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{{short description|Long-running NPR talk show}}
{{Infobox Radio Show
{{redirect|Third Half|the Macedonian film|The Third Half}}
{{use mdy dates |date=April 2020 }}
{{Infobox radio show
| show_name = Car Talk | show_name = Car Talk
| image = Car_Talk.gif | image = Car Talk Logo.svg
| imagesize = | imagesize = 170px
| caption = | caption =
| format = Automotive repair/advice | format = Automotive repair/advice,<br />Humor
| audio_format = | audio_format = ]
| record_location = | record_location = ]
| runtime = 1 hour | runtime = approx. 50 min
| creator = | creator =
| executive_producer = Doug Berman
| developer =
| presenter = ]<br />]
| producer = Doug "The Subway Fugitive", "Not a Slave to Fashion", "Bongo Boy", "Frogman" Berman
| executive_producer =
| starring = ] and ] Magliozzi
| narrated =
| opentheme = "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by ] | opentheme = "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by ]
| endtheme = | othertheme = {{Plainlist|
* "Dixie Flyer" (intermission) by ]
| country = {{flagicon|United States}} ]
* "Stump the Chumps" by ]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100788 | title=BJ Leiderman, NPR Biography | publisher=] (NPR) | access-date= 2007-04-25}}</ref>
| language = ]
}}
| home_station = ]
| syndicates = ] | country = United States
| first_aired = 1977 | language = English
| last_aired = | home_station = ]
| syndicates = ] (NPR)
| num_episodes =
| website = http://www.cartalk.com | first_aired = 1977 (WBUR-FM); 1987 (nationally)
| podcast = | last_aired = 2012 (original episodes)
| website = {{URL|http://www.cartalk.com/}}
| podcast =
}} }}
'''''Car Talk''''' is a ] ] broadcast weekly on ] stations throughout the ] and elsewhere. Its subjects are cars and car repair, and it often takes humorous turns.


'''''Car Talk''''' is a ] for the humorous work of "Click and Clack, the ] Brothers", ] on automobile repair. Originally, ''Car Talk'' was a radio show that ran on ] (NPR) from 1977 until October 2012, when the Magliozzi brothers retired.<ref name=Obit>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-tom-magliozzi-20141104-story.html|title=Tom Magliozzi dies at 77; co-host with brother of NPR's popular 'Car Talk'|date=November 4, 2014|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Since their retirement, the oeuvre now includes a website,<ref></ref> and a podcast of reruns that is currently hosted by Apple Podcasts, NPR Podcasts, and Sticher.<ref></ref> The ''Car Talk'' radio show was honored with a ] in 1992,<ref>{{cite web |title=Car Talk |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/car-talk/ |website=Peabody Awards |publisher=University of Georgia |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> and the Magliozzis were both inducted into the ] in 2014<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.radiohof.org/car_talk.htm |title=Car Talk |date=2017 |publisher=National Radio Hall of Fame |access-date=January 9, 2017 |archive-date=January 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110162628/http://www.radiohof.org/car_talk.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the ] in 2018.<ref>Isidore, Chris (April 25, 2018). . CNN. Accessed February 22, 2023.</ref>
As a call-in radio show, listeners call in with ]-related questions. The majority of callers are seeking advice of a diagnostic nature. The hosts, ] and ] (aka Click and Clack, the ] Brothers) listen to the caller describe the symptoms of his or her malfunctioning car, often asking them to replicate strange sounds, then attempt to identify the cause of the malfunction. While the hosts pepper their call-in sessions with jokes directed at both the caller and at themselves, their knowledge of automobiles is extensive and they are usually able to arrive at a diagnosis and give helpful advice.


==Premise==
Ray continually gives out the toll-free number (1-888-CAR-TALK, or 1-888-227-8255) encouraging listeners to call in with their car troubles, which gives the impression that questions are taken on the fly. The number in fact connects to a 24-hour voice mail system. The Car Talk staff reviews the approximately 2,000 messages it receives each week and selects a variety that includes callers from different parts of the country with different kinds of cars and kinds of problems. However, according to the , Tom and Ray don't know the questions in advance: "That would entail researching the right answer, which is what? Work..." Callers to the show confirm this. The producers select and contact the callers a few days ahead of taping (usually on a Wednesday) to arrange the segment. The caller (who is actually the ''callee'') briefly talks to a producer until they're connected with Tom and Ray, and is given little coaching, except to be prepared to talk and to "have fun." The segments are edited (mostly for time) before broadcast.
''Car Talk'' was presented in the form of a call-in radio show: listeners called in with questions related to motor vehicle maintenance and repair. Most of the advice sought was diagnostic, with callers describing symptoms and demonstrating sounds of an ailing vehicle while the Magliozzis made an attempt to identify the malfunction over the telephone and give advice on how to fix it. While the hosts peppered their call-in sessions with jokes directed at both the caller and at themselves, the Magliozzis were usually able to arrive at a diagnosis. However, when they were stumped, they attempted anyway with an answer they claimed was "unencumbered by the thought process", the official motto of the show.<ref>{{cite web |title=NPR Store Unencumbered by the thought process |url=http://shop.npr.org/wear/clothing/car-talk-unencumbered-latin-t-shirt | publisher=] (NPR) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912074149/http://shop.npr.org/wear/clothing/car-talk-unencumbered-latin-t-shirt |archive-date=September 12, 2014 }}</ref>


Edited reruns are carried on ] (now ]) via both the Public Radio and NPR Now channels.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.siriusxm.com/siriusxmpublicradio/weeklyschedule | title=Sirius XM's Public Radio Schedule | publisher=Sirius XM Radio | access-date=January 27, 2014 | archive-date=December 31, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231062805/http://www.siriusxm.com/siriusxmpublicradio/weeklyschedule | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.siriusxm.com/nprnow/weeklyschedule | title=Sirius XM's NPR Now Schedule | publisher=Sirius XM Radio | access-date=January 27, 2014 | archive-date=December 31, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231045629/http://www.siriusxm.com/nprnow/weeklyschedule | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=NPR's Car Talk Listeners Pick Ugliest New Car|url=https://www.npr.org/about/press/050409.uglycar.html|quote=Car Talk is public radio's most popular entertainment program, airing on nearly 600 stations with more than 4.4 million listeners a week tuning in for an hour-long tune-up on car advice and humor.|publisher=] (NPR)|year=2005|access-date=2010-12-07|archive-date=November 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113174142/http://www.npr.org/about/press/050409.uglycar.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=NPR Programs Attract Record-Breaking Audiences Public Radio Listenership at All-Time High | url=https://www.npr.org/about/press/020319.recordbreak.html | quote=Growth in the NPR news/talk audience outpaced similar gains realized by commercial news/talk radio. | publisher=] (NPR) | year=2002 | access-date=2008-12-17 | archive-date=December 24, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224022041/http://www.npr.org/about/press/020319.recordbreak.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
''Car Talk'' was first broadcast on WBUR in ] in 1977. It was picked up nationally by NPR ten years later. For most of its national run, ''Car Talk'' has been the highest-rated and most financially successful program on public radio in the US. NPR reports that it is heard on more than 370 stations by an audience of more than 2 million people each week.


The ''Car Talk'' ] is "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by ] artist ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cartalk.com/content/music-show-4|title=Music on the Show|date=2011-05-24|access-date=April 23, 2012|archive-date=March 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326180837/http://www.cartalk.com/content/music-show-4|url-status=live}}</ref>
''Car Talk''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s ] is "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by ].


== Hosts == ===Call-in procedure===
Throughout the program, listeners were encouraged to dial the ], 1-888-CAR-TALK (1-888-227-8255), which connected to a 24-hour answering service. Although the approximately 2,000 queries received each week were screened by the ''Car Talk'' staff, the questions were unknown to the Magliozzis in advance as "that would entail researching the right answer, which is what? ...&nbsp;Work."<ref name=faq>{{cite news|url=http://www.cartalk.com/content/faq/faq-straight.html |title=Car Talk Official FAQs |publisher=Car Talk |access-date=2007-04-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403211725/http://www.cartalk.com/content/faq/faq-straight.html#17 |archive-date=April 3, 2007 }}</ref>
''Car Talk''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s hosts are brothers ] and ] (aka, "Click and Clack, The Tappet Brothers"), two long-time ]s. Ray Magliozzi has a degree in general science from ], while Tom has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from MIT, an ], and a ] from the ].


===<span class="anchor" id="ThirdHalf"></span> Features===
The duo, usually led by Ray, are known for rants on the evils of the ], people who talk on ] while driving, ]s, women named Donna (who always seem to drive ]s), the use (or misuse) of the ], and just about anything else, including themselves. They have a laid-back humorous approach to cars, car repair, ]s, pets, lawyers, car repair mechanics, ]s, and most everything else. They often cast a critical insider's eye (jaundiced, mostly) toward the auto industry. Tom and Ray are committed to the values of defensive driving and environmentalism. In the late ] they pioneered an effort to rid the world of ] pronunciations of words, intentionally pronouncing many words phonetically such as "Chev-ro-let" for ].
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2014}}


The show originally consisted of two segments with a break in between but was changed to three segments. After the shift to the three-segment format, it became a running joke to refer to the last segment as "the third half" of the program.
Click and Clack operate the "Good News Garage" in ] just a few blocks north of the MIT campus. Their offices are located nearby at the corner of JFK St. and Brattle St. in ], marked as "Dewey, Cheetham and Howe", the imaginary law firm they reference on-air.


The show opened with a short comedy segment, typically jokes sent in by listeners, followed by eight call-in sessions. The hosts ran a contest called the "Puzzler", in which a riddle, sometimes car-related, was presented. The answer to the previous week's "Puzzler" was given at the beginning of the "second half" of the show, and a new "Puzzler" was given at the start of the "third half". The hosts gave instructions to listeners to write answers addressed to "Puzzler Tower" on some non-existent or expensive object, such as a "$26 bill" or an advanced digital ] camera. This gag initially started as suggestions that the answers be written "on the back of a $20 bill". A ] concerned Tom's inability to remember the previous week's "Puzzler" without heavy prompting from Ray. During a tribute show following Tom's death in 2014 due to complications of Alzheimer's disease, Ray joked, "I guess he wasn't joking about not being able to remember the puzzler all those years." For each puzzler, one correct answer was chosen at random, with the winner receiving a $26 gift certificate to the ''Car Talk'' store, referred to as the "Shameless Commerce Division".<ref>; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127192040/http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ |date=January 27, 2011 }}, ''Car Talk'' website</ref> It was originally $25, but was increased for inflation after a few years. Originally, the winner received a specific item from the store, but it soon changed to a gift certificate to allow the winner to choose the item they wanted (though Tom often made an item suggestion).
The two were commencement speakers at MIT in 1999.


A recurring feature was "Stump the Chumps," in which the hosts revisited a caller from a previous show to determine the accuracy and the effect, if any, of their advice. A similar feature began in May 2001, "Where Are They Now, Tommy?" It began with a comical musical theme with a sputtering, backfiring car engine and a horn as a backdrop. Tom then announced who the previous caller was, followed by a short replay of the essence of the previous call, preceded and followed by harp music often used in other audiovisual media to indicate recalling and returning from a dream. The hosts then greeted the previous caller, confirmed that they had not spoken since their previous appearance and asked them if there had been any influences on the answer they were about to relate, such as arcane bribes by the NPR staff. The repair story was then discussed, followed by a fanfare and applause if the Tappet Brothers' diagnosis was correct, or a wah-wah-wah music piece mixed with a car starter operated by a weak battery (an engine which wouldn't start) if the diagnosis was wrong. The hosts then thanked the caller for their return appearance.
In 2006, Tom and Ray Magliozzi voiced Rusty and Dusty Rust-Eze (previous names were Clink and Clunk), a 1963 ] V1.0 and a 1963 ] van respectively, in the film '']''. (Tommy notoriously once owned a green Dodge Dart, known as the "Dartre".)


The brothers also had an official Animal-Vehicle Biologist and Wildlife Guru named Kieran Lindsey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://search.vt.edu/search/person.html?person=1376104 |title=Kieran Lindsey - People Search &#124; Virginia Tech |work=Search.vt.edu |access-date=2012-08-09 |quote=Kieran Jane Lindsey; Director, Natural Resources Distance Learning Corsortium, College of Natural Resources & Env. |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606065644/http://search.vt.edu/search/person.html?person=1376104 |url-status=live }}</ref> She answered questions like "How do I remove a snake from my car?" and offered advice on how those living in cities and suburbs could reconnect with wildlife.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Girl Scouts: Beyond Campfires and Cookies |url=http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2011/10/girl-scouts-beyond-campfires-and-cookie/ |work=] |publisher=] professors Wolfgang Rueckner and Jim E. Davis for questions concerning physics and chemistry, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051501401.html|website=WashingtonPost.com|title=Click & Clack: A Real Humdinger|date=May 17, 2009|first1=Tom|last1=Magliozzi|first2=Ray|last2=Magliozzi|first3=Doug|last3=Berman|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=January 31, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131215029/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051501401.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2001/12/harvard-gazette-goodbye-mr-chips-2/|title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips|date=December 13, 2001|work=The Garvard Gazette|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812032824/https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2001/12/harvard-gazette-goodbye-mr-chips-2/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/12/11/chemistry-senior-lecturer-retires-after-15/|title=Chemistry Senior Lecturer Retires After 15 Years|work=The Harvard Crimson|first=Benjamin D.|last=Margo|date=December 11, 2001|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812032823/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/12/11/chemistry-senior-lecturer-retires-after-15/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Features==
A recurring feature is "Stump the Chumps", in which Tom and Ray revisit (or "dig up") a caller from a previous show and find out what effect, if any, their advice has had (assuming the caller followed it at all).


{{Anchor|famous_callers}} There were numerous appearances from NPR personalities, including ], ], ], ], ], ], and commentator and author ]. On one occasion, the show featured ] as an in-studio guest, whom the Magliozzis twice during the segment referred to as "Margaret". Celebrities and public figures were featured as "callers" as well, including ], ], ], ], former ] pitcher ], journalist ], and ] ].
A similar feature was started in May 2001 and called "Where Are They Now, Tommy?" Like "Stump the Chumps", they revisited a previous caller; but the difference with "Where Are They Now...?" was best described by Tom as "an excuse to talk to some of the previous wack jobs we've had on the show." The feature was short-lived, lasting only a few months.


====Space program calls====
Celebrities have been callers as well. Examples include ], ], ], ], and astronaut ] from the ]. There have been numerous appearances from NPR personalities, including ], ], ], ], ], ], and commentator/author ]. On one occasion, the show featured an in-studio guest: ], whom Click and Clack called "Margaret" twice.
Astronaut and engineer John Grunsfeld called into the show during ] mission ] in January 1997, in which '']'' docked to the ]. In this call he complained about the performance of his serial-numbered, ]-manufactured "government van". To wit, it would run very loud and rough for about two minutes, quieter and smoother for another six and a half, and then the engine would stop with a jolt. He went on to state that the brakes of the vehicle, when applied, would glow red-hot, and that the vehicle's ] displayed "about 60 million miles". This created some consternation for the hosts, until they noticed the audio of Grunsfeld's voice, being relayed from Mir via ] satellite, sounded similar to that of ] in the then-recent film ], after which they realized the call was from space and the government van in question was, in fact, the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2024/09/21/1200780641/best-of-car-talk-draft-09-21-2024|title=#2476: Houston, We Have a Problem!|publisher=NPR|access-date=October 19, 2024}}</ref>


In addition to the on-orbit call, the Brothers once received a call asking advice on winterizing an ]. When they asked what kind of car, the caller stated it was a "kit car", a $400 million "kit car". It was a joke call from ]'s ] concerning the preparation of the Mars ] for the oncoming Martian winter, during which temperatures drop to several hundred degrees below freezing.<ref>{{cite web | title=Winter Driving Tips. From Mars. | website=Car Talk | date=November 13, 2013 | url=https://www.cartalk.com/content/winter-driving-tips-mars | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221701/https://www.cartalk.com/content/winter-driving-tips-mars | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=#9703: Lost in Space | website=Car Talk | date=May 14, 2011 | url=https://www.cartalk.com/radio/show/9703-lost-space | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221637/https://www.cartalk.com/radio/show/9703-lost-space | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Humor and other quirks==


Click and Clack have also been featured in editorial cartoons, including one where a befuddled NASA engineer called them to ask how to fix the ].{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}
For years (perhaps since the beginning), Tom and Ray would take a break at approximately the half-hour mark of the show. More recently, two breaks divide the show into approximately 20-minute segments referred to as the "three halves" of the show.


===Humor===
The show opens with a comedic monologue, followed by eight call-in sessions. During the winter shows, they run a contest called the "Puzzler", in which a puzzle (sometimes car-related, often not) is presented. The answer to the previous week's Puzzler is given during the second half of the show, and a new puzzler is given during the third half. Often the hosts tell listeners to write answers to the Puzzler (which is to be addressed to "Puzzler Tower") on non-existent or expensive objects, such as a 26-dollar bill or an advanced ] digital camera. ("Write it on the back of a $20 bill" in past years.) In reality, they have received answers on objects as unlikely as a dead fish.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2013}}


Humor and wisecracking pervaded the program. Tom and Ray are known for their ], often joking about the supposedly poor quality of their advice and the show in general. They also commented at the end of each show: "Well, it's happened again—you've wasted another perfectly good hour listening to ''Car Talk''."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ruhl|first=Chris|date=June 16, 2011|title=As Read: Wasting Another Perfectly Good Hour|url=https://www.cartalk.com/radio/letter/wasting-another-perfectly-good-hour-0|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922112424/https://www.cartalk.com/radio/letter/wasting-another-perfectly-good-hour-0 |archive-date=September 22, 2020 |access-date=February 3, 2021|website=Car Talk|language=en}}</ref>
The humor of ''Car Talk'' also extends into the end credits. The show is produced under the Magliozzis' corporate banner, ], a common ]. After listing (and lampooning) the actual staff of ''Car Talk'' (including their producer, Doug "The Subway Fugitive", "Not a Slave to Fashion", "Bongo Boy", "Frogman" Berman), the brothers list a long series of unusual names. "Paul Murky of Murky Research", assisted by statistician "Marge Innovera" and their Russian chauffeur Picov Andropov are only a few of a long series of perennial "staffers" in the ''Car Talk'' credits.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}


The phrase "our fair city" was introduced during a puzzler segment on the radio show. Ray presented a puzzler involving a well-dressed man who referred to a city as "your fair city." Tom found the phrase amusing and began using it humorously to refer to ], where the show was based. This playful reference quickly became a running joke on the show, with the hosts frequently referring to Cambridge as "our fair city" in subsequent episodes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Magliozzi |first1=Ray |title=A Funny Story About 'Our Fair City' |url=https://www.cartalk.com/cars-content/dear-cartalk/a-funny-story-about-our-fair-city |website=Cartalk.com |access-date=8 December 2024}}</ref> In another episode Ray mentioned ], at which point Tom reverently interjected with a tone of civic pride, "Our fair city". Ray invariably mocked {{"'}}Cambridge, MA', the United States Postal Service's two-letter abbreviation for 'Massachusetts{{'"}}, by pronouncing the "MA" as a word.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}. This also became a running gag.
At the end of almost every show, Ray warns the audience not to drive like his brother, who in turn warns them not to drive like ''his'' brother. There have been variations—such as "Don't drive like my sister"..."and don't drive like ''my'' sister." Click and Clack used this signature phrase in a cameo for the ] film '']'', in which Tom and Ray voiced anthropomorphized vehicles with personalities similar to their own on-air personae.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}


Preceding each break in the show, one of the hosts led up to the network identification with a humorous take on a disgusted reaction of some usually famous person to hearing that identification. The full line went along the pattern of, for example, "And even though ] stabs his radio with a syringe whenever he hears ''us'' say it, this is NPR: National Public Radio" (later just "...&nbsp;this is NPR").{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}
==Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe==
{{main|Dewey, Cheatem & Howe}}
], ]. The name can be seen on the office's third floor window.]]
'''Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe''' is another business name for "Tappet Brothers Associates," the corporation established to manage the business end of the ''Car Talk'' syndicated radio show. Initially a joke (the name is pronounced the same as "Do we cheat 'em? And how!"), the company soon took on reality as ''Car Talk'' expanded from a single station (] in Boston) to an ]-syndicated national show.


At one point in the show, often after the break, Ray usually stated that: "Support for this show is provided by," followed by an absurd fundraiser.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}
The DC&H corporate offices are located on a third-floor office, directly above the corner of Brattle and JFK Streets, in ], ]. The office is clearly visible from the square and, like the show, is a perennial source of amusement to the denizens of Cambridge.


The ending credits of the show started with thanks to the colorfully nicknamed actual staffers: producer Doug "the subway fugitive, not a slave to fashion, bongo boy frogman" Berman;<ref>{{cite news| url=http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2018445674_edit17talk.html| title=Tom and Ray, the Tappet Brothers, are exhausted| date=2012-06-16| newspaper=The Seattle Times| access-date=2013-08-03| archive-date=December 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224092239/http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2018445674_edit17talk.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> "John 'Bugsy' Lawlor, just back from the&nbsp;..." every week a different eating event with rhyming foodstuff names; David "Calves of Belleville" Greene;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cartalk.com/content/music-show-0 |title=Music on the Show |publisher=cartalk.com |access-date=2012-03-24 |date=2011-05-24 |archive-date=April 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411210535/http://www.cartalk.com/content/music-show-0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Catherine "]" Fenollosa, whose name caused a horse to neigh and gallop (an allusion to a running gag in the movie '']'');<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cartalk.com/content/help-us-help-henry-2010-1 |title=Help Us Help Henry 2010 |publisher=cartalk.com |access-date=2012-03-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713071358/http://www.cartalk.com/content/help-us-help-henry-2010-1 |archive-date=2012-07-13 }}</ref> and Carly "High Voltage" Nix,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cartalk.com/content/whos-real-high-voltage-car-talk-plaza|title=Who's the real 'High Voltage' at Car Talk Plaza?|last=Nix|first=Carly|publisher=cartalk.com|access-date=2012-03-31|date=2012-02-02|archive-date=March 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330123623/http://www.cartalk.com/content/whos-real-high-voltage-car-talk-plaza|url-status=live}}</ref> among others. Following the real staff was a lengthy list of pun-filled fictional staffers and sponsors such as statistician Marge Innovera ("]"), customer care representative Haywood Jabuzoff ("Hey, would ya buzz off"), meteorologist Claudio Vernight ("cloudy overnight"), optometric firm C.&nbsp;F. Eye Care ("see if I care"), Russian chauffeur Picov Andropov ("pick up and drop off"), ] biographer Warren Peace ("]"), hygiene officer and chief of the Tokyo office Oteka Shawa ("oh, take a shower"), Swedish snowboard instructor Soren Derkeister ("sore in the keister"), law firm ] ("Do we cheat 'em? And how!"), Greek tailor Euripides Eumenades ("You rip-a these, you mend-a these"), cloakroom attendant Mahatma Coate ("My hat, my coat"), seat cushion tester Mike Easter (my keister) and many, many others, usually concluding with Erasmus B. Dragon ("Her ass must be draggin{{'"}}), whose job title varied, but who was often said to be head of the show's working mothers' support group.<ref name="credits">{{cite news | url=http://www.cartalk.com/content/about/credits/credits.html | title=Car Talk Credits | publisher=Car Talk | access-date=2007-04-15 | archive-date=August 6, 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040806113733/http://cartalk.com/content/about/credits/credits.html | url-status=live }}</ref> They sometimes advised that "our chief counsel from the law firm of Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe is Hugh Louis Dewey, known to a group of people in Harvard Square as Huey Louie Dewey." (] were the juvenile nephews being raised by ] in '']''.) Guest accommodations were provided by The Horseshoe Road Inn ("the horse you rode in").
== External links ==
*
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*
*
{{wikiquote}}


At the end of the show, Ray warns the audience, "Don't drive like my brother!" to which Tom replies, "And don't drive like ''my'' brother!" The original tag line was "Don't drive like a knucklehead!" There were variations such as, "Don't drive like my brother&nbsp;..." "And don't drive like his brother!" and "Don't drive like my sister&nbsp;..." "And don't drive like ''my'' sister!" The tagline was heard in the ] film '']'', in which Tom and Ray voiced ] vehicles (], respectively a 1963 ] and 1963 ] van, as ]'s racing ]) with personalities similar to their own on-air personae.<ref>{{IMDb title|0317219|Cars}}. Retrieved on June 25, 2007.</ref> Tom notoriously once owned a "convertible, green with large areas of rust!" Dodge Dart, known jokingly on the program by the faux-elegant name "Dartre".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/dart/ | title=1963 Dodge Dart test notes | publisher=Car Talk | access-date=2007-04-15 | archive-date=February 11, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211060826/http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/dart/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
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==History==
]
In 1977, radio station ] in ] scheduled a panel of local car mechanics to discuss car repairs on one of its programs, but only Tom Magliozzi showed up. He did so well that he was asked to return as a guest, and he invited his younger brother Ray (who was actually more of a car repair expert) to join him. The brothers were soon asked to host their own radio show on WBUR, which they continued to do every week. In 1986, NPR decided to distribute their show nationally.<ref name=Lumsden>{{cite news|title='Click and Clack': frick and frack gearheads|last=Lumsden|first=Carolyn|work=]|date=July 11, 1986|page=E19}}</ref><ref name="verge end">{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/30/16387168/car-talk-tom-ray-magliozzi-repairs-npr-radio-podcast-comedy | title = For 30 years, Car Talk was the best way to ''waste a perfectly good hour'' of your weekend | first = Andrew | last = Liptak | date = September 30, 2017 | access-date = September 30, 2017 | work = ] | archive-date = September 30, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170930161805/https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/30/16387168/car-talk-tom-ray-magliozzi-repairs-npr-radio-podcast-comedy | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 1989, the brothers started a newspaper column ''Click and Clack Talk Cars'' which, like the radio show, mixed serious advice with humor. ] distributes the column. Ray Magliozzi continues to write the column, retitled ''Car Talk'', after his brother's death in 2014, knowing he would have wanted the advice and humor to continue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/click-and-clack-talk-cars/|title=Car Talk|publisher=]|access-date=June 13, 2019|date=2011-06-08|archive-date=June 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611190922/http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/click-and-clack-talk-cars/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/click-and-clack-talk-cars/|title=Car Talk|publisher=]|access-date=2016-03-03|date=2011-06-08|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306153338/http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/click-and-clack-talk-cars/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1992, ''Car Talk'' won a ], saying "Each week, master mechanics Tom and Ray Magliozzi provide useful information about preserving and protecting our cars. But the real core of this program is what it tells us about human mechanics&nbsp;... The insight and laughter provided by Messrs. Magliozzi, in conjunction with their producer Doug Berman, provide a weekly mental tune-up for a vast and ever-growing public radio audience."<ref>{{cite web| url= http://peabodyawards.com/past-winners/award/?pbaward=999&pb_search=1&pb_title=&pb_year=&pb_porg=&pb_query=car%20talk| title= Car Talk| year= 1992| publisher= George Foster Peabody Awards| access-date= 2013-08-29| archive-date= November 4, 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104055149/http://www.peabodyawards.com/past-winners/award/?pbaward=999&pb_search=1&pb_title=&pb_year=&pb_porg=&pb_query=car%2520talk| url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name="verge end"/>

In 2005, Tom and Ray Magliozzi founded the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program, "as a way to give back to the stations that were our friends and partners for decades — and whose programs we listen to every day."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Public Radio's Most Trusted Car Donation Program|url=https://www.cartalk.com/car-donation/npr-car-donation/|access-date=2021-02-01|website=www.cartalk.com|language=en}}</ref> Since the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program was founded, over 40,000 vehicles have been donated to support local NPR stations and programs, with over $40 million donated. Approximately 70% of the proceeds generated go directly toward funding local NPR affiliates and programs.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Does Your Donated Car Help Public Radio|url=https://www.cartalk.com/car-donation/tips/how-does-your-donated-car-help-public-radio/|access-date=2021-02-01|website=www.cartalk.com|language=en|archive-date=October 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027042406/https://www.cartalk.com/car-donation/tips/how-does-your-donated-car-help-public-radio/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2012, it had 3.3 million listeners each week, on about 660 stations.<ref name=Bauder>{{cite news |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOCGFHXdRDFYjEtqQss6Z1jiCmtg?docId=a86195c0202f48b7962a89b1807dbd4f |title=NPR 'Car Talk' duo retiring; reruns to continue |first=David |last=Bauder |date=8 June 2012 |agency=] |access-date=15 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610175838/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOCGFHXdRDFYjEtqQss6Z1jiCmtg?docId=a86195c0202f48b7962a89b1807dbd4f |archive-date=2012-06-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On June 8, 2012, the brothers announced that they would no longer broadcast new episodes as of October. Executive producer Doug Berman said the best material from 25 years of past shows would be used to put together "repurposed" shows for NPR to broadcast. Berman estimated the archives contain enough for eight years' worth of material before anything would have to be repeated.<ref name=Bauder /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/06/08/154576808/car-talk-guys-are-retiring-but-their-best-stuff-will-be-rebroadcast |title=Car Talk Guys Are Retiring, But Their Best Stuff Will Be Rebroadcast |newspaper=NPR |date=June 8, 2012 |publisher=] (NPR) |last1=Memmott |first1=Mark |access-date=April 3, 2018 |archive-date=May 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502065516/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/06/08/154576808/car-talk-guys-are-retiring-but-their-best-stuff-will-be-rebroadcast |url-status=live }}</ref> Ray Magliozzi, however, would occasionally record new taglines and sponsor announcements that were aired at the end of the show.

The show was inducted into the ] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.radiohof.org/car_talk.htm |title=Car Talk |date=2017 |publisher=National Radio Hall Of Fame |access-date=January 9, 2017 |archive-date=January 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110162628/http://www.radiohof.org/car_talk.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Ray Magliozzi hosted a special ''Car Talk'' memorial episode for his brother Tom after he died in November 2014.

The ''Best of Car Talk'' episodes ended their weekly broadcast on NPR on September 30, 2017, although past episodes would continue availability online and via podcasts.<ref name="verge end" /><ref name="Rethink">{{cite web|url=https://current.org/2017/09/best-of-car-talk-keeps-running-as-stations-rethink-weekends/|title='Best of Car Talk' keeps running as stations rethink weekends|last=Falk|first=Tyler|work=]|date=2017-09-26|access-date=2017-10-06|archive-date=September 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927230955/https://current.org/2017/09/best-of-car-talk-keeps-running-as-stations-rethink-weekends/|url-status=live}}</ref> 120 of the 400 stations intended to continue airing the show. NPR announced one option for the time slot would be their new news-talk program '']''.<ref name="Rethink" />

On June 11, 2021, it was announced<ref name="facebook.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/cartalk/posts/10157697539666082|title=Announcement! Were ending our radio distribution of Car Talk, giving up the parking space to some new folk.|date=June 11, 2021| archive-url=http://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/10387251081/10157697539666082 | archive-date=2022-02-25 | url-status=live | url-access=limited | website=Car Talk on Facebook}}{{cbignore}}</ref> that radio distribution of ''Car Talk'' would officially end on October 1, 2021, and that NPR would begin distribution of a twice-weekly podcast that will be 35–40 minutes in length and include early versions of every show, in sequential order.<ref name="cartalk.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.cartalk.com/cars-content/car-talk-doubles-down-on-podcasting|title=Car Talk Doubles Down on Podcasting|date=September 2, 2021|website=Car Talk|access-date=September 4, 2021|archive-date=September 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904160209/https://www.cartalk.com/cars-content/car-talk-doubles-down-on-podcasting|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Hosts==
{{Main article|Tom and Ray Magliozzi}}
], ].]]
The Magliozzis were long-time ]s. Ray Magliozzi has a Bachelor of Science degree in humanities and science from ],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carpenter |first1=Susan |title=Hosts put the brakes on NPR's 'Car Talk' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-09-la-et-0609-car-talk-20120609-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=5 September 2019 |date=9 June 2012 |archive-date=September 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905011323/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jun-09-la-et-0609-car-talk-20120609-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> while Tom had a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from MIT, an ] from ], and a ] from the ].<ref name="mit news obituary">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Nancy |title="Car Talk" host Tom Magliozzi '58 left us laughing |url=https://news.mit.edu/2014/car-talk-host-tom-magliozzi-left-us-laughing-1105 |website=MIT News |date=November 5, 2014 |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918134115/https://news.mit.edu/2014/car-talk-host-tom-magliozzi-left-us-laughing-1105 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Magliozzis operated a do-it-yourself garage together in the 1970s which became more of a conventional repair shop in the 1980s. Ray continued to have a hand in the day-to-day operations of the shop for years, while his brother Tom semi-retired, often joking on ''Car Talk'' about his distaste for doing "actual work". The show's offices were located near their shop at the corner of JFK Street and Brattle Street in ], marked as "]", the imaginary law firm to which they referred on-air. DC&H doubled as the business name of Tappet Brothers Associates, the corporation established to manage the business end of ''Car Talk''. Initially a joke, the company was incorporated after the show expanded from a single station to national syndication.<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Car Talk |url=https://www.cartalk.com/content/history-car-talk |website=Car Talk |access-date=5 September 2019 |language=en |date=23 May 2011 |archive-date=September 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905011325/https://www.cartalk.com/content/history-car-talk |url-status=live }}</ref>

The two were ] at MIT in 1999.<ref name="NPR">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/11/03/357428287/tom-magliozzi-popular-co-host-of-nprs-car-talk-dies-at-77|title=Tom Magliozzi, Popular Co-Host Of NPR's 'Car Talk,' Dies At 77|last=Neary|first=Lynn|date=2014-11-03|publisher=] (NPR)|access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Past speakers - Commencement archive | publisher=] (MIT) | date=June 5, 2014 | url=https://commencement.mit.edu/archive/speakers | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221815/https://commencement.mit.edu/archive/speakers | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=London | first=Jay | title=A History of MIT Commencement Speakers | publisher=] (MIT) | date=June 5, 2014 | url=https://alum.mit.edu/slice/history-mit-commencement-speakers | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221612/https://alum.mit.edu/slice/history-mit-commencement-speakers | url-status=live }}</ref>

Executive producer Doug Berman said in 2012, "The guys are culturally right up there with ] and the ]. They will stand the test of time. People will still be enjoying them years from now. They're that good."<ref name=Bauder />

Tom Magliozzi died on November 3, 2014, at age 77, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.<ref name="NPR" /><ref>{{cite web | title=Tom Magliozzi Obituary | website=Car Talk | date=October 22, 2014 | url=https://www.cartalk.com/content/tom-magliozzi-obituary | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221726/https://www.cartalk.com/content/tom-magliozzi-obituary | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title='Car Talk' Co-Host Tom Magliozzi Dies At 77 | publisher=] (NPR) | date=November 3, 2014 | url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/11/03/360340663/car-talk-co-host-tom-magliozzi-dies-at-77 | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221754/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/11/03/360340663/car-talk-co-host-tom-magliozzi-dies-at-77 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/11/03/car-talk-star-tom-magliozzi-dies-at-77/18422639/ | title=Farewell: Car Talk's Tom Magliozzi left laughing | first1=Ann | last1=Oldenburg | first2=Maria | last2=Puente | work=] | date=November 3, 2014 | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221649/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/11/03/car-talk-star-tom-magliozzi-dies-at-77/18422639/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Tom Magliozzi, One Half of the Jovial Brothers on 'Car Talk,' Dies at 77 | work=] | date=November 4, 2014 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/business/media/tom-magliozzi-one-half-of-the-jovial-brothers-on-car-talk-dies-at-77.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/business/media/tom-magliozzi-one-half-of-the-jovial-brothers-on-car-talk-dies-at-77.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited | access-date=July 28, 2019 | first=Noam | last=Cohen}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
The show was the inspiration for the short-lived '']'', which briefly aired on CBS in the ] as a ].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/george-wendt/201634 | title=The George Wendt Show on CBS | newspaper=] | access-date=July 25, 2009 | archive-date=August 21, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821070034/http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/george-wendt/201634 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2007, PBS announced that it had ] an animated adaptation of ''Car Talk'', to air on prime-time in 2008.<ref>{{cite press release |url= http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-11-2007/0004623954&EDATE= |title=PBS Greenlights 'Car Talk' Television Series |date=2007-07-11 |access-date=2007-07-12}}</ref> The show, titled '']'', is based on the adventures of the fictional "Click and Clack" brothers' garage at "Car Talk Plaza". The ten episodes aired in July and August 2008.<ref>{{cite news |last=McDonough |first=Kevin |date=2008-07-09 |title=TV Guy: Cartoon series stars Click and Click |url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/LIFE/807090318 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020153901/http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/LIFE/807090318 |archive-date=October 20, 2008 |url-status=live |work=] |location=Middletown, New York |access-date=July 18, 2008}}</ref>

''Car Talk: The Musical!!!'' was written and directed by Wesley Savick, and composed by Michael Wartofsky. The adaptation was presented by ], and opened on March 31, 2011, at the Modern Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite news|work=] |url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2011/03/29/suffolk_players_get_a_lot_of_mileage_out_of_car_talk/ |title=Suffolk players get a lot of mileage out of 'Car Talk' |first=Joel |last=Brown |date=2011-03-29 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725155344/http://articles.boston.com/2011-03-29/ae/29360749_1_wizard-bitterness-magliozzis |archive-date=July 25, 2011 }}</ref> The play was not officially endorsed by the Magliozzis, but they participated in the production, lending their voices to a central puppet character named "The Wizard of Cahs".<ref>{{cite web |title=Suffolk University Presents ''Car Talk: The Musical!!!'' Closes 4/3 |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/Suffolk-University-Theatre-Department-Presents-Car-Talk-The-Musical-20110402 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221728/https://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/Suffolk-University-Theatre-Department-Presents-Car-Talk-The-Musical-20110402 |archive-date=July 28, 2019 |url-status=live |publisher=] |date=2011-04-03 |access-date=July 28, 2019 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite journal |last1=Newton |first1=Christopher |date=Winter 1996 |title='The Prince Macaroni Hour' to 'Car Talk': An Evolution of Italian American Radio |journal=] |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=5–15 |jstor=29776333}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|http://www.cartalk.com/}}
*

{{NPR}}

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Latest revision as of 10:57, 20 December 2024

Long-running NPR talk show "Third Half" redirects here. For the Macedonian film, see The Third Half.

Radio show
Car Talk
GenreAutomotive repair/advice,
Humor
Running timeapprox. 50 min
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home stationWBUR-FM
SyndicatesNational Public Radio (NPR)
Hosted byTom Magliozzi
Ray Magliozzi
Executive producer(s)Doug Berman
Recording studioBoston, Massachusetts
Original release1977 (WBUR-FM); 1987 (nationally) –
2012 (original episodes)
Audio formatMonaural
Opening theme"Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by David Grisman
Other themes
Websitewww.cartalk.com
Podcastwww.cartalk.com/radio/our-show

Car Talk is a metonym for the humorous work of "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers", Tom and Ray Magliozzi on automobile repair. Originally, Car Talk was a radio show that ran on National Public Radio (NPR) from 1977 until October 2012, when the Magliozzi brothers retired. Since their retirement, the oeuvre now includes a website, and a podcast of reruns that is currently hosted by Apple Podcasts, NPR Podcasts, and Sticher. The Car Talk radio show was honored with a Peabody Award in 1992, and the Magliozzis were both inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2018.

Premise

Car Talk was presented in the form of a call-in radio show: listeners called in with questions related to motor vehicle maintenance and repair. Most of the advice sought was diagnostic, with callers describing symptoms and demonstrating sounds of an ailing vehicle while the Magliozzis made an attempt to identify the malfunction over the telephone and give advice on how to fix it. While the hosts peppered their call-in sessions with jokes directed at both the caller and at themselves, the Magliozzis were usually able to arrive at a diagnosis. However, when they were stumped, they attempted anyway with an answer they claimed was "unencumbered by the thought process", the official motto of the show.

Edited reruns are carried on XM Satellite Radio (now Sirius XM) via both the Public Radio and NPR Now channels.

The Car Talk theme music is "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by bluegrass artist David Grisman.

Call-in procedure

Throughout the program, listeners were encouraged to dial the toll-free telephone number, 1-888-CAR-TALK (1-888-227-8255), which connected to a 24-hour answering service. Although the approximately 2,000 queries received each week were screened by the Car Talk staff, the questions were unknown to the Magliozzis in advance as "that would entail researching the right answer, which is what? ... Work."

Features

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The show originally consisted of two segments with a break in between but was changed to three segments. After the shift to the three-segment format, it became a running joke to refer to the last segment as "the third half" of the program.

The show opened with a short comedy segment, typically jokes sent in by listeners, followed by eight call-in sessions. The hosts ran a contest called the "Puzzler", in which a riddle, sometimes car-related, was presented. The answer to the previous week's "Puzzler" was given at the beginning of the "second half" of the show, and a new "Puzzler" was given at the start of the "third half". The hosts gave instructions to listeners to write answers addressed to "Puzzler Tower" on some non-existent or expensive object, such as a "$26 bill" or an advanced digital SLR camera. This gag initially started as suggestions that the answers be written "on the back of a $20 bill". A running gag concerned Tom's inability to remember the previous week's "Puzzler" without heavy prompting from Ray. During a tribute show following Tom's death in 2014 due to complications of Alzheimer's disease, Ray joked, "I guess he wasn't joking about not being able to remember the puzzler all those years." For each puzzler, one correct answer was chosen at random, with the winner receiving a $26 gift certificate to the Car Talk store, referred to as the "Shameless Commerce Division". It was originally $25, but was increased for inflation after a few years. Originally, the winner received a specific item from the store, but it soon changed to a gift certificate to allow the winner to choose the item they wanted (though Tom often made an item suggestion).

A recurring feature was "Stump the Chumps," in which the hosts revisited a caller from a previous show to determine the accuracy and the effect, if any, of their advice. A similar feature began in May 2001, "Where Are They Now, Tommy?" It began with a comical musical theme with a sputtering, backfiring car engine and a horn as a backdrop. Tom then announced who the previous caller was, followed by a short replay of the essence of the previous call, preceded and followed by harp music often used in other audiovisual media to indicate recalling and returning from a dream. The hosts then greeted the previous caller, confirmed that they had not spoken since their previous appearance and asked them if there had been any influences on the answer they were about to relate, such as arcane bribes by the NPR staff. The repair story was then discussed, followed by a fanfare and applause if the Tappet Brothers' diagnosis was correct, or a wah-wah-wah music piece mixed with a car starter operated by a weak battery (an engine which wouldn't start) if the diagnosis was wrong. The hosts then thanked the caller for their return appearance.

The brothers also had an official Animal-Vehicle Biologist and Wildlife Guru named Kieran Lindsey. She answered questions like "How do I remove a snake from my car?" and offered advice on how those living in cities and suburbs could reconnect with wildlife. They also would sometimes rely on Harvard University professors Wolfgang Rueckner and Jim E. Davis for questions concerning physics and chemistry, respectively.

There were numerous appearances from NPR personalities, including Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg, Scott Simon, Ray Suarez, Will Shortz, Sylvia Poggioli, and commentator and author Daniel Pinkwater. On one occasion, the show featured Martha Stewart as an in-studio guest, whom the Magliozzis twice during the segment referred to as "Margaret". Celebrities and public figures were featured as "callers" as well, including Geena Davis, Ashley Judd, Morley Safer, Gordon Elliott, former Major League Baseball pitcher Bill Lee, journalist Farhad Manjoo, and astronaut John M. Grunsfeld.

Space program calls

Astronaut and engineer John Grunsfeld called into the show during Space Shuttle mission STS-81 in January 1997, in which Atlantis docked to the Mir space station. In this call he complained about the performance of his serial-numbered, Rockwell-manufactured "government van". To wit, it would run very loud and rough for about two minutes, quieter and smoother for another six and a half, and then the engine would stop with a jolt. He went on to state that the brakes of the vehicle, when applied, would glow red-hot, and that the vehicle's odometer displayed "about 60 million miles". This created some consternation for the hosts, until they noticed the audio of Grunsfeld's voice, being relayed from Mir via TDRS satellite, sounded similar to that of Tom Hanks in the then-recent film Apollo 13, after which they realized the call was from space and the government van in question was, in fact, the Space Shuttle.

In addition to the on-orbit call, the Brothers once received a call asking advice on winterizing an electric car. When they asked what kind of car, the caller stated it was a "kit car", a $400 million "kit car". It was a joke call from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory concerning the preparation of the Mars Opportunity rover for the oncoming Martian winter, during which temperatures drop to several hundred degrees below freezing.

Click and Clack have also been featured in editorial cartoons, including one where a befuddled NASA engineer called them to ask how to fix the Space Shuttle.

Humor

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Humor and wisecracking pervaded the program. Tom and Ray are known for their self-deprecating humor, often joking about the supposedly poor quality of their advice and the show in general. They also commented at the end of each show: "Well, it's happened again—you've wasted another perfectly good hour listening to Car Talk."

The phrase "our fair city" was introduced during a puzzler segment on the radio show. Ray presented a puzzler involving a well-dressed man who referred to a city as "your fair city." Tom found the phrase amusing and began using it humorously to refer to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the show was based. This playful reference quickly became a running joke on the show, with the hosts frequently referring to Cambridge as "our fair city" in subsequent episodes. In another episode Ray mentioned Cambridge, Massachusetts, at which point Tom reverently interjected with a tone of civic pride, "Our fair city". Ray invariably mocked "'Cambridge, MA', the United States Postal Service's two-letter abbreviation for 'Massachusetts'", by pronouncing the "MA" as a word.. This also became a running gag.

Preceding each break in the show, one of the hosts led up to the network identification with a humorous take on a disgusted reaction of some usually famous person to hearing that identification. The full line went along the pattern of, for example, "And even though Roger Clemens stabs his radio with a syringe whenever he hears us say it, this is NPR: National Public Radio" (later just "... this is NPR").

At one point in the show, often after the break, Ray usually stated that: "Support for this show is provided by," followed by an absurd fundraiser.

The ending credits of the show started with thanks to the colorfully nicknamed actual staffers: producer Doug "the subway fugitive, not a slave to fashion, bongo boy frogman" Berman; "John 'Bugsy' Lawlor, just back from the ..." every week a different eating event with rhyming foodstuff names; David "Calves of Belleville" Greene; Catherine "Frau Blücher" Fenollosa, whose name caused a horse to neigh and gallop (an allusion to a running gag in the movie Young Frankenstein); and Carly "High Voltage" Nix, among others. Following the real staff was a lengthy list of pun-filled fictional staffers and sponsors such as statistician Marge Innovera ("margin of error"), customer care representative Haywood Jabuzoff ("Hey, would ya buzz off"), meteorologist Claudio Vernight ("cloudy overnight"), optometric firm C. F. Eye Care ("see if I care"), Russian chauffeur Picov Andropov ("pick up and drop off"), Leo Tolstoy biographer Warren Peace ("War and Peace"), hygiene officer and chief of the Tokyo office Oteka Shawa ("oh, take a shower"), Swedish snowboard instructor Soren Derkeister ("sore in the keister"), law firm Dewey, Cheetham & Howe ("Do we cheat 'em? And how!"), Greek tailor Euripides Eumenades ("You rip-a these, you mend-a these"), cloakroom attendant Mahatma Coate ("My hat, my coat"), seat cushion tester Mike Easter (my keister) and many, many others, usually concluding with Erasmus B. Dragon ("Her ass must be draggin'"), whose job title varied, but who was often said to be head of the show's working mothers' support group. They sometimes advised that "our chief counsel from the law firm of Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe is Hugh Louis Dewey, known to a group of people in Harvard Square as Huey Louie Dewey." (Huey, Louie, and Dewey were the juvenile nephews being raised by Donald Duck in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories.) Guest accommodations were provided by The Horseshoe Road Inn ("the horse you rode in").

At the end of the show, Ray warns the audience, "Don't drive like my brother!" to which Tom replies, "And don't drive like my brother!" The original tag line was "Don't drive like a knucklehead!" There were variations such as, "Don't drive like my brother ..." "And don't drive like his brother!" and "Don't drive like my sister ..." "And don't drive like my sister!" The tagline was heard in the Pixar film Cars, in which Tom and Ray voiced anthropomorphized vehicles (Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze, respectively a 1963 Dodge Dart and 1963 Dodge A100 van, as Lightning McQueen's racing sponsors) with personalities similar to their own on-air personae. Tom notoriously once owned a "convertible, green with large areas of rust!" Dodge Dart, known jokingly on the program by the faux-elegant name "Dartre".

History

In 1977, radio station WBUR-FM in Boston scheduled a panel of local car mechanics to discuss car repairs on one of its programs, but only Tom Magliozzi showed up. He did so well that he was asked to return as a guest, and he invited his younger brother Ray (who was actually more of a car repair expert) to join him. The brothers were soon asked to host their own radio show on WBUR, which they continued to do every week. In 1986, NPR decided to distribute their show nationally.

In 1989, the brothers started a newspaper column Click and Clack Talk Cars which, like the radio show, mixed serious advice with humor. King Features distributes the column. Ray Magliozzi continues to write the column, retitled Car Talk, after his brother's death in 2014, knowing he would have wanted the advice and humor to continue.

In 1992, Car Talk won a Peabody Award, saying "Each week, master mechanics Tom and Ray Magliozzi provide useful information about preserving and protecting our cars. But the real core of this program is what it tells us about human mechanics ... The insight and laughter provided by Messrs. Magliozzi, in conjunction with their producer Doug Berman, provide a weekly mental tune-up for a vast and ever-growing public radio audience."

In 2005, Tom and Ray Magliozzi founded the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program, "as a way to give back to the stations that were our friends and partners for decades — and whose programs we listen to every day." Since the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program was founded, over 40,000 vehicles have been donated to support local NPR stations and programs, with over $40 million donated. Approximately 70% of the proceeds generated go directly toward funding local NPR affiliates and programs.

As of 2012, it had 3.3 million listeners each week, on about 660 stations. On June 8, 2012, the brothers announced that they would no longer broadcast new episodes as of October. Executive producer Doug Berman said the best material from 25 years of past shows would be used to put together "repurposed" shows for NPR to broadcast. Berman estimated the archives contain enough for eight years' worth of material before anything would have to be repeated. Ray Magliozzi, however, would occasionally record new taglines and sponsor announcements that were aired at the end of the show.

The show was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2014.

Ray Magliozzi hosted a special Car Talk memorial episode for his brother Tom after he died in November 2014.

The Best of Car Talk episodes ended their weekly broadcast on NPR on September 30, 2017, although past episodes would continue availability online and via podcasts. 120 of the 400 stations intended to continue airing the show. NPR announced one option for the time slot would be their new news-talk program It's Been a Minute.

On June 11, 2021, it was announced that radio distribution of Car Talk would officially end on October 1, 2021, and that NPR would begin distribution of a twice-weekly podcast that will be 35–40 minutes in length and include early versions of every show, in sequential order.

Hosts

Main article: Tom and Ray Magliozzi
The name of the DC&H corporate offices is visible on the third floor window above the corner of Brattle and JFK Streets, in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Magliozzis were long-time auto mechanics. Ray Magliozzi has a Bachelor of Science degree in humanities and science from MIT, while Tom had a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from MIT, an MBA from Northeastern University, and a DBA from the Boston University School of Management.

The Magliozzis operated a do-it-yourself garage together in the 1970s which became more of a conventional repair shop in the 1980s. Ray continued to have a hand in the day-to-day operations of the shop for years, while his brother Tom semi-retired, often joking on Car Talk about his distaste for doing "actual work". The show's offices were located near their shop at the corner of JFK Street and Brattle Street in Harvard Square, marked as "Dewey, Cheetham & Howe", the imaginary law firm to which they referred on-air. DC&H doubled as the business name of Tappet Brothers Associates, the corporation established to manage the business end of Car Talk. Initially a joke, the company was incorporated after the show expanded from a single station to national syndication.

The two were commencement speakers at MIT in 1999.

Executive producer Doug Berman said in 2012, "The guys are culturally right up there with Mark Twain and the Marx Brothers. They will stand the test of time. People will still be enjoying them years from now. They're that good."

Tom Magliozzi died on November 3, 2014, at age 77, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Adaptations

The show was the inspiration for the short-lived The George Wendt Show, which briefly aired on CBS in the 1994–1995 season as a mid-season replacement.

In July 2007, PBS announced that it had green-lit an animated adaptation of Car Talk, to air on prime-time in 2008. The show, titled Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns, is based on the adventures of the fictional "Click and Clack" brothers' garage at "Car Talk Plaza". The ten episodes aired in July and August 2008.

Car Talk: The Musical!!! was written and directed by Wesley Savick, and composed by Michael Wartofsky. The adaptation was presented by Suffolk University, and opened on March 31, 2011, at the Modern Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. The play was not officially endorsed by the Magliozzis, but they participated in the production, lending their voices to a central puppet character named "The Wizard of Cahs".

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Further reading

  • Newton, Christopher (Winter 1996). "'The Prince Macaroni Hour' to 'Car Talk': An Evolution of Italian American Radio". Italian Americana. 14 (1): 5–15. JSTOR 29776333.

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