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Weekly Recap: Revisting the BBC report that ended Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear run

Jeremy Clarkson's long run as a Top Gear host has come to an end, and the reason is clear: His physical assault on one of the show's producers crossed a line, and the government-owned BBC couldn't tolerate it. The incident between Clarkson and Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon was initially described as a "fracas," and Clarkson was suspended. But his popularity and widespread support – even British Prime Minister David Cameron weighed in – suggested that the controversial Clarkson might be given yet another chance. The BBC put this to rest Wednesday when it sacked Clarkson and revealed the findings of its investigation. The report spelled out how Clarkson struck Tymon on the patio of a North Yorkshire (UK) hotel, leaving him with a bloodied, swollen lip. It was severe enough that the producer sought medical treatment. During and after the attack, Clarkson shouted expletives at Tymon and threatened to fire him. The noise carried into the hotel's dining room and even to a bedroom. Local police investigated the incident, but Tymon isn't pressing charges. The huge audience numbers, Clarkson's popularity and the high-octane excitement of Top Gear all melted away in the eyes of BBC director-general Tony Hall, who saw an attacker and a victim. "For me a line has been crossed," he said in a statement. "There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations." In that moment, Clarkson was the bad guy, though he was actually the one who reported it to the network and made repeated attempts to apologize to Tymon. He's also urged the media to leave the producer alone. Hall voiced regret in the statement that announced Clarkson's contract would not be renewed, but the BBC decided to move on. Rumors are swirling about possible replacements for Clarkson. The network says it wants to continue Top Gear in 2016 and is looking to air the rest of this season's episodes. Despite the controversy, the show has a global audience of 350 million viewers and is one of the BBC's most valuable properties. It's unclear what Clarkson's co-hosts, James May and Richard Hammond, will do, as their contracts were also reportedly up to be renewed. Other News & Notes 2016 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid charges up with Volt technology Chevrolet is taking some of the learnings and technologies from the 2016 Volt and dropping them into the reborn Malibu hybrid.

Sunday Drive: Trucks and SUVs of all shapes and sizes

The American automotive marketplace is dominated by trucks and SUVs, and so was the last week of coverage on Autoblog. By far, the most popular story of the week was our First Drive of the 2018 Lincoln Navigator. It may look like an old-school lumberer, but in reality Lincoln's flagship is a thoroughly modern, turbocharged-V6-powered, three-row, luxury people mover. The Jeep Wrangler is the world's most recognizable vehicle. So it's no surprise that the next version looks a whole heck of a lot like the last one, and the one before. It's all in the details, which is why we were so excited when Jeep decided to unleash a trio of images showing both two- and four-door Wranglers for us to dissect ahead of the SUV's official debut at the L.A. Auto Show later this year. Past that, spy photos of the next Chevy Silverado and Ram 1500 were predictably popular. See both of those below, and the cap it all off, check out the entire week's worth of SEMA coverage – including the bonkers Hennessey VelociRaptor 6x6 – in our mega image gallery at the bottom of this post. Enjoy! As always, tune in to Autoblog next week for a front-row seat to all the happenings worth following in the automotive industry. 2018 Lincoln Navigator First Drive | From black sheep to flagship 2018 Jeep Wrangler revealed: First photos released before L.A. Auto Show debut 2019 Chevy Silverado looks slim and clean beneath the camo 2019 Ram 1500 gets vertical touchscreen infotainment system 2017 SEMA Show Mega Photo Gallery Chevrolet Jeep Lincoln RAM Truck SUV recap sunday drive

High-tech, remote-controlled Golden Sahara II custom car going for auction

Imagine a vehicle with automatic braking, remote operation, self-opening doors and a big screen on the dash. You're probably imaging a Tesla Model X, but we're actually talking about a car called the Golden Sahara II, a custom car originally built in the 1950s, and it's going for auction at Mecum's event in Indianapolis. According to Mecum, this custom car started out as a 1953 Lincoln Capri owned by George Barris, the man who created the original Batmobile. He didn't have it long before it ended up in a crash that led him to use it for a major custom project. He teamed up James Skonzakes, known as Jim Street, to create and pay for the build. In 1954, the car was finished with wild body work, actual 24-karat gold-plated exterior trim and a pearlescent gold paint created from fish scales. It carried the name of Golden Sahara, and it cost $25,000 to build. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In 1956, Street decided to invest a whole lot more into the car. He sent it to a shop in Dayton, Ohio where it was fitted with a myriad of high-tech features. These included a central control stick that could operate the throttle, steering and braking, push-button steering controls on the dashboard for both the driver and the passenger, a remote control for moving it slowly and for opening the doors. It had sonar antennae at the front for automatic braking, a TV in the center stack, a radio, a phone, and even a cocktail cabinet in the back and mink carpeting. All of these features were on display when Street appeared with the car on the TV show I've Got a Secret, seen above, as well as in a period news story in which Street's wife demonstrated the features including the light-up wheels and tires for turn signals. That clip is visible below. The total cost of the car, now called Golden Sahara II, was $75,000. Adjusted for inflation, that's nearly $700,000. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Eventually, Street stopped showing the Golden Sahara II, but he never got rid of it. It was recently found in his garage, and the car will finally go for auction in May at Mecum's Indianapolis auction. The car will be sold in unrestored condition, which looks to be fairly rough, but savable. It appears the remotes are still there, too. The car will be auctioned with no reserve, so it will have a new owner.