZX.
Overall this was a solid episode. It had humor, competition among the three host, and a destroyed car. The guys kept up with Top Gear tradition in abandoning stranded hosts. Only one car survived the competition and it is blasphemy for a Japanese car to win at a Moonshine Runner Competition. Plus Tanner and Rutledge had to outrun the Stig. In my mind, this was the second best episode of Top Gear US Season 1. I still like Episode 2 over Episode 3. I must say that the chemistry of the three hosts has greatly improved over the pilot episode.
Final Verdict: 8 Stigs out of 10. This episode is available at www.history.com
CarJunkie
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