"And don't drive like MY brother..."

[Jar]

http://www.npr.org/2014/11/03/357428...alk-dies-at-77

I think I'll have to accept that NPR isn't really that popular these days.

These days, podcasts seem to better fill the need to get independent radio personalities "on-air", and the need for a national broadcast organization to produce oddball and sometimes political voices over the airwaves is swiftly eroding away. Maybe for the best. I don't really know.

What I do know is this: Car Talk owns.

Before I ever knew or cared what a throttle body was, I listened to Tom and Ray (or, Click and Clack) answer calls from mostly clueless car owners. Car owners wondering what that noise from the driver's side wheelwell was, why their brakes were so damn loud, or why their AC stopped working after that god-awful smell started filling the cabin.

On a particularly good day, they could even con the caller into attempting to re-produce the noise on-air.

Car Talk fostered my love for cars starting at a pretty young age (I'm nearly 40, now), and I honestly can't imagine having grow up without it. I learned so much just listening, but mostly I learned that it's okay to love your car and be completely clueless about it at the same time.

As a faithful listener I've heard these guys re-assure college grads about their prospects, give honeymoon advice, offer to be hitmen, all manner of things. What I've never heard once is this; them making a caller feel stupid (even if the caller was asking a particularly stupid question).

These guys knew their shit. They were both brilliant MIT grads, but you'd never really know it from their demeanor. I've heard from those more knowledgeable about cars than I (granted, not exactly a high bar) that they weren't the most informed mechanics on the block, but it really didn't matter. Fixing the caller's actual car problems was rarely the goal.

They knew radio, and they the one thing that connected most of their callers: their cars. This connected most of their listeners too, apparently, as Car Talk was the one thing I could tune into on any long drive and everybody in the car would be cracking up within minutes. Everybody just connected to some part of that show. It was phenomenal.

If you've never given car talk a listen, you should. Most of their episodes are available to listen to on their website, www.cartalk.com. Or you can pick up regular re-runs via any podcast app.

But whatever you do, don't drive like my bother.

[8R6]

Originally Posted by Jar

... What I've never heard once is this; them making a caller feel stupid (even if the caller was asking a particularly stupid question).
...

i definitely give them this credit and major props for doing so. however, maybe it's just me, but i've tried listening to the show several times, and i can't get myself to enjoy the show. it does have its moments, but i just cant get myself to enjoy and listen one entire show :/

[bcj]

Cheech & Chong

from the Car Talk Tom M. Gallery pages



Never got along with the puzzler shtick, otherwise pretty OK.

"Mud bugs in the gas line lady."

[Hot Lava]

They helped me to realize that a clutch makes a poor brake. They called hard downshifting to decelerate instead of using the brakes "testosterone talk".

[Ultramaroon]

Among other things, they taught me that resting one's hand on the gearshift means slow painful death for the transmission.

RIP, Tom.

Originally Posted by Jar

But whatever you do, don't drive like my brother.

...and don't drive like my brother!

[Thrilled]

My dad and I would take long rides into the mountains for ATV trips and we had ALL of the various NPR stations programmed into the radio so we could channel surf to keep up with the show while passing through various broadcast areas. Good memories and actually a lot of good learning. It was always fun to predict the suggested "advice" whether it was legit or just for humor.

[torqdork]

A touching eulogy Jar, thanks for posting.

[Brendiggy]

So it goes....