US TOP GEAR hosts officially announced

BURBANK, Calif. — There's an interesting three-man cast for the U.S. version of Top Gear, the famous British car show, NBC has announced. Production is set to start this month with comedian and radio personality Adam Carolla, Eric Stromer and Tanner Foust at the helm. BBC America is producing the program for the U.S. An on-air date was not yet released.

NBC Entertainment executive Craig Plestis calls Top Gear "a proven winner worldwide" and says the trio of hosts is "a perfect match of humor, insider know-how and priceless track experience." The hosts will be shown on road trips, test-drives and stunt events involving "the world's most amazing cars," BBC America says.

The BBC2 program Top Gear has been on the air since 1977 and is digitally available in 100 countries.

Carolla is currently host of the Los Angeles-based syndicated radio show The Adam Carolla Show on KLSX-FM. He has also been on Comedy Central and MTV programs including The Man Show and Loveline and bills himself as a car collector with possessions including an Audi S4 and "several" Lamborghinis.

Foust is a stunt driver who has appeared in The Dukes of Hazzard, The Bourne Ultimatum, and other action films and who was the 2007 X Games Rally champion and the 2007 Formula Drift Pro Drift champion. He was the host of the program SuperCars Exposed on the Speed cable channel and says "a tricked-out [BMW] M3" is his personal "car of choice."

Stromer's car credentials are murkier. He hosted the HGTV channel's Over Your Head program and appears on the Clean Sweep program on TLC and has a background in construction. His preferred ride is a Toyota Camry Hybrid, he says.

What this means to you: The sun may never again set on the Top Gear empire. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent