stolen from msn.co.uk If they complain it was Jeremy that did it
http://cars.msn.co.uk/carnews/ttclarksondec05/
Top 10: Greatest-ever Jeremy Clarkson momentsBy Henry Biggs,
last updated December 20, 2005
Motormouth Clarkson has landed himself in hot water again after performing a Nazi salute on BBC2’s Top Gear TV programme.
The presenter said the new Mini should be made into a quintessentially German car with the addition of trafficators that mimicked Nazi salutes, a sat-nav system that directed the driver to invade Poland and a fan belt that lasted 10,000 years. Love him or loathe him (and you can declare your vote on this matter at the bottom of the page), motormouth Jeremy is impossible to ignore. He has been blamed for all manner of things from the demise of MG-Rover, the sales failure of the Vauxhall Vectra, through to the slump in jeans sales in the 90s. But occasionally his caustic sense of humour and determination not to suffer fools means Jezza often finds himself at the centre of a storm of controversy. Here is our round up of the more outrageous Clarkson moments - don't forget to place your vote below.
Toyota pick-up
In February 2004 the BBC was forced to apologise to a Somerset parish council after Jeremy drove a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck into a tree in the car park of St John the Baptist church in Churchill. The council had thought the damage to the 30 year old horse chestnut was down to vandals until a local resident saw Jeremy footage of Jeremy demonstrating the car’s strength on Top Gear. The Beeb apologised and paid the parish council £250 compensation. Toyota pick-up
Hurricane Clarkson
Jeremy has even managed to whip up protests on the other side of the Atlantic with comments in his column in The Sun about America’s treatment of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said that: "Most Americans barely have the brains to walk on their back legs," and went on to claim that starving black people in New Orleans were being shot by helicopter gunships rather than being rescued. A US Coast Guard helicopter in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hyundai horror
Jeremy has always been outspoken and it’s been landing him in trouble for years. In 1998 the BBC had to step in when Hyundai UK claimed Jeremy made “bigoted and racist” comments at the Motor show in Birmingham. Jeremy allegedly told visitors to the Top Gear stand that the Korean company’s staff had been eating dog and that the designer of the then new XG had probably eaten a Spaniel. The BBC said that: "Jeremy’s colourful comments are always entertaining but they are his own comments and not those of the BBC. More often than not they are said with a twinkle in his eye."
Click here to display more Jeremy Clarkson photos from MSN Search Hyundai XG
Despicable dog walkers
Jeremy infuriated dog walkers in October 2005 after he banned them from using a footpath crossing his land on the Isle of Man, claiming that they had killed his sheep. The footpath was a ‘permissive’ one, meaning that walkers were allowed to use it with the owner’s permission. But Jeremy withdrew his consent blaming, "unpleasant and deeply militant dog walkers". He added: "You have these clots who just can’t see it. They just think they have a God given right to trample around on somebody else’s garden wherever they want and kill the sheep."
Clarkson with his wife Francie at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, June 2004