View source for Car Talk

{{short description|Long-running NPR talk show}}
{{redirect|Third Half|the Macedonian film|The Third Half}}
{{use mdy dates |date=April 2020 }}
{{Infobox radio show
| show_name          = Car Talk
| image              = Car Talk Logo.svg
| imagesize          = 170px
| caption            = 
| format             = Automotive repair/advice,<br />Humor
| audio_format       = [[Monaural]]
| record_location    = [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]]
| runtime            = approx. 50 min
| creator            = 
| executive_producer = Doug Berman
| presenter          = [[Tom and Ray Magliozzi|Tom Magliozzi]]<br />[[Tom and Ray Magliozzi|Ray Magliozzi]]
| opentheme          = "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by [[David Grisman]]
| othertheme         = {{Plainlist|
* "Dixie Flyer" (intermission) by [[Randy Newman]]
* "Stump the Chumps" by [[B. J. Leiderman]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100788 | title=BJ Leiderman, NPR Biography | publisher=[[NPR|National Public Radio]] (NPR) | access-date= 2007-04-25}}</ref>
}}
| country            = United States
| language           = English
| home_station       = [[WBUR-FM]]
| syndicates         = [[NPR|National Public Radio]] (NPR)
| first_aired        = 1977 (WBUR-FM); 1987 (nationally)
| last_aired         = 2012 (original episodes)
| website            = {{URL|http://www.cartalk.com/}}
| podcast            = [https://www.cartalk.com/radio/our-show www.cartalk.com/radio/our-show]
}}

'''''Car Talk''''' is a [[metonym]] for the humorous work of  "Click and Clack, the [[Tappet#Internal combustion engines|Tappet]] Brothers", [[Tom and Ray Magliozzi]], on automobile repair.  Originally, ''Car Talk'' was a radio show that ran on [[NPR|National Public Radio]] (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>[https://www.cartalk.com/ Official Car Talk website]</ref> and a podcast of reruns that is currently hosted by Apple Podcasts, NPR Podcasts, and Stitcher.<ref>[https://www.cartalk.com/radio/our-show#listening Our Show]</ref> The ''Car Talk'' radio show was honored with a [[Peabody Award]] 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 [[National Radio Hall of Fame]] 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 [[Automotive Hall of Fame]] in 2018.<ref>Isidore, Chris (April 25, 2018). [https://money.cnn.com/2018/04/25/media/car-talk-hosts-hall-of-fame/index.html "Car Talk hosts are headed to the Automotive Hall of Fame"]. CNN. Accessed February 22, 2023.</ref>

==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.<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|National Public Radio]] (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 [[XM Satellite Radio]] (now [[Sirius XM]]) 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|National Public Radio]] (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|National Public Radio]] (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> 

The ''Car Talk'' [[theme music]] is "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] artist [[David Grisman]].<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>

===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? ...&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>

===<span class="anchor" id="ThirdHalf"></span> Features===
{{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.

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 single-lens reflex camera|DSLR]] 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".<ref>[http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ "Puzzler"]; {{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).

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.<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=[[With Good Reason]] |publisher=[Virginia Foundation for the Humanities |date=October 29, 2011 |quote=Answering questions like how to remove a snake from your car, urban wildlife biologist Kieran Lindsey (Virginia Tech) is the new official Animal-Vehicle Biologist and Wildlife Guru for ''Car Talk'' on NPR. Lindsey offers tips for how those of us living in cities and suburbs can reconnect with the wildlife around us—what she calls 'next-door nature.' |access-date=2012-08-09 |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712210434/http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2011/10/girl-scouts-beyond-campfires-and-cookie/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They also would sometimes rely on [[Harvard University]] 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>

{{Anchor|famous_callers}} 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 (journalist)|Gordon Elliott]], former [[Major League Baseball]] pitcher [[Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher)|Bill Lee]], journalist [[Farhad Manjoo]], and [[astronaut]] [[John M. Grunsfeld]].

====Space program calls====
Astronaut and engineer [[John M. Grunsfeld|John Grunsfeld]] called into the show during [[Space Shuttle]] mission [[STS-81]] in January 1997, in which ''[[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Atlantis]]'' docked to the [[Mir space station]]. In this call he complained about the performance of his serial-numbered, [[Rockwell International|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 (film)|Apollo 13]], after which they realized the call was from space and the government van in question was, in fact, the [[Space Shuttle]].<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 [[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)|''Opportunity'' rover]] 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>

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]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

===Humor===
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2013}}

Humor and wisecracking pervaded the program. Tom and Ray are known for their [[Self-deprecation|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''."<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 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.<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 [[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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}. 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#SteroidUseControversy|Roger Clemens]] 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}}

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 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 "[[Young Frankenstein|Frau Blücher]]" Fenollosa, whose name caused a horse to neigh and gallop (an allusion to a running gag in the movie ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'');<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 ("[[margin of error]]"), 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"), [[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, Cheatem & Howe|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.<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."  ([[Huey, Dewey, and Louie|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&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 [[Pixar]] film ''[[Cars (film)|Cars]]'', in which Tom and Ray voiced [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] vehicles ([[List of Cars characters#Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze|Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze]], respectively a 1963 [[Dodge Dart]] and 1963 [[Dodge A100]] van, as [[Lightning McQueen]]'s racing [[Sponsor (commercial)|sponsors]]) 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>

==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.<ref name=Lumsden>{{cite news|title='Click and Clack': frick and frack gearheads|last=Lumsden|first=Carolyn|work=[[Daily Breeze]]|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 = [[The Verge]] | 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. [[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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kingfeatures.com/features/columns-a-z/click-and-clack-talk-cars/|title=Car Talk|publisher=[[King Features]]|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=[[King Features]]|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 [[List of Peabody Award winners (1990–99)#1992|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&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=[[Associated Press]] |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|National Public Radio]] (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 [[National Radio Hall of Fame]] 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=[[Current (newspaper)|Current]]|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 ''[[It's Been a Minute]]''.<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}}
[[File:Dewey Cheetham and Howe 2025.jpg |thumb|280px|right|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 mechanic]]s. Ray Magliozzi has a Bachelor of Science degree in humanities and science from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]],<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 [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]]  from [[Northeastern University]], and a [[Doctor of Business Administration|DBA]] from the [[Boston University School of Management]].<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 [[Harvard Square]], marked as "[[Dewey, Cheatem & Howe|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.<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 [[Commencement speech|commencement speakers]] 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|National Public Radio]] (NPR)|access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Past speakers - Commencement archive | publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (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=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (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 [[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."<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|National Public Radio]] (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=[[USA Today]] | 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=[[The New York Times]] | 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 ''[[The George Wendt Show]]'', which briefly aired on CBS in the [[1994–95 United States network television schedule|1994–1995 season]] as a [[mid-season replacement]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/george-wendt/201634 | title=The George Wendt Show on CBS | newspaper=[[TV Guide]] | 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 [[Green-light|green-lit]] 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 ''[[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.<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=[[Times Herald-Record]] |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 [[Suffolk University]], and opened on March 31, 2011, at the Modern Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Boston Globe]] |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=[[BroadwayWorld]] |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=[[Italian Americana]] |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=5–15 |jstor=29776333}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|http://www.cartalk.com/}}
* [https://www.cartalk.com/radio/our-show#listening Car Talk Podcast]

{{NPR}}

[[Category:1970s American radio programs]]
[[Category:1977 radio programme debuts]]
[[Category:1980s American radio programs]]
[[Category:1990s American radio programs]]
[[Category:2000s American radio programs]]
[[Category:2010s American radio programs]]
[[Category:2012 radio programme endings]]
[[Category:American talk radio programs]]
[[Category:Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Mass media in Boston]]
[[Category:Motor vehicle maintenance]]
[[Category:NPR programs]]
[[Category:Peabody Award–winning radio programs]]