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The Top Gear trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May faced many epic adventures and challenges through the years. But it all started with the epic America special, which was part of the show’s ninth season.
In this special, one of the challenges the three took part in was painting each other’s cars in slogans to attract attention. Plus, it was an attempt to grab a response from the people in the state of Alabama.
What the three couldn’t have expected was the sheer anger and aggression that they and the crew endured. It saw the entire team run away from a gas station, as they were heavily pelted with rocks by some truly terrifying citizens.
Why The Trio Painted Slogans On Their Cars
Top Gear USA Special Highlights
- The special introduced us to the Stig’s American Cousin
- Each presenter added extras to their cars such as a shower and a grill
- The presenters were forced to spend one evening camping and eating roadkill
- All three of their chosen cars did cost less than $1,000
The reason the slogans were painted on the trio’s vehicles is simple. It was a challenge set by the producers to try and “get one of the others shot or arrested.” With them driving through the deep south and Republican territory, the slogans were all about what would irritate that segment of America.
So the slogans included “NASCAR sucks”, “Hillary for President” and “Man love rules okay”. There were also several others painted on the vehicles.
Initially, the reaction was minor. Strange and angry looks from other drivers started it off. But it built up to be more aggressive with lots of angry horns as they traversed the highway.
Had that been the only part of Alabama the team drove on, then it might have been okay. But then they had to pull off into a town to fill their cars up with fuel to continue the journey. This is when the trouble started.
The Owner Of A Gas Station Took Offense To Top Gear’s Slogans
One lady was incredibly upset at the slogans on the vehicles. But aside from some stern words and a shake of the head, she got into her car and drove away. This was a reaction that was perhaps proportionate to the situation.
What then happened was perhaps a little over the top, as the owner of the gas station came out to ask “are ya’ll looking to get beat up in a hick town?” While Clarkson, Hammond, and May tried to calm her down and explain the situation, it simply didn’t go over with her. She said according to Hammond that she was “going to get the boys” and so the three decided to leave.
Clarkson got away quickly. Hammond and May however couldn’t. May’s Cadillac wouldn’t start, so Hammond had to get the jump leads out, a problem facing May throughout the entire special.
While Hammond is trying to jump-start May’s car, the angry southern citizens turn on the film crews and start pelting the vehicles with rocks and stones. This is something that would happen on a much larger scale during the horrifying scenes in the Patagonia special.
With the Cadillac started and finally ready to go, May and Hammond got out of there as did the crew. But the danger wasn’t over just yet.
The trio and the Top Gear crew hightailed it out of town, but the angry Alabamians gave chase. Nothing of this was actually filmed save for a few moments on a camera phone and some audio of the event. But knowing they’d be heavily chased with the slogans still on the cars, the team pulled over and quickly wiped them off the vehicles.
Thankfully, it did the trick and with the artwork gone, they hit the road, hard. While they expected a reaction to the slogans, it’s highly unlikely anyone on the team thought they’d get that kind of reaction.
Top Gear’s Camera Crew Would Suffer A Similar Ordeal In Patagonia
A similar fate would befall the Top Gear crew on a huge scale a few years later. Near the end of filming the Argentina special, the team was amazingly ordered to leave Tierra del Fuego by some Argentinian Falklands War veterans.
This was in response to what they perceived was a provocative license plate on Clarkson’s Porsche 928 he had driven in that special. Of course, the plate wasn’t a deliberate provocation, and it was just a terrible coincidence. Even then, it took an Argentine journalist to make the Falklands War connection with H982 FKL to cause the problem.
Without them doing so, it’s unlikely anyone else would have spotted it. Posting the connection onto Twitter and sharing it with the world clearly didn’t help matters. As a result, the three presenters and a couple of female producers were flown out of the area as quickly as possible.
Believing the presenters were the targets of the anger, the crew thought they were out of danger once they’d left the town of Ushuaia, the final destination on the Patagonia special.
However, the entire convoy was then tracked down and chased by nationalists and mobsters, who hounded the entire crew. It got worse after they arrived in the town of Tolhuin. The crew was dramatically told by its police escort to prepare for an attack. This wasn’t an exaggeration, as they were first attacked with eggs, and then rocks by a huge mob.
This was much larger than the small array they had encountered in the United States. The frightening scenes were broadcast on TV as part of the Christmas special the adventure was a part of. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries and the crew was able to escape to Chile, even with having to avoid the main roads.
The USA Trip Was The First Ever Top Gear Special
The drama in Argentina would turn out to be the last special the trio were ever involved in for Top Gear. But the USA trip was the first ever special, and where these epic adventures started.
The premise had been simple. Buy a car for $1,000 or less that was better than anything you’d hire for a similar price at a car rental when on vacation. It proved a tough task, but each presenter did get a car, and they set about an incredible drive from Miami, Florida, to New Orleans in Louisiana.
At the end of it, the three had the task of selling their cars. However, upon witnessing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, they decided to give their cars away instead. Although May never did manage to give his away in the film, with no one apparently liking the Cadillac.
Despite that and the drama in Alabama, the special was great viewing, and it is fondly remembered as one of Top Gear’s best.
Sources: Top Gear, BBC, Top Gear YouTube Channel
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