A Thank You and Goodbye to ‘The Grand Tour’

In 2002, Jeremy Clarkson helped usher in the age of Top Gear when the first episode aired on December 29. The following year, the lineup of Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May was in place… and the car programming world would never be the same.

After 22 years of driving each other crazy (no pun intended) with a blend of friendship, wickedly funny competitiveness, and amazing travel adventures, they’re wrapping things up with some sage advice and facts for the casual and serious car-loving crowds.

The show lasted with the trio intact until 2015, and until 2016 with Hammond and May remaining. Soon after Top Gear and the longest-running trio to host the series parted ways, The Grand Tour emerged in 2017 on Amazon Prime to great fanfare. It started out as a roving episodic series, and soon after as special one-shot adventures.

Between Top Gear and The Grand Tour, there are very few places on this planet Clarkson, Hammond, and May haven’t been to, tried to destroy with their erratic behavior, insulted, and defiled in the best and most uproarious ways.

This week, Clarkson, Hammond, and May aired their final journey together in the finale season of The Grand Tour, returning them to Africa where their early adventures began. It marks the end of one wild era.

My oldest daughter was born the year the first Top Gear episodes featuring these hosts debuted. These men have been with my family as long as we have been a family, and it is hard to say goodbye.

So instead, I will just say a very brief and very sincere thank you to each of them:

Thank You, Jeremy Clarkson

Thank you for your fantastic voice that utters sometimes unimaginable things. Thank you for simply not caring what others think when the rest of society walks on eggshells so as to not offend others. I don’t always like what you have to say, but, by jove, I love the fact that you can say it with such enthusiasm. You have taught me that sometimes confidence in your decision can make even the biggest blunders seem intentional. Thank you for also having a big, caring soul hidden inside that opinionated head. Many may argue that you have been the leader of this troupe for two decades, but I will give you this; you certainly are the tallest. Never, ever change.

Thank You, James May

Thank you for being my creative muse for all these years. You are the one who reminded me to celebrate the creativity and ingenuity of people of all disciplines from scientists to fine artists and musicians to mechanics and cooks. Thank you for teaching me there is always room in our soul for one more passion. This world is both bigger and smaller than we think, and not exploring the amazing accomplishments of its occupants would be a shame. To this day, I use the hashtag #MakeThings as a tribute to you and your love for innovation, experimentation, and good, old hands-on hard work. I am not exaggerating when I say I believe you are one of the most brilliant people on the planet.

Thank You, Richard Hammond

Thank you for representing us Gen-Xers with enthusiasm, humor, and persistence. I watched you bounce back from some pretty hard blows stronger than ever, and you consistently remain in shape. You don’t try to wax intellectual when it comes to being a fan of everything from pop culture to American cars. You know what you like, and that’s all that matters. As a fellow 1969 baby, thank you for staying young at heart. Yes, we are all aging, but that doesn’t have to mean we can’t still enjoy life’s adventures with a young heart. You have proven yourself as a fine friend to your costars, a great husband and father to your family, and an influence to all of the “fiftysomething teenagers” that make up our generation.

Finally, thank you three men for getting my own car-loving father—and our family—through his saddest years. After my mom passed away suddenly in 2008, my father was devastated, lost, and, in his own words, “empty.” A joy-filled man by nature, he had lost his smile, even around his grandchildren.

It was through the simple act of inviting over for dinner most nights and watching old Top Gear episodes, that he slowly found his way back to the world. You never really stop mourning those close to you, but you can realize it is okay to still live… and laugh. The ones we love wouldn’t expect us to be sad, and it took some fast cars and very inappropriate humor to allow him to do that.

Since then, my father too has passed away, and The Grand Tour special helped me to cope with being without both my parents.

Also, the same year I lost my dad, I lost my long-time job, and some little bitty paychecks I received through contributing to your wonderful Drive Tribe site let me be able to officially say I was working for my favorite adventurers: “Clarkson, Hammond, and May.” Well, such as it was.

I realize none of these men are disappearing. All three of them have projects and adventures on their own that fans can follow. However, their big adventures as a trio are over.

Thank you all so much for taking on this last trip, as you drive your rickety rides into the sunset. Just don’t crash into the sun… we might all need that later.

The Grand Tour: One for the Road is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.