LJK Setright

[Blenheim Boy]

Ashley,

At last! It seems we are finally meeting eye-to-eye...

I think that you have taken Setright's comment out of context; he appears to be commenting on coachwork that Barker provided for a particular Rolls-Royce. He is not dismissing Barker’s work on other chassis. I imagine the era of motoring in question here is the early 20th century, when many moneyed folk chose regal, albeit clumsy bodies - ‘gin palaces’ you could say - to go on their chosen chassis, with no thought given to aerodynamics, centre of gravity, vehicle handling and so on.

I find Clarkson to be a very entertaining writer/broadcaster. He does not claim to be any kind of historian. His television persona is more that of an entertainer, for better or worse. I prefer his writing; he does not ‘play to the gallery’ in print, like he does on the TV. However, I’m no great fan of Top Gear. It can be quite entertaining at times but as a motoring programme, it leaves a lot to be desired. Indeed, I believe James May has referred to it, tongue-in-cheek, as a ‘car-based light entertainment programme’.

BB