To wonder why Top Gear is so popular worldwide?

[AWholeLottaNosy]

So the new series was broadcast simultaneously in 50 countries, apparently it makes the BBC £80 million per year! Why? It's just 3 middle aged men basically dicking around with cars. I know it's quite funny and the hover van episode had me laughing out loud ,( even though I learnt some of it was staged), but, I really don't get it. And 300,000 people want to be in the audience to stand around looking gormless... Can anyone explain it to me??

I love it, I love the interaction between the 3 of them when they are dicking about and I love The Stig. The challenges are all brilliant.

Went to World of Top Gear at Beaulieu and loved that too.

I also love that loads of people hate it and get very offended by it.

I have no fecking idea. It's total crap.

Because it's funny.

It's ace. Proper funny. I know it's staged and scripted but oh it makes me laugh.

And you get to see some beautiful cars and beautiful places.

Because people have different tastes, you may not understand why and it's obviously not for you, but it's been the bbc's cash cow for years now

Here's the Stig statue I am having in the front garden.

I love it. It's 3 people acting out all the stupid, drunken bets you have in the pub, with a limitless budget and some of the best technical programme makers in the world.

I like it, and I love watching the specials at Xmas.

The Argentina special was the first one where the viewer got to see the extent of the crew necessary to make such a programme, and it was an eye-opener. You know they're there, but I hadn't really comprehended how many of them there are.

Is that a very big Stig, or very small lorry Sparkling?

Big Stig TSS.

Having his helmet polished.

I love it. The world is full of serious stuff and sometimes stupid is good.

Even a lefty guardian reading save the planet bore like me would LOVE to dick about in cars all day.

The 'bleeped' TG's on Dave are perfect for the dc's. They get quite excited if they see any of the presenters on another programme, usually doing something equally daft.

I watched for the first time during the holidays - it might have been a Christmas Special - they were driving to the North Pole - and thought it was great entertainment. Yes, lots of staged stuff but still amusing. Loved the ice fields and the silliness of it all.

And yeah, I'd love to dick around like that.

I love it , I make dh and ds watch it. I also loved the one where they had the caravans and one of them went on fire. I think they're big trips are great like the Argentina and the one where they tried to find the source of the Nile. I love Richard Hammond .

And I love Clarkson. So we've got a full house now?

It attracted an audience in the States because there had never been a car show like it. It's irreverent in a way the auto industry doesn't normally see. We all love it as we can laugh and don't really care how big a prick Clarkson is.

And that episode when they turned a Renault Espace into a convertible and accidentally set fire to the car wash was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on tv. I still snigger thinking about it now.

It used to be funny but when I watched it when home last year I had to switch channels before I tried to reach through the screen and throttle clarkson. Worst is I used to like it 10 years ago but now clarkson et al try far to hard and it's just annoying.

Downton abbey is huge here in the us. Can't stand it but have to watch it because I get asked so many questions about it from my client and boss. It's bloody dynasty from a century ago. Maggie smiths one liners have not been as good in the last season. She is the only bright spot in that program!

Even I find it funny and I'm about as far from the target audience as you can get.

Three more years Hurrah!

I watch it with my dad

I like it. It has some stunning film shooting, especially the travel episodes. It's also hilarious that people get so aggressively catsbum about it too.