‘Top Gear’ recap: Blind drifting and other stunts

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I liked last week’s kickoff to the U.S. version of ‘Top Gear.’ And I loved this week’s episode, which saw Tanner Foust going wheel to ski in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution down the snowpack of Mammoth Mountain.

When Foust first opened the episode singing the praises of the Evo, I thought ‘Top Gear’ was getting dangerously close to advertorial. But Foust and the car walked the talk, showing this race car/family sedan really could do what it claimed. And they did it in the best possible way: in a ‘Jackass’-style competition that displayed the talents of everyone (and everything) involved.

I’m waiting for Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara to show they can properly flog a car. But I figure that will come with time -- that Foust will school his co-hosts as he did the blind stand-up comedian, who beat Wood and Ferrara in this week’s hilarious drifting-competition segment.

Wood is great with the one-liners, including his Southern take on the Mitsubishi: ‘It looks like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.’ And so is Ferrara, who watches Foust drift a Nissan 370Z and quips, ‘In New York, we call it grand theft auto.’

If ‘Top Gear’ keeps bringing on guests like ‘Lost’s’ Dominic Monaghan, who was a great guinea pig for the big-star small-car segment and an intriguing interview, throwing out some pretty wild ideas for his dream car, this show could really hit.

-- Susan Carpenter