- The presenters are celebrating the great 70s American cars they saw in TV shows, as they road trip around Scotland, creating chaos on the streets of Edinburgh and building a homemade floating bridge across the Hebridean sea.
- The trio are in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, the Northern most town in England. Their mission is to drive to Scotland to the Outer Hebrides. They want to explore why American cars have never caught on in Europe. The trio buys one American car each.
Jeremy buys the 19-foot-long Lincoln Continental Mark V. 6.6 L V8 engine. 181 BHP, BP 10,000. Electrically adjustable seats, electric windows, electric quarter light, cruise control. Hammond brings a 1971 Buick Riviera, with a boat-tail. This was Buick's answer to the Ford Thunderbird. This car never even caught on in America as the people hated the design. 7.5 L V8 engine. 250 BHP, BP 17,000. May brings 20 feet long Cadillac Coupe DeVille. The Cadillac of Cadillacs. 8.2 L V8 engine. The biggest V8 ever fitted to a production car. 190 BHP. Automatic climate control.
They set off. The American cars are way ahead of the European cars on offer from the same time-period. European cars didn't even have optional heaters. They reach Edinburgh. Soon, the problems start. Hammond windshield wiper wont work. The cars don't drive well on cobbled streets in the town. Hammond's car overheats on the steep inclines. The long cars are very difficult to navigate in the narrow city streets.
Jeremy's car door jams. One door panel breaks off completely. American cars have issues in the city center. They then head back to a 3-lane highway. They reach the Knockhill race-track. They use a Scottish car to set a benchmark time and then try and beat it in their American cars. There aren't many good Scottish cars, so they settle on the Hillman (1.5 L big valve engine, 93 BHP, top speed of 108 mph). This is the cream of Scottish excellence in the 1970s. It clocks 1:13.98 Lincoln is not very stable around the corners and does the lap in 1:21.47 Cadillac is next. May does a leisurely drive around the track 1:31.99. Its up to the Buick to uphold US dignity. Buick does it in 1:18.77
Covid-19 hits suddenly and the trio are not able to check into a hotel. Mr Wilman finds them trailers on the track to stay. The trio find a track in the UK that races all sorts of cars from the 60s and 70s and in general they find through their videos that American cars are faster on the straights and slower in the corners against European cars. The next day, the trio have to take their caravans with them due to Covid-19 protocols. The entire crew travels with their own caravans, and has a mobile covid-19 testing unit as well
May's Cadillac does 8 miles to the gallon and is not very environmentally friendly. When May's goes to the toilet at a gas station, Jeremy and Hammond fill his caravan with water. May is knocked off his feet as soon as he returns and opens the door. The trio head deep into the Scottish countryside. They want to test who made the worst cars, the Soviets or the Americans. Soviet cars include the FSO Polonex 1.6 L, the Lada Riva 1200, and the Zastava GTL 55. American cars include the Chrysler Voyager, the Chrysler PT cruiser, and the Pontiac Aztek (3.4 L V6 with 185 BHP). The cars will race and the first one out of the race is the worst of them all.
The Chrysler PT Cruiser scored a zero in the NCAP collision test. The audience laughed when the Aztek was unveiled. Soon, the cars start smashing into each other. The Aztek is the first to conk out. All 3 soviet cars go out next and the PT Cruiser survives till the end.
The trio head back to the A9 highway. Jeremy's Lincoln starts to misfire. They stop at a farm to make repairs. They head out again and hit dirt tracks. Due to the jolts, Jeremy's caravan breaks free from his car and rides away on its own. They decide to ditch Jeremy's caravan and push forward, with still no sign of the A9. Hammond's caravan slides into the ditch by the side of the gravel track and then overturns. The trio decides to stay in a castle, which are always empty as they are second homes. All they need to do is to find a castle. After just 2 miles, they find a castle. May's caravan is also destroyed.
The next morning, they discuss that in the 70s, Europe bought about 9000 American cars and 247,000 Soviet built ones. The American cars are huge and unreliable. Small cars like the PT Cruiser are the worst cars ever made. But Americans made some great cars too. Firebird, Mustang, the Hemi, Corvette, the Dodge Charger, the Roadster, the Cobra Jet, Camaro, Studebaker, and many more.
The trio chose their favorite muscle cars. Jeremy has the Shelby Mustang Cobra. It was the fastest selling car of all time. Sold 22,000 on its first day. May chooses the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. It was Chevrolet's response to the Mustang. It was more curvaceous than the Mustang. Hammond brings the Dodge Charger R/T. 1968 2nd generation version, of Bullitt and Dukes of Hazzard fame. It was aimed at the young people.
Hammond's Charger dies, when the wheel breaks and the engine explodes. The trio visit Jeremy's friend Tramp for a shooting weekend. When they reach there, they find that their American cars don't fit in with the crowd. It is embarrassing. Mr Wilman gives instructions to the trio that he has created a community of American car enthusiasts in the Outer Hebrides where people with similar passion can share their love for American cars without feeling out of place. That's where the trio are headed.
Jeremy suggests that they modify their cars to make them even more American. They are 200 miles from the Hebrides Island called North Uist. Hammond fixes his car and attaches a massive super-charger that sticks out from the hood and a Plymouth Road Running type wing at the back. May has converted his Cadillac into a low rider. 3 inches lower at the front and 2 inches lower at the back. 2.5 inch side mounted exhaust. Jeremy has fitted Nitrous injection and white rimmed wheels. But it doesn't work as Jeremy didn't make the other modifications to the engine to make it work. The scenery on their route is breath-taking. They go through the Stelvio pass, also called the Applecross. All the 3 cars struggle in the mountains, but slowly they make it through. They take a ferry to the Island of North Uist
They figure out that the community is based on a mini-Island and to get to that mini-Island they need to build bridge out of plastic components. The components come together like Lego blocks to complete a pontoon like structure. May goes first and his low exhaust gets stuck in the plastic work of the bridge, and he is stuck. Jeremy goes to help in his Lincoln, but can't dislodge the Cadillac. Hammond then comes in his Buick and now all 3 cars are on the pontoon bridge. Jeremy and Hammond work together to create a wash wave on the bridge to dislodge May's car and eventually, all 3 of them make it to the other side. May and Hammond's cars break down 100 yards from the commune and Jeremy drives in alone. Jeremy finds a sports bar and a American flags all over the place. 5G mobile reception is available. But the bar is more Chinese than American.
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