TOP GEAR - JEREMY CLARKSON'S BRAIN CHILD. Review on Top Gear

I am writing this review on my idol and the person whom I admire the most “JEREMY CLARKSON”. He is a British motoring journalist and television presenter by far the best in the business. He has revolutionized the automobile industry as well as the field of automobile journalism with his robust and do not care attitude. His world famous T.V program “TOP GEAR”, is a true reflection of how he perceives the automobile industry.

Some consider him to be physically imposing, and ebulliently robust in his manner, and others consider him to be unfashionable, sexist and the epitome of ''yobbish'' driving. He is forthright in his opinions in the press and on television, to the point where some viewers consider him rude and arrogant, and others entertaining. But for me, he just speaks from the heart and what he feels is right..

Early years

Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (was born on April 11, 1960 in Doncaster. Clarkson was educated at Repton School. Having long been a motoring enthusiast, after leaving school he trained as a journalist on the Rotherham Advertiser, before forming the Motoring Press Agency in 1984. During the 1980s he wrote for specialist car magazines such as Performance Car.

As a boy, he was co-recipient (with his sister) of the first Paddington Bear stuffed-toy, based on the popular children's stories. It was made by his mother Shirley Clarkson as a Christmas present, but the design eventually became the most popular children's toy in Britain. In his early years, he sold the bears door-to-door and this really helped him he gained an intimate knowledge of the British motorways.

Television career

This is the real deal; this what made him famous the world over. The television show he is most associated with is the motoring programmed Top Gear, which he has presented from 1989 to 1999, before returning in 2002 when the show underwent a format change. Two ones hosts joined Jeremy on the show. They are James May and Richard Hammond who are expert in their own areas. . Jeremy also presented other motoring-related series such as Star Cars and Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld. But TOP GEAR is the show, which he will always be known for. As in Top gear shows him at his natural best. The way he goes on describing the carts and the manner in which he tests them is really worth watching. TOP GEAR has a mysterious driver who is knows as the STIG whose identity is a well-kept secret. Clarkson regularly refers to his family on Top Gear or in his newspaper columns, often with humor; for example, noting how resistant to damage the trim in demonstrator cars is once his children are let loose in the back, which can be a help to readers with children looking to buy a new car.

Jeremy Clarkson –The Unfashionable

Jeremy Clarkson is regarded by some as unfashionable. His early appearances on BBC's Top Gear programme showed an ungainly figure often in tight leather or badly fitted denim jeans.

Draper's Record, trade magazine to the fashion industry, ran an article where Louise Foster highlighted Clarkson's poor fashion image, and his association with 'men in middle youth'. ''For a period in the late Nineties denim became unfashionable,'' said Foster, ''501s - Levi's flagship brand - in particular suffered from the so-called `Jeremy Clarkson effect', the association with men in middle youth.'' Helen Martin of the Edinburgh Evening News claimed that Denim was 'stone dead' due to Clarkson and Tony Blair who both wear unfashionable jeans.

Other interests

Clarkson is interested not only in cars but engineering in general, especially pioneering work, as his programmes on Brunel and the Colossus computer have shown. In April 2004, Clarkson appeared on the British talk show Parkinson and mentioned that he was writing a book about the 'soul' many machines have. He cited Concorde as his primary example: when people heard it had crashed, quite aside from the sadness they felt for the loss of human life, there was also almost a sadness for the machine. The book, titled I Know You Got Soul, was published in October 2004.

Personal life

Clarkson lives in the Cotswolds countryside near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. He married his wife Francie (who is also his agent) on 8 May 1993, and they have three children, Emily, Finlo and Katya. Francie's father, Major Robert Henry Cain VC, was awarded a Victoria Cross for his gallantry during Operation Market Garden.

He spends some of his free time at his newly acquired house in the Isle of Man. In 2004, he road tested a range of cars on the Isle of Man for Top Gear and described the Isle of Man as ''a thorn in the side of Tony Blair's nanny state''. This might explain why he lives on the Island because of its lack of an upper speed limit and speed is one, which he doesn’t care about. His new Ford GT 40 9which only 100 lucky individuals possess in UK) displayed Manx plates, prior to him returning it due to serious hardware issues. The very low personal tax on the Isle of Man, and the fact his wife is from the Isle of Man, are main reasons for his residence.

In addition to all the automobile work which Jeremy does? He and his wife perform charity work too, especially in his locale. This includes supporting the Chipping Norton Lido (a small outdoor public swimming pool), which featured in an episode of Top Gear when Clarkson drove a Rolls Royce into it.

Controversy and Jeremy go hand in hand .At the 2004 British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan after the paper published compromising photos of Clarkson. And once he also threw a glass of champagne over Morgan whilst they were on the final flight of Concorde. His no hold barred attitude and comments often land him in trouble.

Recently his doctor, due to having two slipped discs, banned him in July 2005 from driving for six months. Clarkson is a very heavy smoker of cigarettes, which, he says, need to be ''heterosexual cigarettes, like red meat on a stick.'' But I am sure this will not affect his love and passion for cars, as he is just crazy about cars.

Well, that was just a brief about the man who changed the automobile media by his no holds barred attitude. I have the whole collection of the Top gear videos and a subscription for the magazine too which I would suggest every car enthusiast should go for.

And finally Thanks for reading such a long review.

Contains excerpts from the Book The World According to Clarkson