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(It was so bad, co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James Maybelievedhe had died.)
(Watch out, Al Pacino: We may have a new goatee icon.)
I still have Oliver, he lives at home in my garage.
Hes a bit old and feeble now, but hes still going strong.
Is he getting any mileage?Oh yeah!
Not a lot, hes not exactlyquick.
But hes still with me.
Who was your Oliver?
What was your car?
A white Mazda 6.
He definitely looked like an Oliver.Excellent.
Sometimes, you just know.
Were lucky to resonate with places and people around the world.
We love filming in the States, and we did enough of it this season, thats for sure.
We had a fantastic time in Detroit.
When Italked to Jeremylast year, he said that America is still the country where youre least-known.
Imagine Jeremy talking in extremes?
But its full of different and disparate places, and its enormous.
Therefore, to resonate in all of the States is quite a big ask.
Theres always been hotspots of people who know us and people who enjoy what we do.
Its incredibly gratifying, obviously, to learn that people are watching it.
For whatever job you do, you want people to come and praise you for it.
You dont have to be a car geek to watch the show.
Wearecar geeks, of course.
My house has more cars than people.
They live better than I do.
Thats been the strength of what we do for a long time.
Its rooted in our love of cars, no doubt about it.
For us, its about the cars.
For viewers, its about cars and people.
For most folks, cars arent that interesting until you involve people.
I took some pills and got on with it.
I think I managed to do everything despite my knee problems.
Im more scared to do that than have another accident.
The quickness of your recovery, given the severity of it, was remarkable.
Ive got to go to work.
When did you know you were ready to return to work?Once I could stand.
Anyone whos hurt their knees knows how much of a nuisance it is.
It was a while before I could get around properly.
I cant go running, though.
I really miss that.
The one thing Ive done all of my adult life was run.
Not competitively, God, no.Just for me.
I cant do that now, which I miss.
Theres always power-walking.No way, Id look silly.
I look silly enough in my shorts as it is.
Were in the business of making TV that we want people to watch and enjoy.
Any tool available to us can help us serve up what people enjoy best.
Were making entertainment and we want people to enjoy it.
If there are bits of things that perform better, well do more of those bits.
Most of TV analytics is guesswork, really.
They ask 100 people and theyre suppose to tell you what 100 million people think.
Whereas Amazon can tell you exactly whos watching and what theyre watching.
Did Amazon give you any other data that informed the new season?Not really.
I always say theyre amazingly good at leaving us alone, but you know its notthatamazing.
Theyre not a bunch of idiots, for crying out loud.
Its a big organization.
They look forward to seeing what we sent them, but they dont mess with it.
Theyre braver than Ive been!
Theyll never do that, Im sure.
They only talk to us in general brushstrokes, and its genuinely useful information.
We want the show to be popular and enjoyed, you know?
If you cook for somebody, you want to find out what meal they like.
If you might get any help doing that, youll take it.
What would be your ideal format for the show moving forward, now that your contract is up?
Those are the specials.
Over the years, we focused on that more and more and honed our skills.
Dont forget, doing those trips includes a huge team.
Its a privilege to be part of that team.
Im sure they hate us, but were privileged regardless.
Theyd usually stay in an hotel around the corner, but in Mongolia, there arent any!
You need tents, you need food, you need chargers, its crazy.
The pilots started to run and knock over a bunch of bags immediately.
Theyre a bunch of idiots, but I love them.
Maybe thats the main reason I do it.
Its a chic Al Pacino look.
You pull it off.Al Pacino is in his 70s!
Why do I always get that?!
Hes the gold standard!He is, its true.
Hes the leader of all goatee wearers.
