The Grand Tour Episode 10 Reaction: A Little Less than Expected 

Nashville, to someone like Jeremy Clarkson, could be seen as the most American of cities. To those of us that do live in the States, Nashville is quite easily the most country of cities, with a heaping dose of country music, fried everything southern fare, and, of course, love for the pickup truck.

Defense for the vehicle was adamant among the tent audience this week, but even more opinionated was the view on what football actually is. Jeremy and team say American football isn’t football, rugby is better, and Americans are the only lot on the planet that call English football “soccer.” A row did break out, James’s nose taking a supposed hit and Richard seemingly throwing a chair.

But where did the cars come into this episode?

First off when James and Richard decided to pit a Jaguar and a BMW against each other up in Scotland, but Jeremy hijacked the film crew and did a romance novel come to screen about the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. It was a turbocharged, 2.6L V6 503 bhp piece of Italian machinery that Jeremy stroked in every frame, and couldn’t get out of.

“To truly bond with a car it needs personality, said Clarkson as he lovingly pawed the Alfa steering wheel. And personality brings with it flaws, whether that be in humans or large metal tins with wheels attached. In the latter case, this might involve a door-frame not quite wide enough to clamber through.” Ed Powers. Telegraph UK

 

And that was the end of it. Cars were used in the reef building portion of the show, but it was utilitarian and had nothing to do with what the cars were. They were shells of their former selves, and were unceremoniously dropped into the water off the coast of Barbados, end of story.

“Cue endless scenes of the three messing with cranes and pretending to row as things went wrong. It was no doubt a lovely trip – but mediocre television, with the sequence in which May donned a deep sea diving suit while the others zipped around in jet-skis especially forced.” Ed Powers. Telegraph UK

The whole expedition was more of the “ambitious but rubbish” style of handling things we’re used to. Even in the end, when they managed to sink a car where it was supposed to go, you could tell it was more fun to film than watch, just like with the Namibia special. And I have to agree with Powers on this one.

“That’s the problem with limitless resources – everything comes off too slick. Half the budget would have probably yielded twice the fun.” Ed Powers. Telegraph UK

As gorgeous as the setting was, it didn’t helped the forced humor and lack of vehicular dazzle we have been used to in previous episodes.

All this forces me to relinquish a mere three out of five possible coconuts. Ambivalent as to whether I’ll watch again.