The Torque Show: Opinions?

[Sudo 0]

What are your opinions of it so far?

A few things I didn't like -

- They reviewed "Mini" cars, what's the point on a car show?

- The just HAD to do the Holden vs Ford thing, which is getting old now

- MORE FAST CARS! (BMWs & Nissans mostly!)

[E30stz 0]

Not too bad. LOL @ the guy driving the Getz, its got a fairly sturdy gearbox - urrrrrghh ! into 2nd from third.

[Carl 3]

Personally I love mini's

I've raced a mini seven around taupo twice and with 92hp in a completely stripped shell the damn thing was a rocket...shame about it being front wheel drive though, wouldn't have minded hoping into a mini super as they rock!

Now if only they started using the new mini cooper turbos....

[Sudo 0]

Yeah, the guy in the Getz was funny haha

Edited February 14, 2005 by Sudo

[bravo 35]

Carl - it was minis as in small cars (Suzuki something-or-other, Daihatsu Charade, Hyundai Getz) Minis are cool, these weren't so much.

1) Don't mind the mini car comparison as I am interested in anything automotive, and presumably next time will be something different.

2) Hated the presenters. The old dude looked like he was going to bust a valve every time he pushed it round a corner, and he made himself sound like a right know-it-all prat. The young guy was an absolute numbnuts and the only time I enjoyed his presentation was when he made the joke about smoking in the car, and then read the sunvisor instructions with a German accent.

3) Didn't feel as though I knew anything about the three cars after the test as they didn't really go over them. How's the fuel economy? What is the luggage capacity like? How much room do rear seat passengers enjoy? How are they to park? Get kids in and out of? What are they like to drive outside of a few suburban streets? What are the upgrade options? What are the dealers like to deal with? How are the service plans and warrantys? It was like being told about a car by a mate who has just bought one, but isn't really a car nut - ie, really dumbed down, and I just sat there shaking my head at some of the commentary. Also, felt they were too easy on the Maserati. Talked for ages about the styling, and why it is called a GranSport, and not much else. Didn't explain what the computer/traction control did, just said it was a "brain" that stopped you from skidding out - didn't say whether it helped, what was wrong with it etc, etc.

4) Thought the item about new car prices was good - well researched and presented.

5) The Ford V. Holden thing was one of the lamest things I have ever seen. They hyped it all through the show and then it was a 3 sec thing at the end which was not even a fair test of the cars as they had a Le Mans start and one of the drivers couldn't get his seatbelt on.

It would have to be one of the worst 1/2 hours I have spent watching a motoring show. At least Jim's Car Show was interesting, factual and more or less well presented, plus Jim knew what he was on about and had the passion.

They asked for viewers to contact them and give them feedback. I am going to email them now with a link to this thread, so PLEASE make your opinions heard.

To the makers of Torque Show - You really need to up the stakes and make your show professional. People who are not into cars don't like car shows. Those that are into cars don't need to be talked to like they are six. Tech it up a bit - you can explain what some of the techy things are, but put them in there. and I don't just mean HP figures.

If you are aiming at family watching - then forget it - the only car show I have ever gotten my family/partner/flatmates who aren't into cars to watch is Top Gear because it is entertaining outside of the cars themselves. They don't give a rats about the cars - they want entertainment and jokes that are actually funny. Car nuts find this good, but a sideline to the real action. The show lacked both entertainment and real guts - sorry, but it was a wishy-washy waste of time.

Edited February 14, 2005 by bravomikewhiskey

[bravo 35]

Ha! - just went to the show's site. Remeber my comment reagrding the old guy being a know-it-all prick, well, look what the site says about him:

Roger Walker was the kid you wanted to hate at school, the know-it-all, the over achiever, the one who had all the answers.

Funny.

[bravo 35]

(Suzuki something-or-other, Daihatsu Charade, Hyundai Getz)

Suzuki Alto.

[Carl 3]

What's the site link bravo???

[bravo 35]

Here

[bravo 35]

From the Site...

"On  this show you won't have to vote, text, fill in a form or answer questions, no one will decorate a room, cook up a meal, makeover a face or a backyard, eat cockroaches on  a desert island or even go on a blind date and best of all, no one will sing. This is a car show"

The AA Torque Show is a punchy and informative 'must-see' programme. It will be challenging and credible for the car enthusiast core audience, but will be revealing, entertaining and relevant to the large numbers of New Zealanders who... just love cars.

Therin lies the rub. It isn't "...challenging and credible for the car entusiast core audience" and not that entertaining for... That is essentially what TG try to do, and more recently 5thG is also doing more of the entertaining thing. I hope AATS step up to the plate and provide an entertaining show (although it is quite limited by the half hour slot) as it would be great to have an NZ car show that is interesting, informative and entertaining other than the also poorly presented and executed Performance Car TV. There definately is a market gap there, but at this stage it is still yet to be filled.

[bmwsparkle 3]

yeah i watched

seemed the young guy was a wannabe jeremy clarkson, and the old guy was gonna have a heart attack if he went much faster.

Would have been good to see some "middle" cars, ie cars that , most people drive, maybe a XR6 turbo or similar, the mini car slot was pretty boring, and unfortunatly took up most of the show. Bring back Jim!

[martyyn 2]

I watched it last night after taping it the other day. All I can say is I wont be watching it again.

It was woeful.

I could write down everything I thought was a joke, but Ive got better things to do.

[bimmer boy 21]

is it that new show on channel one?

[bravo 35]

yep

[bravo 35]

I watched it again last night as I was stuck on the couch after some extensive oral surgery feeling sorry for myself.

It was slightly better.

The young presenter was still total wince material, but the older guy seems to have relaxed totally, and he now talks in a regular conversational style, which is great.

The female presenter is still pretty good, never had any probs there.

Thought they would be more critical of the Dodge Ram, but that is just opinion obviously. I felt that the review as per last time was a joke - no real info except lots of postulating, and noise making about its size and speed. Didn't load it up to test its carrying capactty (it is a work vehicle after all). Didn't try to take it round town to compare how it drives on more narrow streets. No mention of feul economy although we all know it will suck, just a lame review really. And the commentary from th e"race driver" - ouch!!

"OK, we're coming to a bend now... round we go... bit of a handful there... now into the straight..."

If I wanted a commentary of what the track looked like then fine, but I want to know how the vehicle is responding, how it compares to others. His comments about it being a bit of a handful were retracted slightly at the next corner "much better..." So, was it the vehicle, or was it just the driver taking a while to get used to it?

Then there was another super mini review which although I am so tired of now, was not bad. The old guy did the testing, and mostly his comments were very good. He made some good observations, and came accross relaxed, knowledgeable, and talked about things that the market the cars are aimed at would be interested in.

Then back at the studio with the young guy, although he made a nice muggins of himself yet again, the old guy calmly commented on interesting points and summed everything up nicely. Not perfect maybe, but much better, and good enough that had it been the first episode I'd have been a lot less critical.

The boy-racer segment was nicely balanced and informative, even though some of those rice-mobiles were ridiculous - not the shows fault though of course. Good segment.

Finally - get those f**ken Ford/Holden races off!!! If you want to compare Ford v Holden for those fans, do it properly and interesting, not just a 2sec clip at the end with more painful commentary, and seemingly no piont to the whole thing. Holden and Ford fans want to see a closely competed V8 battle with squeling tyres, slides, switching of position between the vehicles (even if its rigged as long as it doesn't look it) etc. I mean the commentator was going "they're really pushing these vehicles to the limits... the little four cylionders perorming well..." umm, My grandma almost drives faster round the supermarket carpark - c'mon!

And with the exception of that last segment, the camera work is very good although the sound track really, really needs work. Some of the background music was really inappropriate.

My $0.02c. Although, my bet is none of you watched it, so just my rant again.

Edited February 28, 2005 by bravomikewhiskey

[*sic 1]

*end of thesis*

[bravo 35]

lol - It was a cut and paste jobby of the email I sent the show.

Sorry, but wasn't written for bs in the first instance.

But you're right - my posts tend to get a bit long at times - touch typing tends to encourage this - it was only a 5min effort.

[E30_318i 0]

What I find lacking in car shows is actually seeing cars in action, not talking, or driving thru a fuggin supermarket :gay:

The Dodge pick up round the track was good, but too short.

Tiff did the best supermini test on 5th Gear. Took little Hyundais and Suzukis etc round a go kart track, making good use of the hand brake, and lighting up the inside front wheels out of the hairpins :bowdown: Then made a conclusion on what all consumers would take into consideration when buying. Thats what we need more of.

Much better than watching cars driving 50kmh down the road, or out of a carpark, like last night.

[bimmer_extreme 0]

Not to kean on the presenters aye, even my ma said there should be younger guys on. Liking the track tests, especially the Dodge. More faster tuned up cars that make noise. Maybe they should do some features on car clubs etc.

[bravo 35]

And they read their emails!!!

Hi Graham

Your email has been passed on to me - thank you for your feedback, it's

great to hear from the viewers especially when they make such

constructive comments.

I'm glad you found ep 3 much improved - it always takes a bit of time

when there is a new format and new presenters to get the balance right

but I agree we are getting there.

We like the balance of Presenters. I'm sorry you find Dany a total wince

but we have a lot of positive feedback about him and Roger as you say is

improving all the time. This is the first time Roger has worked in

television so we think he is doing fabulously well.

I've past on your comments to Emma re the boy racer story. She is an

experienced TVNZ journalist so we are very lucky to have her on the

team.

Thanks again for your comments. We only have a series of ten episodes

this time around but hopefully TVNZ will give us another 10 and maybe

even a longer duration!!

Jude Turner

Production Manager

The AA Torque Show

[bmwsparkle 3]

hopefully TVNZ will give us another 10 and maybe

even a longer duration!!

hopefully they dont!!! hahaha.....

[Sudo 0]

hahahaha!!

when the dude backed into something in the X5 he almost had a heart attack :drugs:

[Jimocles 0]

finally caught it for the first time last night.

all a bit of a yawn, told me nothing I really wanted to know

personally I'd like to see something different

The presenters need a bullet, especially when the old fella made references to Bauhaus

concerning that little suzuki, I dont know who told him to say that but

its not a bauhaus style car, and its not a school of thought

its a german design school, started in about the 20's from memory by Walter Gropius.

pretentious wanker, If he wanted to sound knowledgeable

he could tell me how many kilowatts and how much torque

and better yet if there is an aftermarket bolt on turbo kit

cos it really needed one

[bravo 35]

I am really starting to get tired of the small car reviews, and where was the lexus or porsche in the softraoder review?

The track driver sux, and the holden vs. ford thing is just plain dumb - it is boring for non-ford/holden fans, and frustrating for ford/holden fans as it has been dragged out over 3 four weeks now.

But, as usual the female presenter got the best segment and did the best job.

Acutally, her segments are the only reason i bother to put my book down and flick it on on monday nights.

[BMW POWER 2]

hahahaha!!

when the dude backed into something in the X5 he almost had a heart attack :drugs:

First time i saw it last night was funny when the guy backed the X5 into the concrete block