I remember when Top Gear was basically the magazine, yes. Didn't do much for me then, either. Very consumer oriented and I really wasn't interested in how spacious the boot in a Daiwoo Diphtheria was, to be honest. There were tons of people in and out then, Tiff Needell comes to mind as admittedly the only name I recall anymore.

Fast forward to the era I did enjoy, one of my favourite episodes though, was the race between "Tornado", a Jaguar 120, and a Vincent Black Shadow from London to Edinburgh. The Mideast special culminating in finding the Baby Stig in the manger, just a bunch of them I could recite.

Great stuff!