Editorial: BBC's Top Gear Might Be No More

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If you have not heard the news already, BBC's Top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson, got into a "fracas" with one of the show's producers. Clarkson had allegedly punched said producer after food was not available after a long day of filming. As a result, Clarkson had been suspended from the show, and the three remaining episodes of the season will not be aired. A petition sprang up over his suspension to reinstate the beleaguered host with the hashtag, #BringBackClarkson. Anyone who is familiar with the show knows that Clarkson was already in quite a bit of hot water with the BBC's top brass, with most of his problems stemming from allegations of racism. Unfortunately, it seems that Clarkson himself has had enough of the BBC and has insinuated that he may not continue to work on the show. As a result, the very future of Top Gear itself is in jeopardy.

News: Honda Builds 130 mph Lawn Mower

Honda has never been known to build cars that could accelerate at break neck speeds. In fact, Honda has only ever built a hand full of cars that could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in under six seconds. Those cars are:

- Honda/Acura NSX
- 2007-2008 Acura TL Type-S (6MT)
- 2009+ Acura TL SH-AWD
- 2014 Acura RLX P-AWS
- 2013 Honda Accord Coupe EX-L V6 6MT
- Honda S2000

Photo courtesy of Autoblog and Honda UK

Recently though, Honda decided to do something crazy. In conjunction with Honda's British Touring Car racing team and Top Gear, Honda built a lawn mower that will do zero to 60 mph in about four seconds, and has a top speed of over 130 mph. Sounds pretty darn crazy, right? Honda is already billing their mad creation as the world's fastest lawn mower, and frankly, I believe it.

This "mean mower, as Honda calls it, started life as a Honda HF2620 riding mower. A custom chassis replaces the HF2620's chassis, and the engine is swapped out with the 1000cc unit from a Honda VTR Firestorm motorcycle. Other modifications include a paddle shifted six-speed transmission, a race car steering wheel, a Cobra racing seat and harness, and the wheels and suspension from an ATV. The only thing left of the HF2620 is the body. The result is 109 horsepower strapped to a 309 pound curb weight. That four second zero to 60 time does not seem so unrealistic after all.

All these modifications do not mean that Honda's "mean mower" has lost its ability to do what it was originally designed for. At speeds under 15 mph, the "mean mower" is still capable of mowing lawns. Two electric motors spin the 3mm steel cutting cables at 4000 rpm for maximum cutting efficiency. Unfortunately, the mowing bag at the back of the mower has been retrofitted to hold the "mean mower's" fuel tank, a high-capacity oil cooler, and secondary radiator. So while you can still mow the lawn with this monster machine, you will not get much of your lawn mowed before you would have to empty the bag.

Honda's "mean mower" is, of course, a one off and will most likely never go on sale. In the meantime, we can at least get our jollies watching this thing run around a track while we all patiently wait for the 2015 Acura NSX. Enjoy the videos and original article after the break!

Editorial: College Cars

Top Gear USA had its season premier a few weeks ago, and the topic of the episode was about the cars the hosts owned when they were in college. Tanner Foust owned an early 90's Eagle Talon, Adam Ferrara had an old Cadillac and Rutledge Wood owned an old VW micro-bus. After watching the episode, it got me thinking about the cars my brother and I owned when we were in college, and some of the things we did with them.