I agree with you RC45. But sometimes you have to wonder why they can have shows like Jackass but not Top Gear or 5th Gear. With the kind of budget american tv stations have, you would expect a car show done in a hollywood manner. Don't have to add all the explosives but some Tiff driving would do
If you look at speed channel's "Test Drive" infomercials, they do let the car loose on the track (with factory's permission I'm sure) and powerslide things from sports cars to pick-up trucks. It's not that they can't do it, but whether they have the commitment to.
My €0.02 (instead of $0.02)
