Why is it that the american machines seem so much better. there dirt buggies clearly kicked arse. I think theres some foul play afoot with the americans being given much better engines to begin with. they looked brand new, and you don't usually find a bike engine in a scrapyard like that - there bloody expensive!

-- bob ling (rjl398@soton.ac.uk), January 26, 2001

Answers

They put American vehicles in the mandmade scrapheap so that it would not look strange when aired in the US as an American show. The salted vehicles were most likely in better condition, and many American vehicles already have outrages engines in the first place.

-- www.geocities.com/kablamotheclown (kablamotheclown@yahoo.com), February 02, 2001.

The machines are better becuase the Americans made better machines. Every time the Yanks and the Brits went head to head the Yanks won. Even the fireboat episode. Everybody knows the NERDS fireboat kicked the BIA's fireboat easily, but the poor sport producers had to cheat (Crimped box, smaller fire for the brits etc.) to get the Brits to win.

-- Danny (daniel.burke@lexisnexis.com), September 24, 2001.

Now I am not affiliated with either show, so I'll have to hazard a guess here. First off, there's casting. I believe the origonal SHC had a relatively limited base of teams which is why you got school teachers along with actual engineers. Seccondly, any american show is going to be better funded than it's BBC equivalent. Just compare MI5 to oh, say Threat Matrix, 24, or any of the other 911 kneejerk blockbusters. More budget means better "Junk". I defy anyone to find a pristine roll of mylar in a real junkyard, or scrap heap for that matter. Thirdly, we americans just love to futz with stuff. Look at our engineering, home of the muscle car, monster truck, and thermonuclear device, we just can't leave well enough alone. I'd like too see a German version of this show, dubbed subbed, or just left alone, I think the obseessive compusive engineering of the teutonic race could easilly match american knowhow.

-- Psiberzerker (Psiberzerker@hotmail.com), November 27, 2003.