Series One, Episode Six

## Summary

### Part One

Tiff Needell talks about the MG F, which was, at one point, the best-selling convertible in Great Britain; however, the build quality was not satisfactory. MG subsequently reciprocated well to this constructive criticism, and created a new model: the MG TF, which was controversial because there was a 1950s MG model, also named the TF. Needell, however, refuses to judge the car simply by its name, and decides to delve further into the details. He dislikes the interior at first glance, calling it a mess, even though they have spent £2,000 on extra infotainment. A good point of improvement, though, is the fact that the hydraulics have been replaced with old-fashioned springs, which makes the driving experience "sportier". The flagship 160 horsepower model has been priced at less than £2,000, while the 115 and 135 versions are between £1,500 and £1,750, and while it isn't as comfortable as the previous model, the TF is more exciting. However, Needell doesn't think it is very good on a race-track, as it under-steers often. However, it is a "step in the right direction" and "much better than its predecessor" - though it is no match for the Toyota MR2, which is faster and more exciting than the TF.

Quentin Willson explains that about one thousand people are given speeding tickets, and while most people will pay the fine (albeit grudgingly), some people "will do anything to get off the hook". One such excuse is that people who get fined pretend not to remember any information needed. Others say that it was either their children or foreign pen-pals who were driving at the time the car was sighted by the speed camera. The most appalling scheme, in Willson's opinion, was when a person who wrote their friend's name in place of their own name, leading to the offender's best friend being accused. Then there is the scam where somebody was driving an identical car with the offender's registration number plate, and when the hot hatch became popular, the driver and front seat passenger would get into the back of the car and pretend to be innocent. He also explains that there are incorrect myths about the likelihood of getting a speeding ticket: being pictured by a speed camera twice, a speed camera having two black holes at the back meaning it has been turned on, radar detectors being illegal, new digital cameras being unable to read number plates, particularly personalised ones, and being safe from being fined if one passes a speed camera at one hundred and sixty miles an hour. However, if one has not received any signs of a speeding tickets two weeks after they committed the offence, they are innocent. "So the moral of our story, gentle viewer, is that there is no easy way to get off a speeding ticket. Consider yourself warned," Willson finishes, before driving off in his Jeep Cherokee.

### Part Two

Tom Ford talks about the new BMW 7 Series, which is a rival of models produced by Lexus, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. He admits he thinks that it is unattractive, and communicates "fatness, weirdness, and what-the-hell-is-thatness". However, he admires the stylish and practical interior, and the 4.5 litre V8 engine that produces a lot of torque. Instead of radio buttons and a proper gearbox, it has gear buttons on the steering wheel and a computer-mouse styled switch which one can use to change radio channels and the like, although it can distract the driver. He adds that it looks like "a really pretty girl with two front teeth missing".

Quentin Willson talks about the Toyota Pod concept car, which can act like a human being: when somebody gets in the car, it turns orange to show that it's happy; when it is cut up on the roads, it turns red to show that it's angry, and when it turns blue, meaning that it's sad, the car is short of fuel. It can accelerate, brake and turn with a single joystick, ask the car ahead if it can move, and even has a toilet inside it! It also has a screen, which praises you for driving well, and persuades you to calm down during moments of road rage.

At Brands Hatch, Vicki Butler-Henderson goes budget racing - a competition where one can build and race their own car for just under £1,000, even though some people pay unnecessarily high amounts of money. She talks to young Helen Saunders, whose dad encouraged her to take up the sport, as he took part in budget racing when he was young. Getting into a ready-made car constructed by Tim Gray, he tells her that it isn't too hard to build one. Starting off in twenty-fourth place, she manages to wend her way through the crowd, crashing into one particular car ahead of her, and ultimately finishes in fourteenth place. She apologises to Gray for crashing his car, and tells the viewers that they won't win any prize money.

## Presenters

### Regular presenters

* Vicki Butler-Henderson
* Tom Ford *(uncredited)*
* Tiff Needell
* Quentin Willson

### Guest presenters

* Tim Gray
* Helen Saunders

## Crew

### Cameramen

* Darren Cox
* Alan Duxbury
* Barrie Foster
* Keith Schofield

### Sound editors

* Andrew Chorlton
* Tim Green
* Rob Leveritt
* Andy Morton
* Benedict Peissel
* Paul Taylor

### Editing

* Mike Bloore
* Keith Brown
* Brian Watkiss

### Production team

* Jon Bentley (producer)
* Kulvinder Chudge (production co-ordinator)
* Karen O'Donovan (secretary)
* Debbie Vile (production manager)
* James Woodroffe (assistant producer)

### Researchers

* Phil Churchward
* Patrick Collins

## Notes

* Tom Ford appears but is uncredited.
* Adrian Simpson is credited but does not appear.
* The driver of the MG F Needell was travelling in at the start of the episode was uncredited, despite a line of dialogue.
* This episode is the first of *Fifth Gear* to contain a swear word: Vicki Butler-Henderson calls one of her fellow competitors a "f\*ckmonster" when they crash out of the race, although she apologises almost immediately. She also uses the words "sod" and "bloody" although they are not bleeped over. Additionally, Tiff Needell used the term "effing" in Series One, Episode Three.