A few weeks ago, the BBC's new season of Top Gear debuted, complete with a brand new cast (and an online addition, Extra Gear). We weren't too impressed with the premiere, suggesting that it was time for the broadcaster to think outside its (gear)box. But three episodes in, we're happy to relay that the rebuilt transmission appears to be bedding in, and things are looking up. And even better, Chris Harris and Neil Carey will be working together again to produce more of the long-form car videos beloved by car nerds on the Internet.

Back to the main event. After the stilted and at times boring season opener, Top Gear appears to be finding its feet (tires?). We got to see Sabine Schmitz make Chris Evans lose his breakfast—strawberries, in case you were curious—by lapping Laguna Seca in an Audi R8. Harris also made his first appearance on the big show, driving a Ferrari 250 Tour de France back to back with its new descendent, the F12 TdF. Rory Reid gave us a great piece on the Ford Focus RS, a car that apparently anyone can drift like the Stig. (We'll be putting that to the test next month when Ford lets us drive the Focus RS, and the company is even bringing one of the former Stigs along to offer some tuition.)

We also got to see the piece that caused a media scandal in the UK earlier this year. Months before Top Gear's new season started, the show was making negative headlines after Ken Block (the hoonatic with a billion YouTube views) showed off his drifting skills in London. Burning rubber and doing donuts within sight of the Cenotaph (a war memorial) did not go down well with UK "Red Tops" that were already on the hunt for bad news about Top Gear.

We're still on the fence when it comes to the studio guests and the reworked Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment. Packing two guests into the same segment feels a little odd, but studio guests with something to plug are a prerequisite for a light entertainment show on the BBC.

Extra Gear (the online-only bonus show) also offered us an interesting look at how Top Gear produces those car videos. The rest of us making car videos on the Internet can only dream of having those kinds of resources! However, as the aforementioned Harris and Carey have ably demonstrated, you don't actually need a crew of 15 to turn out great content.

Chris Harris on Cars built up a very strong fanbase online with their in-depth videos which usually run 15-20 minutes, a lot longer than Top Gear can devote to a single car. His departure from NBC's /Drive was sorely felt, and the promise of new videos from the duo evaporated once he signed on to Top Gear—or so we thought. On Tuesday, Top Gear announced Harris and Carey would be getting back in touch with their Web roots.

"Obviously I’m thrilled to be making beautiful films like the F12 TdF piece for the Top Gear television show, but the longer-form, more detailed Web films I’ve made with Neil Carey over the years remain my natural format," Harris told Top Gear's website. "Broadcasting them through TG’s huge online audience is a dream come true. If you want to know even more technical details about cars, hear more in-depth analysis, I hope we’ll be the perfect destination. I want the films to be just as they were on Chris Harris on Cars—with added slow-motion slides."

The new series of more in-depth videos featuring "Monkey Harris" behind the wheel will run exclusively online at topgear.com. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see them.