Jeremy Clarkson, never one to mince words, has fired up the engines of controversy again—except this time, he would argue, there isn’t much engine left to fire up. In a candid chat with automotive journalist and fellow farmer Harry Metcalfe on Harry’s Garage YouTube channel, Clarkson laid bare his frustrations with the modern automotive landscape. If you’ve noticed he’s less revved up these days, he’ll tell you straight: modern cars have lost their soul, and frankly, he’s lost all interest.
The Vanishing Spirit of Cars, according to Clarkson
Once the face of Top Gear and later The Grand Tour, Clarkson is as passionate about cars as he is about farming—a transformation visible on his Prime Video show Clarkson’s Farm. However, his heart remains tethered to the world of automobiles, a world he finds increasingly disappointing. For Clarkson, once upon a time cars shimmered with glamour, exuded speed, and carried a delicious hint of danger. Now? They’ve devolved into what he derides as “formless blobs.” The main culprit? You guessed it: the touchscreen.
A self-confessed technophobe, Clarkson reserves special contempt for cars overloaded with digital controls. Take, for instance, the new BMW M5, crammed with endless settings. Clarkson compares fiddling with its menagerie of options to a 1970s graphic equalizer, hopelessly sliding, switching, and tweaking with little to show for it. Especially annoying: in right-hand drive cars, he’s forced to use his left hand, which he admits rarely leads to success. The outcome is usually a smudged screen, the wrong menu, and—most importantly—a thoroughly annoyed Jeremy Clarkson. “The reason I still drive an 18-year-old Range Rover and a 12-year-old Jaguar is simple: they still have buttons. You press, things happen, problem solved.”
Safety Systems: Joy Killers, One Beep at a Time
Touchscreens aren’t Clarkson’s only pet peeve. Mandatory safety technology, he believes, saps all the joy out of driving. The seemingly endless stream of warning chimes and lane assist alerts he squarely blames on government regulation. Before hitting the road, he finds himself disabling lane-keeping alerts and those relentless speed limit beeps. For someone who, by his own admission, is always driving a different car each week, navigating these menus might take ten annoying minutes. “It drives me to madness,” he admits, surely not alone among enthusiasts who would rather spend their time actually driving.
- Lane-keeping warnings: off
- Speed limit alerts: off
- Touchscreens: avoid if possible
- Physical buttons: cherished relics
Nostalgia: Jaguar, Resilience, and the Case Against EVs
Clarkson’s unwavering fondness for Jaguar runs deep. He fondly recounts taking an F-Type into Mauritania during The Grand Tour, expecting it would be reduced to spare parts in the Sahara. To his amazement, the car survived. “Indestructible,” he lauded after the trek.
He gets it, though: Jaguar has gone electric. With poor sales of F-Types and XJs, the brand had little choice but to pivot. Clarkson did find their car-less ad campaign odd, but understands the logic. “Especially in America, there’s a massive audience that actually wants an electric Jaguar,” he says. Just don’t count him among them. “I’ll never buy one, but I get why they do it.”
His resistance to electric vehicles is passionate. The absence of engine noise, the lack of drama—“How can I enjoy a drive if the damned thing makes no sound?” he sighs. He does give a respectful nod to the new electric Renault 5, which won him over momentarily with its playful yellow interior details. But even that, he laments, would truly excite him only “if it had an engine.”
Looking Back: When Cars Had It All
For Clarkson, the golden era of the automobile is not just in the rearview mirror, it’s fast disappearing over the horizon. He pinpoints the peak as around a decade ago: cars ticked every reasonable expectation—air conditioning, sat-navs, convertible roofs you could open on the go. They were fast, comfortable, efficient, and reliable. In his view, everything since has only made things “more electronic and more idiotic.”
It’s a big reason why Clarkson sees no point in buying anything new. His Jaguar F-Type, bought secondhand for twenty thousand pounds, continues to perform admirably (minus the occasional creaky vent). At 65, he jokes, “Why would I sell it? It works, and I simply have no need for a new car.”
Clarkson’s views are, as ever, sharp and provocative. But whether he’s grumbling about touchscreens, cursing safety assistants, or pining for the heady days of glamour and real danger, he’s striking a nerve many car lovers feel too. The debate about cars—past, present, and future—shows no signs of shutting off its engine, even if electric cars try to silence it.
John is a curious mind who loves to write about diverse topics. Passionate about sharing his thoughts and perspectives, he enjoys sparking conversations and encouraging discovery. For him, every subject is an invitation to discuss and learn.
