mikeh

[attach]80307[/attach]Newsflash: Television production sounds more glamorous than it really is. Oh sure, there are some that cruise around in conspicuous rides, but most tend to drive workaday cars. It'd be natural to expect the producer of "Rinky-Dink Town Today" on Cable Access would be tooling around in something less than a Mercedes S Class, but the people that make car shows, especially the Top Gear franchise, why, that producer surely drives something outrageously fly, right? Umm... no.

Andy Wilman, producer of the current Top Gear incarnation (and a presenter for the original series), is probably expected to drive something exotic or bombastic like his mates Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May – but that's not how he rolls, apparently. A Honda Jazz (that's a Fit to you, Yankee) is at least a choice that car guys can still get behind, marrying utility and economy with a measure of fun.

Could Top Gear be headed for the same responsible, economical fate with all the new chatter about frugality? Not entirely, the exotics will always be there, and the entertaining road trips will continue to up the hijinks ante, but the show will be filled out by more economically-minded cars in light of the recent economic mood. There's probably more up Wilman's sleeve when it comes to Top Gear development, and he's also got his eye on a new Kia Soul, so it doesn't look like the Zebra's going to change his stripes much any time soon.