Classic Top Gear (1977)1989 S23

[@jonathanwebb8307]

It was wonderful to go back to the 80s just for a few minutes watching this program. I feel much more at home in the 80s than I do in 2024 !

[@monkynuts1261]

Definitely

[@Victor-DOOM]

Cars were far nicer joy to own and drive

[@rustystuff]

Agreed!

[@benmarley3086]

Nowadays it’s all about ease and safety. Which made drivers more careless and overall worse at driving, ironically making roads less safe than it was even 10 years ago.

[@dawahgym9623]

100% agree , no hesitation.

[@endlessmotion2255]

Love how the opening two cars featured here are the Alfa 164 and Saab 9000, the very two models that James May would cut in half and join both front halves together to make a limo, nearly 20 years later. I think they were the same colour too!

[@WINSTANLEYOBXa]

Although I love TopGear (modern version), I think this is more down to earth.

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

It is, I like the old topgear. The cars did the talking!

[@TranceHistorian]

Yeah it's not just blokes cocking about and falling over.

[@PeaveyPV20]

Loved the original top gear, a car show unlike the comedy show its become now

[@popindosin228]

This top gear is boring

[@kevinroberts5653]

@@DoubleDeckerAnton True PoInt Shame we have moanIn ChrIs harrIs who Present ToP Gear In hIs Own Style he IS busyIn CoPyIn Jeremy's Style

[@hankattack]

"A very sophisticated sound system that incorperates a CD player" lol

[@chrisredfield3240]

Chris Freeman £1500 in 1989 would probably buy you a small flat.

[@TmanT321]

Laughing even harder in 2020.

[@svenlabots1869]

...and what about this "sophisticated" gps ....peep..peep..peep...😃🤡🐼✌

[@PeaveyPV20]

Cd players in cars in 1989 sure were cutting edge

[@christopherhulse8385]

in 1989, CD players in cars were rare, most had radio cassettes as standard and FM radios were relatively new as well!

[@cambs0181]

On this week's Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson visits an auto jumble talks to a German, a Marina owner and a load of classic car geeks and manages not to offend anyone!

[@Nixter1974007]

William Woollard, quality presenter he was. Loved him on Top Gear.

[@Mod-rw9cw]

I had a Saab 900 turbo in the late 80s and early nineties and it was built like a tank and used to fly like a Concorde.What a car !!

[@lukecowell7516]

But handle like the titanic

[@jonboy9912]

All about straight line speed - I had two a coupe and hatch and they both flew! The coupe especially was great!

[@Mr.Pips77]

When you watch these old shows and see how informative they are, it makes you realise how good the bbc are at wasting money today with the hideous show. RIP TopGear.

[@PeaveyPV20]

Bbc were worth paying your licence for when this was made, waste of money these days

[@elobiretv]

More informative but far more boring. There is a reason they binned this for the more modern style top gear.

[@paleoph6168]

​@@elobiretv Clarkson retired from the show in 1999. With that, the show's ratings suffered. So they reformatted Top Gear in 2002 with Clarkson returning. Informative Top Gear became Fifth Gear.

[@DarkLordDiablos]

​@@elobiretv you are missing the point of the show if you think it boring. The point of this show was to cater to those interested in cars not a wider audience hence all the information that those people would like. It's like the Antiques Roadshow. To me one of the most boring shows on TV. But it was aimed at people who had a interest in antiques.

[@elobiretv]

@@DarkLordDiablos I love cars, it's a big part of my life and I still find most of old Top Gear incredibly boring so it's not because it's a program made for people interested in cars. Listening to someone talk about how many cup holders and storage pockets a Alfa has is just boring for anyone under the age of 70. Now the end bit about touring cars was interesting at least.

[@pauldg837]

In 1990 my new company car was the Alfa 164. Mine was with a black exterior with a grey interior. It was some car, the acceleration was incredible and with ample power for all driving conditions. I did a lot of long distance driving, and the comfort level of the seats were just perfect. It will always remain a favourite of mine.

[@johntate5050]

It was butt ugly though.

[@The_Divisions_Band]

clarksons voice was posher then

[@eoinoconnell185]

I think his posh voice was put on. He was brought up in Yorkshire.

[@carlbirtles4518]

This was 1989. He was only 29 then.

[@R1CH130]

I've got this on VHS taped off the telly :-)

[@betaman7988]

I have quite a considerable selection of this series on VHS and a few from 1995 on Beta

[@kallesirvio2695]

Could you upload them? If you have any others?

[@Lilbizkit]

Congrats 🎉

[@fasthracing]

£29000 for a Saab in 1989. Wow

[@ps36081]

bloody hell 40p per litre! those were the days

[@williamadams2348]

thats about 1.38 today lol

[@dommidavros2211]

@triangulated Hmmm dunno how you worked that one out! 40p a litre would always be cheap no matter when!

[@jamesmiller3142]

triangulated it is around 98p as of 2017

[@mediocrefunkybeat]

Not in 1971 it wouldn't have been...

[@theaccidentalcaravanner5404]

But when cars consumed fuel at quite literally twice the rate of today (or more!) suddenly the advantage is very small. Factor in inflation and I'll keep modern costs thanks.

[@TheMinder74]

thankyou for upload ,,this is what youtube is all about people sharing great stuff with others ,,im thinkng that all tv stations should have a system like catch up but where you can go back right from the start of tv shows and watch all of them ,,,

[@nitrorory]

I swear in the late 80s every episode of top gear was about unleaded petrol

[@AndrewDaley-lr9qg]

​@jemimallah2591or cut and shuts

[@1100HondaCB]

Octane rating = numerical expression of petrol's resistance to detonation. Unleaded=95, 4star=97 and super unleaded=98. LRP replaced 4star and now LRP is obsolete. I love watching these programs as they give so much nostalgia. Amoca and Mobil don't exist now. Also, Gulf and Elf don't exist. In the mid nineties, my home town of Portsmouth had quite a few filling stations, some of which were franchised and had a bit of nostalgia about them, but now there is only a handful. Shame how times change!

[@RW-nr6bh]

"Onto less controversial matters, Jeremy Clarkson" that's about the last time anyone used that line without being ironic.

[@tsr207]

My traffic information device (Traffic Master) marvellous system - only stopped using it when they switched the system off ! Saved my life on the M5 with it's voice announcement "AVOID" which made me leave at the next junction- before the pile up in the fog with a tanker on fire. Needless to say that Traffic Master unit is in my house still............

[@AMDX1325]

Both Tiff and Jeremy are so young! Oh time hurts...

[@markgriffiths409]

It does! I am reading your comment now in 2024, 11 years later! It’s Crazy!

[@dominicpaul1]

As we fade into our last breath, can you imagine the fear, as that darkness consumes you, and the held hand that was bringing you a vestige of comfort can no longer be felt, the spouse's voice suddenly disappears, and breathing, in a sudden chaos of panic, stops. Who is there, with you, in that self-contained, black, shrinking prison? In that moment as your humanness fades away, I imagine that you, indeed all of us, will experience true Hell - the utter silence, aloneness and complete separation from any falsity and illusion of comfort. Just you, and the agony of nobody to help. What do you think happens next? I have no idea. One day, it will be your turn. My turn. All our turns.

[@markgriffiths409]

@@dominicpaul1 Yeah 👍

[@sputnik1315]

That was before Clarkson when top gear was educational and informative about cars.

[@emergencybanana8429]

Clarkson was there since 1988

[@Jon-zj2nj]

But very dull and nerdy though and far from being entertaining.

[@TmanT321]

@@Jon-zj2nj An old kind of TV for an older generation.

[@Jon-zj2nj]

Tmant321 I’m not sure it’s even that. Very few people used to watch Top Gear when it was “education and informative”, not even old people! Original Top Gear was pretty grim: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rF7cXnmdhM6ehLM

[@TA_Plus_Hemi]

What do you mean the three guys we're very informative? I mean now we know that a Toyota Hilux literally will keep running no matter what you do to it. We also know that somehow Richard Hammond is indestructible, or has become the Six Million Dollar Man

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

6:24 i love the self-closing door...!!! 🤣👍

[@Dreamcee]

You beat me to it hahaha

[@4_Hangar]

Came here to say this. Well ahead of its time.

[@The8thDOCTOR]

I agree that the fuel duty is out of hand but I must point out which government started the whole problem, New Labour. back in 1996 I could get a litre of petrol for 51p, in 1998 it jumped up to 75p and it grew like a cancer. Now since 2010 the tory chancellor has stop a further increase on fuel duty several times, in fact there is a closed Petrol station since {2009} down the road from me that still had a litre of diesel advertised at 1.41, when the reopened this year it was 1.35.

[@B_Bass__]

Well, this aged well...

[@sahhull]

11:22 2 star was 92 octane, 3 star 95 octane, 4 star 98 octane and 5 star 101 octane. Im old enough to remember 5 star being sold :-/ and when I started driving 2 star was 22p a litre

[@chrisdevonshire2087]

I had a 1991 Lancia Thema SE. Loved it. Was sad to see it go....

[@christopherhulse8385]

Unleaded 171.9 a gallon back in 1989, that's the same price today but instead for just a litre!

[@AndrewDaley-lr9qg]

It's £1.33 a litre as of today unleaded.

[@richardhammer187]

Can we just go back to £28,921 for a SAAB in 1989, I ran that through an inflation calculator, it came back at £72,429...to put that in perspective a new 5 Series starts at £39,270...

[@1968lr]

Feel sorry for the shareholders of that naff navigation system thing

[@noka79]

I like the way it was priced per Gallon. They made it that expensive in the end that they had to price it in litres

[@1337ASM]

Having said that, our effective earning is over 2x that of 1989. So compensating for available spending, the price then is around +90p.

[@davidviner4932]

Can't remember the last time I saw one of the Italian cars on the road, still see plenty of Saab's though

[@adorabasilwinterpock6035]

Swedish quality

[@seoulkidd1]

Italian cars need more upkeep

[@TA_Plus_Hemi]

That's funny nick here "but now to less controversial matters Jeremy Clarkson". I haven't heard that before right now

[@mjsee08]

The actual fuel still only costs around 55p.

[@paultaylor9652]

Great memories for me watching TV, simpler days if you could only go back.

[@conradmeinecke5861]

Cars looked so much better then :(

[@dumdum7786]

I agree

[@theaccidentalcaravanner5404]

All three of those luxury saloons were fantastic and understated looking cars.

[@JoaoPaulo-xk4su]

Yeah

[@vvoodee]

So did Clarkson

[@PeaveyPV20]

Sure did better than these ugly dumpy crossover vehicles we see now

[@MrInternetDude]

Alfas interior is awesome!

[@paddy1437]

always loved your presenting and driving style tiff

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

It is Goffey, not Tiff

[@walterwilson7859]

Indeed, Jeff. Indeed.

[@simplygregsterev]

You know ur old when the new cars are on F plate watching this and 171.9p PER GALLON

[@user-tn1vc1xz5d]

Nice red XR4x4 Mr Woollard is driving. Nice engine noise as he drives off from South Mimms at the end.

[@In_memory_of_Dad]

A six year anti corrosion warranty on a Lancia and a Alfa? Oh my god 😂😂😂 they definitely got that one wrong didn't they 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Raisinraw]

I literally would do anything to go back to 1989

[@missionseven7972]

Thanks for the upload

[@philsdt3572]

Classic Woollard. Back when TG was actually about cars and motoring rather than a show about two gibbering gimps frantically tossing off Clarkson's ego under threat of a beating.

[@robhosking9399]

Well Said.! Those Were The Glory Days Of Top Gear Before It Turned Into Utter Rubbish. How Sad That It Turned Into A Programme Bereft Of The Intelligence Of Wollard, Goffy And Needel, And All The Other Great Top Gear Presenters Of Those Days. The Modern Top Gear Utterly Ruined A Once Great Show, That Was Always Highly Informative About Cars And Gave Us Fascinating Insight, And Technical Knowledge.

[@PeaveyPV20]

Top gear in name only now, bbc should cancel it and launch another show for mcguiness and his mates

[@stephenbuckby7700]

Don't miss loads from that era but touring cars and Murray walker I most defo do.

[@HSMiyamoto]

That Jag looks just like the Sterling we used to have. I never felt comfortable relying on it but it always ran.

[@RastaSaiyaman]

Jeremy Clarkson with his hair still intact.

[@edmondocerza4292]

This is so English it's funny. Always this thing about Italian reliability like if British cars were any good in the the 70s and 80s. Built so much crap.

[@jamesbyrne9312]

its true haha

[@Thepigfromthepot]

Every car tested is now known as a complete shot box

[@bdeithrick]

F reg is 88-89. So why the 1977 on name title?

[@callumporter270]

This is 1989 Episode 1

[@dazzassti]

OMG I was at that race :-) jeez feel old now lol

[@marco-58]

That Top Gear address he gave in Birmingham is now a Mosque.

[@johnquirk4896]

That's nice.

[@antiochiaadtaurum3786]

the old format top gear fit so much into 30mins

[@spaceageMrT]

6:23 no mention of the automatic closing doors.

[@PeteCswampy]

15.21 I want his jumper.....ooooo

[@andriy_stashenko]

Top Gear. R. I. P. 2015.

[@martinogold]

R.I.P 2001

[@stuarthall2180]

Think it was the six year corrosion warranty that finished them. Six months was pushing it.

[@wongavery1698]

Fifth Gear has some of the Classic TopGear hosts and they are essentially the same show as Classic TopGear... I love TopGear too, but sometimes, you do need to get more serious car advice by clicking into Fifth Gear.

[@paleoph6168]

How is it today though? How does it compare to 90's Top Gear?

[@MunkEMann]

Finally, middle gear.

[@craig39605]

The Saab is my favourite.

[@cervelo9465]

Thank you, was great. Music. Subscribed.

[@benmarley3086]

I was looking to buy a 10 year old Yaris but this video made me wanna look for a really old MR2 or something

[@assistantto007]

It's good to see that those two black cosworths are still about.

[@sarjim4381]

We in the US had required catalytic converters and could only use unleaded gas (petrol) since 1975. We had no choice in the matter but it also caused less confusion. There is standard 87 octane, midrange 91, and 93-94 octane super, all unleaded. US refineries added lead substitutes at the refineries. I don't know why it took the British so long to just get it over with.

[@daviddenham2971]

Australia got Unleaded petrol in 1986 and we got Unleaded 91 and Premium for such tuned cars. E10 or 94 Octane came in the last 15 years.

[@nickough]

That’s been voiced over by Boysie from Only Fools at 13.31 😂😂

[@RichardHealyCoffey]

Just seen this episode of top gear for the first time and loved top gear for years and i dont no when some commented saying they wish they could go back to the eighties well im with you all the way i loved the eighties what a difference between the 70tys and the 80tys compared to 2024 the world is far worse than back then yes we had high unemployment and the treat of nuclear war back then but people were more happier and cars were far nicer and better compared to today rubbish every car is alike my buddy bought an electric car 4 years ago the battery gave on 2 weeks ago and it will cost him around 20 grand just to replace it and thats the cheapist if his lucky i always buy second hand cars from eighties and seventies i drive a ford seirea 86 and it is still better than any of todays cars lovely design and a classy car and im restoring an 70s ford escort i also have 1976 ford capri i cant wait until i fully restore it id never buy a electric car never or would i buy any new car there all the same these says made out of tin and plastic horrible i was a teenager back then and i also would go back to the eighties in a flash and be rid of all the woke people that are about these days people back then hadent much but we were far happier and looked after each other

[@russellwade7810]

Back then when Top Gear was about cars and not making presenters into stars.

[@TheTheeggmann]

Is the Sierra the same thing as a Merkur XR4Ti ?

[@paulyoung6902]

That motorway was busy than I remember, then I remembered I wasn't alive in 77 😅

[@martytdd1606]

1989 bud.

[@lewis72]

26 years later and sat nav with traffic warning is still rubbish !!

[@dommidavros2211]

no its not!

[@AndyAndromedaArt]

google maps is pretty spot on.

[@dommidavros2211]

Yeah, and there's also a really good app which re routes the quickest way!

[@sephjnr]

For those of you that don't know what a Marina without a piano on it looks like, 18:18

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

16:44 those were the days at 40p a litre for fuel...!!!

[@rmorby]

"...and with the advent of the European spirit, and the less obvious need to buy British, Christophe has been looking at three European offerings..." Perhaps in an episode now we would hear "...and with the advent of Brexit, and the less obvious need to have a choice, we have been looking at three British offerings..."

[@brainkill7034]

Or they just start importing communist cars again.

[@1100HondaCB]

OMG Tony Blair with his Polo at 11:53! Talking about petrol, I remember when you had a choice of the three different stars and selected whatever one needed as soon as you picked the pump nozzle up. I remember when unleaded came on the scene in the very late eighties and many people were eager to convert their cars to run on it. My parents had a Volvo 340 that they converted to run on unleaded, but it damaged one of the valve seats so my dad ran it on 4star again and it was much better. Good days

[@paleoph6168]

11:53

[@fatwalletboy2]

The Saab looks like a design from the next era over the really boxy styling of the 166 and Thema. Im with Chris if the budget would allow.

[@digitalrailroader]

and to think, the Lancia Thema is now based on the 2nd Generation Chrysler 300C, and it looks GOOD!

[@EgoShredder]

I think it went up to about 55p when I began driving in the summer of 1993.

[@JohnSmith-cs7jg]

Christ that Cossie could fly even by today’s standards

[@benconway9010]

Christ did anyone see when the presenter with the red car filling up in the petrol station, did you see the price??!!! He put £8.00 quid in and it was over 20 litres??!! Jeez to get 20 litres today that would be nearly 40 quid

[@johntate5050]

Do you understand inflation?

[@AndrewSaks-vj9zy]

All 3 of these are the same car. They were part of the 'Type 4 Project' which was a collaboration between Saab, Fiat & Peugeot. It's amusing how back in 1989 they managed to make a total sponsored push for these identical cars look like a competition road test ;)

[@alexanderstefanov6474]

Peugeot was not involved. It was the lancia thema, fiat chroma, Alfa 164 and Saab 9000

[@philhealey4443]

4:18, an era when we could be impressed opening the bonnet and not be confronted with a skip full of plastic and spaghetti.

[@hassankhan384]

Good old topgear not the crap that they shoe today and cars that we aren't even bothered about, look at these old top gear so informative and useful stuff also cars were great back then yes some were not as relible but some were it was just that people didn't take care as much back then, but cars never been relible even today you can buy a new merc or bmw and its not gonna be as relible as old bmws that goes for any other car as well, now days cars are made to have issues so you keep taking em to dealers to be rip off.

[@KeyToTime]

I believe that no matter what party is in power, Conservative, Labour, Liberal, their stuffed. In an economic downturn you just can’t win. The government has virtually no control over the economy and free market forces. Blaming the government for all the problems is both incorrect and pointless and won’t solve a thing. If you must blame a single organisation for oil prices blame OPEC.

[@fatlad5090]

back when 150 quid a week wages were good money

[@Luton-Mick]

I left school in 89 and was on £67.50 as an apprentice, I think my late father was on about £50 a day as a brickie then as well.

[@johntate5050]

That's £385 in today's money. Why don't people understand inflation?

[@abc33944]

Inflation = the losing value of ££

[@christianbliss8944]

Tiffs drives that Sierra again after a multi-decade gap on The Late Brake show channel.

[@James-cs2wi]

This is the real Top Gear the other Three Stooges totally destroyed the show this is how it should be done😊😊❤❤

[@paultaylor9652]

Very true.

[@ijaen]

Shows like this are dead and it saddens me

[@mikequenby1961]

19:11 was that Richard Hammonds first TG apparence??

[@bmused55]

The Alpha test car already having problems is no surprise. lol

[@tchev8366]

was that a subtle door sign joke in there? (bout 24:15)

[@phillipecook3227]

Hmph. 0.54 Ski yoghurt and 40p/litre for fuel ... and Clarkson, looking awkward sounds like he's just out of finishing school.

[@williamolson5728]

No ash tray or lighter? ;-) My '05 has both, tray works to hold change and the lighter sits in the glove box

[@keithnewton8981]

The car tester always go on about confusing button on the move but if its your car you quickly become accustomed to where things are . I find thus sort of comment comes abiut because tgey cannot find anything substantial to criticise and they need a negatives comment.

[@cervelo9465]

The smart money goes on a large German saloon from Audi, BMW, Mercedes. The Mercedes E Class (or equivalent) is well built and can delivery very many years of service. Mercedes state that the car is designed to last for 20 years, and following the correct maintenance and care, then it should last much longer than those 20 years. One shall never really go wrong in choosing the German cars from the Big Three.

[@turquoisecat761]

I always liked Uncle Chris's reviews

[@MohamedMagdi790]

The music :)

[@Slider2732]

06:22 - also fitted with the top of the range, self closing passenger door !

[@paleoph6168]

6:22

[@noka79]

The alpha reminds me of a brutal proton

[@Nixter1974007]

Classic BTCC with Murray Walker on comms. Fantastic

[@JoeFarrell-e3f]

When top gear was about cars

[@sephjnr]

He sounds so posh. What went wrong? ;)

[@simonjames3990]

He met james

[@Schlocks]

cigs