A national treasure drives off into the sunset, perhaps belching smoke.
November 3, 2014 11:55 AM   Subscribe

 
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posted by Going To Maine at 11:56 AM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


O

(that's a steering wheel)
posted by dmd at 11:56 AM on November 3, 2014 [17 favorites]


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posted by Rustic Etruscan at 11:57 AM on November 3, 2014


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posted by motorcycles are jets at 11:57 AM on November 3, 2014


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posted by eckeric at 11:58 AM on November 3, 2014


Oh man.

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posted by killy willy at 11:58 AM on November 3, 2014


The estate is apparently being administered by Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe.

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posted by entropicamericana at 11:58 AM on November 3, 2014 [124 favorites]


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posted by Zalzidrax at 11:58 AM on November 3, 2014


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posted by theora55 at 11:58 AM on November 3, 2014


I was just reading this. Sad news. I had no idea BOTH brothers had degrees from MIT.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:58 AM on November 3, 2014


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posted by LizBoBiz at 11:58 AM on November 3, 2014


Just came to post this, but figured someone else would do it better. I was right.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 11:59 AM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


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Tom was often 50% responsible for making my Sundays better whenever I was driving around listening to the radio.
posted by codacorolla at 11:59 AM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


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posted by slater at 11:59 AM on November 3, 2014


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There is a gentle kindness to so many of the public radio personalities from the classic era of my childhood that their passing is especially poignant. I remember feeling similarly about Julia Child.
posted by selfnoise at 11:59 AM on November 3, 2014 [13 favorites]


I had heard a few years ago that they stopped taping live shows, but I never noticed the switchover. I hope they continue to play Car Talk reruns forever.
posted by muddgirl at 12:00 PM on November 3, 2014 [8 favorites]


And don't drive like my brother.
posted by peeedro at 12:00 PM on November 3, 2014 [19 favorites]


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His eulogy will be by his Russian driver, Pikov Andropov.
posted by hot_monster at 12:00 PM on November 3, 2014 [28 favorites]


What a great legacy. Imagine showing up at the pearly gates and being asked what you did all your life and being able to answer "I was on the radio and I didn't bring bad news to people, say cynical things, or act like a jackass with the rest of my morning zoo crew. Along with my brother I made people smile for at least an hour every week."

There were times my mom, 80, my wife and I, and our son would be in the car, all laughing together at the same show. That's a pretty tough thing to do.

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posted by bondcliff at 12:01 PM on November 3, 2014 [89 favorites]


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posted by a lungful of dragon at 12:01 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by sfred at 12:02 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Shoggoth at 12:02 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by mikelieman at 12:02 PM on November 3, 2014


:(
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 12:02 PM on November 3, 2014


Every chance,
every chance that I take
I take it on the road
Those kilometers and the red lights
I was always looking left and right
Oh, but I'm always crashing
in the same car
posted by maxsparber at 12:02 PM on November 3, 2014 [6 favorites]


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Miss you, Tom, and thank you and Ray for all the laughs.
posted by apartment dweller at 12:03 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


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posted by zardoz at 12:04 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by doctor_negative at 12:04 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by pemberkins at 12:04 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by srt19170 at 12:05 PM on November 3, 2014


Well, shit.

I listened to Car Talk for basically as long as I can remember (I grew up in Massachusetts) and I've always seen those guys as a template for how to be a human being: Sympathetic, funny, genuinely self-effacing, but not sorry for being smart. They went to MIT yet they get as much joy out of mentioning the Assistant Disciplinarian, (Joaquin D'Planque) as they do debugging carburetor problems on a 96 Nissan through a caller's voice impersonation thereof.

And another benevolent superhero leaves us. Alas.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:05 PM on November 3, 2014 [14 favorites]


He's gone off to the great Dartre in the sky...
posted by stenseng at 12:06 PM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


My favorite moments on Car Talk was when they did Stump The Chumps, because the flashbacks always ended with the brothers cracking each other up. And then the harp music would play, bringing us back to the present, and the two guys were cracking up anew at what they'd just listened to. I loved that.
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:06 PM on November 3, 2014 [19 favorites]


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I had no idea Tom had suffered from Alzheimer's.
They just went off the air just two years ago, I didn't realize that it could progress so fast.
posted by Auden at 12:06 PM on November 3, 2014 [7 favorites]


🔧

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:06 PM on November 3, 2014 [8 favorites]


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posted by kenko at 12:06 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Cash4Lead at 12:06 PM on November 3, 2014


Aw, man. I also couldn't tell when they switched from live to prerecorded, and secretly hoped they'd just go on forever.

Is Tom the one with the sleek black beauty? If so, I hope he had a wonderful reunion.
posted by Liesl at 12:09 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by FireSpy at 12:09 PM on November 3, 2014


*honk*
posted by curious nu at 12:09 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by dismas at 12:09 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by COD at 12:10 PM on November 3, 2014


Here's my . as well.

Condolence correspondence to be answered by Erasmus B. Dragon.
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:10 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


The Car Talk Guys made us all laugh, and they laughed just like my dad. Big, unfettered belly laughs. I liked to think they were related somehow.

I hope there's a Dodge Dart waiting for Tom.

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posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 12:10 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


I had heard a few years ago that they stopped taping live shows, but I never noticed the switchover.

Yes. They stopped in 2012. Ray wasn't going to do the show without Tom, and Tom was rapidly losing the ability to do the show. They kept the reason pretty quiet initially. Doug "The subway fugitive, not a slave to fashion, bongo boy frogman" Berman has said that Ray wants to keep the reedited shows going as a tribute to Tom, but has no current interest in performing again, though there might be a tribute to Tom coming up soon on Car Talk.

Sad day. I really wish I could have heard Tom go off on Dodge bringing back the Dart. That would have been epic.
posted by eriko at 12:11 PM on November 3, 2014 [7 favorites]


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posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:11 PM on November 3, 2014


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I was somewhat bummed when the show went off the air and there wasn't any sort of replacement, but really...how could there be?
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:11 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


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posted by cool breeze at 12:13 PM on November 3, 2014


This just went out to the mailing list (which I am on because why wouldn't you want weekly Car Talk e-mails):

It is with great sadness that I share the news that my older brother and co-host, Tom, has passed away at the age of 77, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. His decline was very quick, and it caught us all by surprise.

Even in my grief, I am thankful for a number of things. One is that Tom really lived the life he wanted to live. He spent his time inventing zany theories, talking to you guys every week on the radio show, and primarily, laughing his butt off. Now there’s a life.

I’m also grateful that Tom spent so much of his life with me in front of a microphone. So we will always have thousands of hours of the two of us taking calls from our listeners, and having as much fun as any two people should be allowed to have at something called “work." I can think of no better tribute to him than allowing people to continue to listen to these programs.

Finally, I am grateful that I have so many of you with whom to share my sadness this week. Many of you welcomed us both into your homes and cars, and enjoyed visiting with us as much as we enjoyed visiting with you, and making your car problems worse.

If you have thoughts or remembrances you wish to share, I invite you to do so here. Or, if you’re otherwise inclined, in lieu of flowers or rotten fish, I’m sure Tom would be honored if you decided to make a small contribution to your favorite public radio station or to the Alzheimer's Association in his memory.

We’re using our website, www.cartalk.com, as our communal gathering place this week, so please join us there if you like.

With gratitude,

Ray Magliozzi

posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:13 PM on November 3, 2014 [83 favorites]


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posted by wanderingmind at 12:13 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by pointystick at 12:14 PM on November 3, 2014


They went off the air in such a modest fashion...there wasn't really a switchover and there wasn't even a last show. Instead, older segments began to be cut into newer shows bit by bit until eventually the shows were all previously heard bits.
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:14 PM on November 3, 2014 [8 favorites]


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posted by danabanana at 12:17 PM on November 3, 2014


Mourners may call The Horse You Rode Inn for travel arrangements.

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posted by deezil at 12:17 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


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posted by quazichimp at 12:18 PM on November 3, 2014


I lived in Boston for a year, and the nonprofit I worked for was on floors 2 and 3 of an old building in the North End. I don't know how the arrangement was made, because it predated me by years, but Tom had an office on our 3rd floor.

I don't know what he did in there. It wasn't a business office, and he only hung out there occasionally -- 5 or 6 times a month, maybe. I think might have just been a place he could go when he wanted to get away from whatever he wanted to get away from. We always knew when he was there, because cigar smoke would waft out from the gap underneath his office door. CONSTANT cigar smoke. And every once in a while -- not often, but often enough that I can say I experienced it -- he'd be talking on the phone and you could hear THAT LAUGH through the walls. It was impossible not to smile when you heard that laugh.

I'm sad that he's gone, and sadder still that he suffered from Alzheimer's, and I feel lucky to have been able to say hello to him on the staircase (I never saw him in anything other than a Hawaiian shirt) and to have occasionally heard THAT LAUGH in person.

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posted by mudpuppie at 12:18 PM on November 3, 2014 [65 favorites]


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posted by thomisc at 12:19 PM on November 3, 2014


___________________________________________________________
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The road goes ever on...
posted by dannyboybell at 12:19 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


Love them and have been in mourning since they announced their retirement. Too bad Tommy didn't get to enjoy it a little longer.

Anybody remember the story Tommy told about predicting that long run of dealt cards?

Always wanted to hear that again.
posted by jamjam at 12:20 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Wretch729 at 12:22 PM on November 3, 2014


One of my favorite Tom and Ray moments: their 1999 MIT Commencement Address. (starts at about 10:40) [transcript]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 12:22 PM on November 3, 2014 [9 favorites]


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posted by hippybear at 12:25 PM on November 3, 2014


A few years ago I attended a conference in Boston. The first thing I did upon arriving was to head out to Cambridge, MA ("our fair city"), to find "Puzzler Tower" / "Car Talk Plaza" / the offices of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe, 02138.
posted by apartment dweller at 12:25 PM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


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Loved listening to the show, and loved the laughter and apparent love between the two brothers so much.
posted by Pocahontas at 12:25 PM on November 3, 2014


A "." doesn't seem to cut it here. What's the symbol for wildly infectious guffawing and chortling at your own joke until your sides hurt?
posted by Panjandrum at 12:25 PM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]


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posted by octothorpe at 12:26 PM on November 3, 2014


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Dewey, Missim, and Howe.
posted by kewb at 12:26 PM on November 3, 2014 [95 favorites]


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Oh, man, that laugh. The kind of joy that made others joyful. Even now, feeling sad at his passing, I remember that laugh and I start smiling.

Rest well, sir. And thank you.
posted by lord_wolf at 12:28 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:28 PM on November 3, 2014


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:(
posted by Benway at 12:28 PM on November 3, 2014


. for so many hours laughing
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posted by brujita at 12:32 PM on November 3, 2014


WBUR, Car Talk's parent station, has put up an obituary and some other information:

WBUR Mourns Tom Magliozzi
Tom Magliozzi dies at 77
Cambridge Native Tom: A Biography
Photos: Tom Magliozzi Through the Years

We don't live in Our Fair City any more (we moved across the tracks), but it's stuff like this that makes me love living in the area.
posted by backseatpilot at 12:33 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


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posted by joeyh at 12:33 PM on November 3, 2014


Pahk yah cah in Elysium Fields.

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posted by Smart Dalek at 12:33 PM on November 3, 2014 [6 favorites]


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posted by fremen at 12:34 PM on November 3, 2014


And if you make your way to Cambridge, take a small moment while you're in Harvard Square. Find the Curious George storefront and look at the windows above it; you'll find the law offices of Dewey, Cheatam, and Howe.
posted by backseatpilot at 12:36 PM on November 3, 2014 [12 favorites]


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posted by Small Dollar at 12:43 PM on November 3, 2014


I will never forget driving through Superior National Forest one summer with my British wife, on the way out of the Boundary Waters, sun streaming through the trees and listening to a full hour these guys, while she delightedly tried to figure it all out.
posted by C.A.S. at 12:43 PM on November 3, 2014 [6 favorites]


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posted by bitterpants at 12:44 PM on November 3, 2014


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And even though my wife rolls her eyes whenever Car Talk comes on, they are among the best of NPR....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:44 PM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]


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posted by Mag Plug at 12:47 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by cmfletcher at 12:47 PM on November 3, 2014


He spent his time inventing zany theories, talking to you guys every week on the radio show, and primarily, laughing his butt off. Now there’s a life.

Amen.
posted by straight at 12:48 PM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


Every radio host should have the warmth, humor and depth of knowledge in their field as Click and Clack.

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posted by Joey Michaels at 12:49 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


Many a weekend morning......

So sad.
posted by Mr.Me at 12:49 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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fuck alzheimer's. So many good people....
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posted by sonic meat machine at 12:56 PM on November 3, 2014


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I wanted to send Ray a condolence card. I have the address (Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza, Harvard Square, Cambridge (our fair city), MA 02238), but the self-addressed Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse won't fit through the darn mail slot.
posted by zamboni at 12:58 PM on November 3, 2014 [51 favorites]


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posted by royals at 12:59 PM on November 3, 2014


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They just went off the air just two years ago, I didn't realize that it could progress so fast.


It happened as quickly (if not faster based how it sounds now -- that he was already diagnosed before then ) for my uncle who was 10 years younger. And it is fucking horrible.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:00 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


I just mentioned this to a few of my coworkers and none of them knew what I was talking about.

I don't know these people.

When I was young, Dad and I would listen to Click and Clack as we drove to the the barber shop on Saturdays. It's sad and strange, seeing the institutions you thought were a given fade out, and the people that were a part of them passing on. RIP, Tom.
posted by pianoblack at 1:01 PM on November 3, 2014 [8 favorites]


Love the show.
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posted by 4ster at 1:02 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Archer25 at 1:03 PM on November 3, 2014


I did my undergrad at Harvard, so I passed by the offices of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe regularly. But I never had the nerve to go knock on their door. My friend Max did, though, and reported that not only were they happy to have visitors (it was apparently not uncommon) but that they even had ice cream on hand to share.

A good bunch.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:03 PM on November 3, 2014 [17 favorites]


Holy crap. I had no idea Tom had Alzheimer's. That's so sad.
Thanks, Tom, for the laughs!


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posted by Thorzdad at 1:04 PM on November 3, 2014


At least now we will get to see what a '63 Dodge Dartre Hearse looks like.

Also' can it finally be told were the callers set up (i.e. were the calls pre-screened for comic potential? ) or was it the luck of the draw?
posted by Gungho at 1:05 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by conradjones at 1:08 PM on November 3, 2014


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Car Talk was a part of my Saturday routine for a long time. I know the "laugh track" was inserted and non-organic, but he always sounded so joyful I never cared.
posted by zuhl at 1:10 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


god DAMN it

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posted by the painkiller at 1:10 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by tommasz at 1:11 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Anne Neville at 1:11 PM on November 3, 2014


We the owners of Rust-Eze are saddened to announce the passing of our partner.
posted by Gungho at 1:12 PM on November 3, 2014 [6 favorites]


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posted by funkiwan at 1:12 PM on November 3, 2014


Too sad. Thank you for such a great show.
posted by dov3 at 1:13 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by me3dia at 1:16 PM on November 3, 2014


dammit
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posted by detachd at 1:17 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Lutoslawski at 1:18 PM on November 3, 2014


I own a Fiat AND an MG. Tom was one of a tiny handful of people in America who had taste in cars as bad as my own.

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posted by 1adam12 at 1:19 PM on November 3, 2014 [11 favorites]


I have listened regularly for what, 20 years? I know nothing about cars (or didn't at first) but I loved the combination of humor and application of (pseudo!) scientific principles to people's problems. Plus I loved the puzzlers! I am a math and puzzle guy so I love it when people care enough to present that sort of thing in an accessible way. I also loved the crap-shoot nature of both the calls and the puzzlers. You might get a great explanation of how valves and pistons work, or you might get a discussion about how men and women (stereotypically at least) tend to relate to cars and life. On the puzzle side you might get a new or clever math puzzle, or you might get a "gotcha" trick that got you groaning the next week.

RIP.

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posted by freecellwizard at 1:20 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


I grew up outside of Boston, and Dad used to listen to the show even before it got syndicated nationwide, back when it was more about tricky little car problems and less about the comedy and the puzzlers. So that was, in many ways, the soundtrack of my Saturdays when I was a kid. (Well, that and Red Sox games on the tv.)

And after college, I lived in Cambridge for a few years, only about five blocks from the Good News Garage, and I would bicycle past it on my way to my crappy temp job in Kendall Square. The waiting list for getting your car serviced there was over a month long, but you could sign up for classes there, to learn how to do a lot of stuff yourself.

When I moved west, it was really nice to hear the same voices on my radio even when I lived in Oregon, and then moved to California.

I'm surprisingly saddened, and I don't want to tell Dad, although he probably already knows...


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posted by suelac at 1:20 PM on November 3, 2014 [6 favorites]


When I was growing up, one constant in my weekend mornings was Car Talk. It always seemed that it always came on whenever Dad was carting me to soccer games or debate tournaments or just to the grocery store. He and I would listen and laugh (and Mom would look at us like we were nuts), and maybe those broadcasts were some reason I got interested in vehicles.

I remember flipping through the college pamphlets for MIT and seeing Tom and Ray's names proudly displayed in the list of "Notable Alumni" and yelling across the house "Dad! Did you know this?"

I think I'll have to call him tonight.

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posted by ultranos at 1:29 PM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]


Lame or not, the laughter at their own jokes got at least a half-smile from me every time. And I loved the way they brought Logic and Actual Science to bear on car trouble, which remains a black art to too many people.

When I came out here for college, previous exposure to their accents (and, to be fair, to a lot of "Cheers" episodes) helped make me feel comfortable in Boston.

A "daht" for a man whose life seemed full -- and full of joy -- and I will drive extra-safely all the way home today in his honor.

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posted by wenestvedt at 1:29 PM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]


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posted by NedKoppel at 1:30 PM on November 3, 2014


My favorite thing they did with any regularity was getting callers to imitate the noises of their cars.

Yes, it was somewhere on a spectrum from goofy to debasing, but it actually added some useful data once in a while, too!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:32 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


I haven't heard all that many of their shows (especially considering how long they were on the air) but I never heard them be anything other than pleasant and helpful. Never mean, never rude, never bitter, which is harder than it sounds and less common than it should be. They brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people and I'm sorry to read this news.
posted by Dip Flash at 1:40 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


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posted by vibrotronica at 1:41 PM on November 3, 2014


A total bummer, but hopefully they'll play the reruns forever. It doesn't matter that we'll all be driving fusion-powered hovercars--the Car Talk shows will always be classics. I know nothing about cars, and I dutifully have listened whenever I've gotten the chance over the past, what, 20 years?

It always struck me that everyone deserves their Magliozzi brother in life--that person who can endlessly crack you up with the good, deep belly laughs. Those guys knew how to have fun, and shared it with everyone. Thanks, Tom!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:42 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by The Bellman at 1:42 PM on November 3, 2014


To add to my ".," Car Talk is Saturday mornings as my mom drove me to soccer games and forced me to listen to KCUR.

Christ, those guys. They were having the most fun in the world and getting paid to do it. We should all be so lucky.
posted by dismas at 1:43 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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Thanks for all the shared joy!
posted by meinvt at 1:53 PM on November 3, 2014


I had to go look because I was sure that I've been listening to them for a huge chunk of my life, and yup, they started the show the year before we moved to Boston.

Thanks for the laughs and the learning, guys. Drive any damn way you want, Tom.
posted by rtha at 1:59 PM on November 3, 2014


So very few people could be funny to everybody. A testament to his humanity, I believe.

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posted by charred husk at 2:04 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by batbat at 2:05 PM on November 3, 2014


I grew up with these guys (in fact, Tom is about the same age my dad would have been). End of an era.
posted by matildaben at 2:05 PM on November 3, 2014


This is bo-oh-oh-oh-GUS!
I love those guys.
posted by w0mbat at 2:07 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


Matildaben, I came in to say that Tom was born the same year as my mom. She died over 20 years ago, and before I became an NPR junkie, but I know she would have loved their show.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 2:07 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by arnoldsnarb at 2:08 PM on November 3, 2014


When I lived in Cambridge ("our fair city"), one of my favorite moments of serendipity was noticing the "Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe" sign in the window in Harvard square, and realizing that I was looking at Puzzler Tower and Car Talk Plaza, right there in person.

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End of an era.

(Oh, and fuck Alzheimers.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:09 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


Some of my favorite episodes of CT have Daniel Pinkwater as a caller, and they contain moments of pure joy and brilliance between Tom and Ray and Daniel. Check out episodes 0908, 0628, 9840, 9618, 9333.
posted by ensign_ricky at 2:13 PM on November 3, 2014 [21 favorites]


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A co-worker just mentioned another achievement of the Tappet Brothers: They demonstrated to the world beyond New England that not everybody from eastern Mass. talks like the Kennedy family.
posted by virago at 2:19 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


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posted by tdismukes at 2:43 PM on November 3, 2014


The zip code for Cambdridge MA is one of those numbers (like 49152 and 53280) that will be embedded in my brain until the end. I can't even say the number without hearing those two voices! Bah.
posted by Wolfdog at 2:44 PM on November 3, 2014


My son and I are car people, we go to auto shows together and send each other pics of sweet rides.
We got our start listening to Tom and Ray. I was raised traditionally female and as an urbanite, didn't even learn to drive until my mid twenties. Once I owned a car, I fell hard. And it became something that my son and I could talk about together even when he was going thru the worst of his teenage years.
We'll miss you, Tom. Thanks for everything.
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posted by antonymous at 2:50 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 2:52 PM on November 3, 2014


First Menino, now this. A sad week for Boston and Cambridge (Our Fair City).

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posted by lunasol at 2:57 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


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[I can only assume that his funeral train will be the Dixie Flyer]
posted by Ranucci at 3:01 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Tacodog at 3:06 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:12 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by fiercecupcake at 3:12 PM on November 3, 2014


I worked on cartalk.com back in the late 90s, and once I went to Tommy's office in the North End as part of a request to "fix my Eudora." I can assure you, mudpuppy, it was every bit as filthy as you might imagine. A few days later he sent me a houseplant.

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posted by nev at 3:12 PM on November 3, 2014 [12 favorites]


I'm so sorry to hear this. My husband had a tradition for quite a few years of listening to the show together each week. Such a warm and funny presence.
posted by Squeak Attack at 3:14 PM on November 3, 2014


I am so totally disinterested in cars, beyond the simple fact that I like the fact that my car gets me from point A to point B. People start talking about cars, I at best zone out, or at worst start actively wondering why the hell they care about this crap.

Car Talk is one of my all-time favorite shows.

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posted by Flunkie at 3:16 PM on November 3, 2014 [6 favorites]


[I can only assume that his funeral train will be the Dixie Flyer]

Funny, because the first song that popped into my head was Vincent Black Lightning 1952. Car Talk is directly responsible for my love of Richard Thompson.

It also gave me a particularly proud moment as I was able to discern the logic behind one of their puzzlers, even though my answer was ultimately wrong.

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posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:20 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


I have never gotten a driver's license. And it was one of my favorite shows. It brightened up many a Saturday morning while I cleaned the apartment. They sounded like they were having so much fun.
posted by y2karl at 3:32 PM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


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posted by Token Meme at 3:34 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by bz at 3:34 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by triceryclops at 3:35 PM on November 3, 2014


As an art historian, I loved how they would torment the art history students who called (and philosophers and folklorists, etc). Will miss these guys. I will miss the puzzler!
posted by Capybara at 3:47 PM on November 3, 2014


There is only one time I have literally pulled off the highway from laughing to hard, and it was Tom's response to a caller who started off with "...my grandmother gave me her car..." and he shot back with "So how do you like owning a Buick?" I was driving my grandmother in her Buick at the time and she had no idea what I found so funny.

Tonight this grease-stained wretch shall raise a glass to another, fallen comrade: Keep ahn keeping ahn.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 3:48 PM on November 3, 2014 [20 favorites]


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posted by jim in austin at 3:55 PM on November 3, 2014


I inexplicably loathe most NPR programming--except Car Talk. This brought me much delight over the years, and was one of the few selections that was always unanimously approved of by everyone in the car.

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posted by TwoStride at 3:55 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


Car Talk was my introduction to public radio. A few punk-as-fuck friends of mine would drop everything on Sundays to listen to these guys, and I happened to catch it one Sunday and the kept listening. I still consider NPR mostly propoganda radio (however much I agree with the thrust of the propoganda), but Click & Clack were always a good break from that. Even as much as Tom's cackling would drive me up the wall, I still enjoyed hearing it. Also, I loved the scientificish sleuthing they would do, and learned more about ears from that program than I ever did listening to anyone else explain stuff to me.

Anyway, a brief moment of cackling followed by a .
posted by not_on_display at 4:24 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


He was so funny. He warmed so many hearts and spirits and probably helped a lot of people with their cars as an aside.
posted by xarnop at 4:30 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


Also' can it finally be told were the callers set up (i.e. were the calls pre-screened for comic potential? ) or was it the luck of the draw?
posted by Gungho at 15:05 on November 3 [1 favorite +] [!]


The calls were definitely prescreened. From the relevant wiki page:
Call-in procedure[edit]
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."[9] Producers selected and contacted the callers several days ahead of the show's Wednesday taping to arrange the segment. The caller spoke briefly to a producer before being connected live with the hosts, and was given little coaching other than being told to be prepared to talk, not to use any written preparation and to "have fun". The show deliberately taped more callers than it has time to air each week in order to be able to choose the best ones for broadcast. Those segments that did make it to air were generally edited for time. For the last four years of the show, new shows included previously broadcast segments as much as 10 years old. The re-used segments, including re-used puzzlers, were not acknowledged as old material and sometimes new caller material was mixed in alongside the recycled calls.[10]
posted by ZeusHumms at 4:37 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


My favorite episodes were the ones with the vindicated girlfriends and wives.

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posted by Room 641-A at 4:41 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:42 PM on November 3, 2014


Every time I relax by hosing off my driveway, I will think of you, Tom.
posted by popechunk at 4:43 PM on November 3, 2014


My favorite Puzzler, The Monty Hall problem.

RAY: OK. Now, here's the puzzler for this. I thought about this a lot and I have a whole bunch of puzzlers, but I have to revisit this puzzler, from yesteryear, for a variety of reasons. Number one --

TOM: I know one of them. You found out the right answer.

RAY: Number of reasons plus one.

TOM: Plus one.

RAY: Number one it was perhaps, it is perhaps one of the best puzzlers of all time, I think.

TOM: Monty Hall?

RAY: Number two, we haven't used it in so long that the people that heard it then, are dead.

TOM: They're dead. Or they forgot.

RAY: Here it is, in its simplest form.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: You may remember the game show. What was that game show? Let's Make a Deal.

TOM: Let's Make a Deal. Yeah.

RAY: Where the contestant was presented with three doors - door number one, door number two and door number three. Behind one of the doors was a wonderful prize and behind the other two doors were crummy prizes, known as zonks.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: And very simple.

TOM: Like a couple of candy bars or some such thing.

RAY: Exactly.

TOM: Something not worth much.

RAY: Exactly. A '63 Dodge Dart. Anything like that. Here's the deal. You are the contestants.

TOM: I'm the contestant.

RAY: Monty Hall says, "Pick a door." Your chances of picking a zonk are two and three and your chances of picking the winner are one in three.

TOM: Right.

RAY: He says, "OK. You pick door number two. I'm going to show you what's behind one of the doors that you didn't pick. Now, because there are two zonks and one winner and he knows where the winners and the zonks are. He shows you one of the doors that you didn't pick that's clearly a zonk.

TOM: So, he says, "I'm going to show you what's behind door number one."

RAY: Right.

TOM: And he looks behind door number one --

RAY: And it's six candy bars.

TOM: Six candy bars.

RAY: He then says to you, "Would you like to keep door number two, which you've chosen or would you like to switch to door number three?" That's the question - should you switch or not switch? Now, if you think you know the answer or just feel sorry for the Post Office in this age of e-mail and you want to give them something to do, send your answer to Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza, Box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge --

TOM: Our fair city.

RAY: MA 02238. Or, if you prefer, you can e-mail us your answer from the Car Talk web site. Just click on the Talk to Car Talk section. Now, if we choose your correct answer at random, from among all of the correct answers that we receive, you will get a Car Talk sistine wrench T-shirt. Car Talk's first attempt, and probably last, at fine art.

TOM: And we don't say when you'll get it. You will get it.

RAY: You shall get it. You might.

TOM: At some time --

RAY: You probably will.

TOM: At some time in the future."

And...the hotly debated answer.
posted by kinetic at 4:52 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


I waited on him a couple times at a Boston restaurant where the owner was a friend of his. It was strange to see the man behind the voice I heard on the radio my whole childhood.

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posted by zvs at 4:53 PM on November 3, 2014


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For the last four years of the show, new shows included previously broadcast segments as much as 10 years old.

I've been noticing that lately — sometimes the show is nothing but people calling about problems with their pre-2000 vehicles. It can't last forever but it sure has been fun to listen to.
posted by beagle at 4:59 PM on November 3, 2014


kinetic: After they got all the hate mail about the Monty Hall puzzle, Tommy decided to prove the answer by implementing the game on the site. It tracked cumulative success rate, by choice, over time. The simulation got gutted in a subsequent redesign (probably nobody wanted to port my hideous Perl code) but you can find one of the last snapshots of the scoreboard on the Internet Archive. (Surprise! You should switch.)
posted by nev at 5:16 PM on November 3, 2014 [12 favorites]


the ne plus ultra of old guys

This is not just incredibly sad to me but fairly disorienting, because while I knew they were into their 70s I had no idea Tommy was ailing (I didn't know he was that much older either) when they retired from recording new shows. And because they never went off the air - being instead preserved in Charles Schultizan rerun amber, a format to which the shows had partially transitioned (thus rendering the change fairly subtle) even before 2012 - there was nothing to make you feel like they wouldn't be around forever. A show both intimate and ageless like that is something that can only happen on radio, I think, and they knew it was their perfect format.
posted by atoxyl at 5:20 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


And another benevolent superhero leaves us. Alas.

And now I'm crying over someone I never met. I will miss him anyway as I've been listening to them most of my life. Nicely said, dirtdirt.
posted by theredpen at 5:23 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by batfish at 5:43 PM on November 3, 2014


I am very sad about this, and I have nothing else to say.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 5:55 PM on November 3, 2014


Even during the years I didn't have a car, I squawndad many an hour listening to their infectious laughs, goofy alternative theories, and logic.

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posted by Measured Out my Life in Coffeespoons at 5:59 PM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


. For this Canadian's only experience with NPR.
posted by Naib at 6:03 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by dougfelt at 6:03 PM on November 3, 2014


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Every single thing Tom (and Ray too) did was done with LOVE. Love of cars of people and of problem solving! Love love love love love. As a duo, they were like the Leo Buscaglia of CARS and problem solving.

See ya on the other side, Tom! (I'll be the guy struggling to tune side draft dual port Webers on a '79 VW bus.)
posted by snsranch at 6:11 PM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]


After they got all the hate mail about the Monty Hall puzzle, Tommy decided to prove the answer by implementing the game on the site.

The problem with that puzzle is many people forget when the game starts and ends.

Start of game. One prize, two goats. You can't tell which is which, so each door has a 1/3 chance of being the prize and 2/3 of being the goat.

You pick one. That door has a 1/3 chance of being the prize.

Monty picks one, but it is a goat. That door, then, has a 0/3 chance of being the prize.

THE GAME IS NOT OVER. THERE ARE STILL THREE DOORS. This is where people who screw this up make the mistake. There is not a new game, where one door has a prize and one door doesn't. This is still a game with three doors, one door having a prize and two doors having a goat, and Monty Hall has done you a solid, because he's told you WHICH one of the two remaining doors has a goat, which means it now has a 0/3 chance of being the prize.

This doesn't raise the odds on your door. That's still 1/3. It *lowers* the odds on the door Monty shows you to 0/3.

Well. Now, what's the chance of the door that Monty didn't reveal having the prize? Your door still has that 1/3 chance -- there were three unknown doors and you picked one. The door Monty opened has a 0/3 chance, he's picked it and it certainly does not have the prize. That means the remaining door must have a 2/3 chance, because all the probabilities have to add up to 1.
posted by eriko at 6:13 PM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]


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posted by humanfont at 6:16 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by alms at 6:17 PM on November 3, 2014


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In addition to many childhood weekend mornings with Tom & Ray drifting in and out, we once had a book of just puzzlers. We took the book on a road trip and took turns reading them aloud. Even just narrating their repartee got the whole minivan laughing.
posted by Mr Yak at 6:20 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by Mouse Army at 6:41 PM on November 3, 2014


I hope they continue to play Car Talk reruns forever.

Well, Bob Ross is still on the air 20 years later, although I worry that the Car Talk content won't age as well.

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posted by Jacqueline at 7:04 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by RainyJay at 7:05 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by yuwtze at 7:14 PM on November 3, 2014


I listened to Car Talk with my parents, I listened with my girlfriend (now my wife), and we listen with our children. The rhythms of the show, the banter, the attitude and character are so deeply familiar that I'm sure we've internalized them in ways I don't even notice. Tom and Ray felt like a couple of wacky amiable uncles and I'm always in the mood to listen to them. The thought that Tom's not there anymore (and worse, that his family had to deal with losing him slowly these last few years ) is a hard one to bear. My heart goes out to the Magliozzis in sympathy and also in gratitude for sharing their wit, brains, and great humor for all these years. I hope to squander many more hours of my life listening to their accumulated broadcasts.
posted by Songdog at 7:27 PM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


I was so sad to see this news today. I've listened to Car Talk for at least 15 years, if not more, and continue to listen to the reruns on satellite radio. Tom and Ray had a chemistry you really can't duplicate. The show is timeless - except for the model year and the occasional current events reference, it really could be from anywhen. I hope they continue to air, and Tom is somewhere driving a Dodge Dart and smoking a big cigar.

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posted by booksherpa at 7:38 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by AbnerRavenwood at 7:58 PM on November 3, 2014


Well, I've wasted another perfectly good hour (ok, not an hour, but it had to be said) reading about these guys and reminiscing. My dad an I would always make sure that we were in a place to listen to the puzzler. We never sent in an answer (on the back of a 20 dollar bill) but it was something that I loved doing with him every week. I eventually grew less interested in their car advice, but the rest of the show was amazing.

During a WBUR fundraiser, they were brought on to try to hit the daily goal. They immediately started joking about how BU football (the next program on, I think because of some contract WBUR had with BU at the time) would be coming up next if they didn't hit the goal. They started cutting in the marching band and then back to the Tappin brothers warning us about BU football. They almost hit the goal, but not quite and the station went on to play the game. I always wondered what would have happened if they had hit the goal, what the station managers were planning to do.

I ascended puzzler tower once, but was too chicken to go to the top floor and actually see what was behind the Dewey, Cheatum and Howe window. I ended up buying a book from the guy who owned a coin/antique shop with a couple of books kicking around two floors below.

Tom, you will be missed
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posted by Hactar at 8:18 PM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]


I have fond memories of my father waking me up way too early in the morning in the early 1990s so we could go hang out with his friend and the other members of the Gateway Austin-Healey Club, tinkering with cars and and a fridge with all the soda I could ever want, all the while Car Talk on in the background.
posted by gc at 8:19 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 8:22 PM on November 3, 2014


The Monty Hall problem becomes a lot more intuitive if you try it with 52 doors (or a deck of cards). You're hoping to pick the Ace of Spades. You pick a card and don't look at it. Monty shows you 50 of the other cards, none of which is the Ace. Do you think it's more likely the card you picked is the Ace or the one remaining card from the 51 you didn't pick? Should you switch?
posted by straight at 9:14 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


My heart is like a dimly lit Quonset hut.

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posted by mon-ma-tron at 9:15 PM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


As a native Cantabridgian and gearhead, this one sucks.

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posted by spitbull at 9:24 PM on November 3, 2014




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posted by LobsterMitten at 9:55 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by exact_change at 10:13 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by bitter-girl.com at 10:15 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by gucci mane at 10:32 PM on November 3, 2014


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posted by but no cigar at 10:38 PM on November 3, 2014


I'd enjoyed the enthusiasm of the show for years before I even had a car.

I recall the '60 Minutes' profile (which I had thought might have been done by Mike Wallace, but Mr Google informs me was Steve Kroft) as one of their softball pieces.

Google is less helpful in helping me remember the name of the senator (or representative) who, in a debate about cutting NPR funding, said "Do you want to take Tom and Ray off the air?".

Best to your family. I'll be missing you, Tom.
posted by rochrobbb at 10:58 PM on November 3, 2014


Not to turn this into a total derail, but Car Talk is what taught me about the Monty Hall Problem in the first place, I've had people scream at me over that and it's heartwarming to see that Klick (or Klack, I don't know) has my back.

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posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 12:25 AM on November 4, 2014


I believe Tom would be delighted that a memorial thread for him derailed into a discussion of the Monty Hall problem.

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posted by LEGO Damashii at 12:53 AM on November 4, 2014 [9 favorites]


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posted by kinnakeet at 1:54 AM on November 4, 2014


I believe Tom would be delighted that a memorial thread for him derailed into a discussion of the Monty Hall problem.

That was my intent.
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posted by kinetic at 2:51 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by drworm at 3:39 AM on November 4, 2014


Aw man. I love Car Talk. Very sad.

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posted by foxhat10 at 4:08 AM on November 4, 2014


Google is less helpful in helping me remember the name of the senator (or representative) who, in a debate about cutting NPR funding, said "Do you want to take Tom and Ray off the air?".

Apparently that was former Representative Carlos Danger Anthony Wiener D-NY per CNN's Political Ticker blog. I bet Tom and Ray got a kick out of that.
posted by carmicha at 5:35 AM on November 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


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posted by MsDaniB at 5:37 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by ElleElle at 5:40 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by lalochezia at 5:50 AM on November 4, 2014


The family asks that in lieu flowers, or rotten fruit, fans of Tom make a donation in his memory to either their local NPR station or the Alzheimer’s Association.

From the linked article:
Tom Magliozzi who, along with his brother Ray, hosted NPR’s hit comedy show Car Talk for the last 37 years, died Monday morning from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. “Turns out he wasn’t kidding,” said Ray. “He really couldn’t remember last week’s puzzler.”
posted by zamboni at 5:51 AM on November 4, 2014 [8 favorites]


I have to drive around a lot during the holidays, and a few of years ago, I found A Car Talk Christmas Carol. I listen to it every year now, and I will this year too. I'll just be sad for a minute before I start laughing.
posted by gladly at 6:05 AM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh man, you guys are making me cry.

Listening to Car Talk in the car: good memories. Sorry for your loss Ray. RIP Tom.

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posted by dubitable at 6:08 AM on November 4, 2014


...but I can't keep from laughing reading these stories anyways. Here's another one for the road Tom: .
posted by dubitable at 6:09 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by allthinky at 6:23 AM on November 4, 2014


One of the ways I know I've succeeded as a parent was when my son was watching Cars and immediately recognized the Rust-eez brothers as "they funny guys from the radio".

RIP Tom.
posted by anastasiav at 6:28 AM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by SyraCarol at 6:36 AM on November 4, 2014


I've listened to Car Talk for 20 years and was floored when I heard this (on NPR, of course). I had no idea Tom was so ill, and based on Ray's email copied above, even his family was surprised by the speed of his decline. I wonder how my daughter will react to this. Although at 9 years old she isn't particularly into cars, she loves their show "because of the way they laugh." Indeed, one of the best ways to get her moving on the weekends is to tell her that if she hurries we can get in the car in time to listen to Click and Clack. She first heard them in the movie Cars, which she loves.

Is it true that honorary pallbearers wil be members of the Payne-Diaz family?
posted by TedW at 6:36 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by tuesdayschild at 6:43 AM on November 4, 2014


From the obit on cartalk.com, re death from Alzheimer's compliations: “Turns out he wasn’t kidding,” said Ray. “He really couldn’t remember last week’s puzzler.”
posted by waraw at 6:53 AM on November 4, 2014 [7 favorites]


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posted by Quasirandom at 7:32 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by Scienxe at 8:35 AM on November 4, 2014


. They will be missed. Voices from a kinder age.
posted by RowanYote at 9:36 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by introp at 9:56 AM on November 4, 2014


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posted by pwinn at 10:26 AM on November 4, 2014


Liesl: Is Tom the one with the sleek black beauty? If so, I hope he had a wonderful reunion.
Jeez! Show some respect for the widow ...
posted by IAmBroom at 10:48 AM on November 4, 2014


Poor Tommy. Poor Raymie. I thought the callus left on my heart from surviving Mister Rogers meant that no famous person death could make me cry again. Wrong!
posted by Don Pepino at 12:42 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by chicainthecity at 12:59 PM on November 4, 2014


As someone else posted on one of the Facebook comment threads that I saw:

You can pay your respects at the Will Diggum and Barry M. Deep Funeral Home.

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posted by usonian at 2:16 PM on November 4, 2014 [9 favorites]


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posted by mmrtnt at 3:25 PM on November 4, 2014


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posted by MikeWarot at 6:53 PM on November 4, 2014


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posted by pandalicious at 1:41 AM on November 5, 2014


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posted by apparently at 2:31 AM on November 5, 2014


I just learned that the brothers once had a garage space called Hacker's Haven, thinking they'd make some money by letting people rent space and tools to work on their cars. But Tom and Ray wound up spending all their time helping the customers out instead. "I mean, if some poor chump is spending all day trying to change his spark plugs, you can’t help but give him a hand." Here's a Fresh Air interview.
posted by exogenous at 6:49 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


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posted by jlbartosa at 10:56 AM on November 5, 2014


"Chump" (at least the way Tom and Ray said it) is just the most excellent, good-natured way to refer to someone who doesn't know what he's doing. (Can a woman be referred to as a chump?)
posted by straight at 4:25 PM on November 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Anyone can be, and often is, a chump. Even women.
posted by C.A.S. at 2:30 AM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]


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posted by klausness at 8:38 AM on November 6, 2014


This week's podcast episode opens with the quotation "Memories are the only paradise from which we cannot be expelled," which was quite the tear-jerker in context.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:29 AM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


I heard on NPR this morning that the 11/8 broadcast of Car Talk will be a memorial episode where Ray shares some of his favorite moments and memories of Tom. Check your local listings - I will definitely be tuning in.
posted by muddgirl at 10:25 AM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]


Tom, you will be missed. And not just because this means that my policy of only allowing PhDs to work on my car will have an even smaller pool of qualified candidates to choose from.
posted by typical npr listener at 12:13 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


This week's episode was as muddgirl says, Ray remembering and playing old clips and this is the first time I've teared up from a Car Talk episode that wasn't from laughing. So long, Tommy.

/Anyone have a link to the air brakes episode?
posted by benito.strauss at 9:03 AM on November 8, 2014


Today's episode, Tommy, Riposa in Pace.
posted by QuakerMel at 6:35 PM on November 8, 2014 [4 favorites]


If you want to download the episode...Adding because it took me 5 freaking minutes to figure out where they hid the download link.
posted by COD at 7:00 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


COD: If you want to download the episode...Adding because it took me 5 freaking minutes to figure out where they hid the download link.
Bless you, my brother in pasta. MHNATY.
posted by IAmBroom at 1:32 PM on November 10, 2014


I listened to the tribute episode, and the thing that delighted me was when they played a clip of their mother guest-appearing on the show - she'd made some kind of mistake at what she was supposed to say, and started laughing.

Tom and Ray got their laughs from their mother. It was clear.

By far one of my favorite moments from the show was when a gentleman of Indian origin called in, and introduced himself as "Arup Gupta". And Tom and Ray really, really liked that name - so much so that the whole show ground to a halt for nearly a full minute, as both of them just kept repeating, over and over, "A-ROOP....GOOP-ta! A-ROOP.....GOOP-ta!" You could hear Mr. gupta's patience slowly start thinning at the very end. But the thing was, you never got the sense they were making fun of his name - they sincerely just really, really liked it and wanted to enjoy it for a little while.

Back when they retired, I talked in that thread about writing to TOP GEAR and suggesting they make a joint appearance as stars in a reasonably priced car. I did, but only got a form letter back. Their loss, as well as ours.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:52 PM on November 10, 2014 [2 favorites]


Holy hell, Mr. Gupta wrote them a follow-up letter.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:55 PM on November 10, 2014


Tom's daughter Lydia did a eulogy in limerick form. Tom would approve.
posted by COD at 5:25 AM on November 11, 2014


Tom's son Alex also wrote a really beautiful eulogy here. Have listened to them for as long as I can remember and am so sad about this. Alzheimers is a bitch.
posted by leslies at 7:42 PM on November 11, 2014


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