Archive of The Best of Car Talk

Mary from Illinois has been offered a company car by her employer . She can have either the reliable Mercury Sable, a sporty Jeep Cherokee or the vehicle of choice for seniors: the Chrysler New Yorker. Tom and Ray want to understand as much as possible before advising Mary and that leads to some unexpected answers on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Chip lives in a congested suburban area where his next door neighbor is in the habit of warming up his car every day for 20 minutes in the driveway that's right between their two houses. Chip isn't sure whether to approach his neighbor with the 'poisonous fumes' or 'you're wrecking your car' or 'you're wrecking our planet' approach. Will Tom and Ray be able to help Chip deftly navigate this situation, or will they just put a lit match to it? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

On this episode of the Best of Car Talk more callers with car questions and a story from the Magliozzi family facial-reconstruction files. Ray recalls how his older, wiser brother Tom turned a friendly game of catch in their yard into a trip to the hospital.

Ann from Minnesota needs a new car that helps her maintain her self image as 'sixty, sexy and single' without making her look like she's trying to compete with her daughter. '63 Dodge Darts are few and far between, so which of the other available convertibles on the market will suit Ann? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Steve from Virginia couldn't locate the turkey that he was sure he had just picked up at the grocery store the other day, so he went out and got another. About one week later, the guys at his local repair shop opened up his Dodge Caravan and found the missing turkey under the backseat! Find out how many air fresheners it will take to mask that smell on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Susan from Virginia took her trusty Dodge Omni on a long trip recently and encountered starting problems after stopping every few hours. A local mechanic at her destination talked her into replacing the starter but the problem persisted on her return trip. Did Susan get ripped-off and get a starter she didn't need? Can Tom and Ray interest her in another starter? Hear our know-it-alls try and figure out Susan's problem along with several others on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Andy from Colorado loves to wax his cars. Andy's friends think that he is completely wasting his time because, they say, modern cars have protective coatings that make waxing unnecessary. Hear the brothers waxing poetically, philosophically and in tight overlapping circular motions on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

The other day Ashley was standing behind her Toyota Camry while a friend tried to start it. At the very moment the engine roared to life, out of the car's muffler came a fur ball with enough force that it passed right by her. Now, the Camry has been having a few power issues lately, but is Ashley going to have to replace all four hamsters AND their little exercise wheels, or can her Camry run fine on just three of the little guys? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

How sea-worthy is your car? Not sure? Neither was Mike, but he found himself doing a little impromptu pond skimming in his Acura Integra at about 26 knotts and it didn't go so well. Find out what happens when your car takes a big drink of water on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Kyla will be looking for a new ride soon and she has her sights set on an odd class of vehicle that includes the Geo Tracker and the Suzuki Sidekick, which were supposed to look like off-road vehicles. Well, they got the 'off-road' part sort of right: they never should have been allowed on roads of any kind. But it will take some careful persuasion to talk Kyla out of this potential purchase. That, a new puzzler and more calls on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Every car repair shop has that old, grizzled mechanic who's willing to be strapped to the hood of a moving car in order to listen for a noise, or to hold two wires together with his bare hands in order to check for high voltage current. At Car Talk, that mechanic was Krusty. Krusty could not only tell you -with a taste off his fingertip- whether that oil stain was 30 or 40-weight , but he could do it while wafting tailpipe smoke into his mouth as a way of double checking the shop's exhaust gas analyzer. The legend that was Krusty was a feature of the puzzler for decades and here is one of his early mentions.

'Sonja Henie's Tutu'? A 'Full Chicago'? For the uninitiated, Tom and Ray take a moment to provide an insider's guide to a few of Car Talk's shorthand phrases while still finding time to 'help' Toni and others with their car problems. Also, the first mention of perennial puzzler foil 'Krusty' the mechanic as part of the new puzzler on this episode of The Best of Car Talk.

Being the owner of a French car can be, well... challenging. Poor Karen. Her Renault Encore has been in the shop regularly for major work and her most recent problem sounds like a doozie. The car is making a bunch of noises(in French!) that have her worried. Comment dit-on "paiement du bateau" en français? Check it out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

After taking delivery of his recently purchased BMW, author and friend of the show Daniel Pinkwater struggles to interpret a few clues: Strobing dashboard lights, an overflowing ashtray, a pile of corn chips and the curious behavior of the dog. From Car Talk's 'Pinkwater Files' comes, "The Tale of the Three Mikes." Can Tom and Ray make like Holmes and Watson and solve this puzzler(and a few others)? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

The Puzzler usually goes off the rails when the brothers' grasp of the concept is 'imperfect', shall we say. This time it's the demonstration of the concept that almost gets them in trouble. Good thing they have 'faces made for radio' or the FCC would be all over them. That, and more, on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Today the boys try to help Erin from Maryland with her Honda's oddly-timed noise and then they say hello to one of the show's all-time favorite callers: Lyle from Alabama, who's suffering from a stuck dipstick. Imagine the possibilities. All this and a new puzzler on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Sheila's husband is running for President of the United States and the two of them are about to embark on a barnstorming tour of the US in Sheila's Chevy Chevette. So, yeah, we're guessing this has got to be a longshot campaign. Sheila says that her mechanic recently fixed something in the car's electrical system with his wife's earring and some epoxy and now Sheila and her Presidential hopeful husband want to know if they should reconsider at least the Chevette's candidacy? Check it out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

"Ford or Chevy?", "Standard or Auto-magic?", "Two-door or Four-door?", "Hard-top or convertible?", "Does She or Doesn't She?". Add to this list of great automotive choices Jerry and his girlfriend Mari's, "To wash or not to wash?" Is it really necessary in the middle of a New York winter to wash your car when it will be just as dirty within a few days? As luck would have it, the brothers disagree with both choices. Check it out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Donna's Pontiac is giving her problems. Instead of being the prototypical 'Donna Pontiac' of Car Talk lore -a Firebird, she's stuck with a lowly Pontiac 1000 -a Chevy Chevette in disguise. And if that wasn't bad enough, her ignition key, of all things, is causing trouble. Can Tom and Ray talk Donna into trading-in this heap for a shiny new Firebird or will they come up with a fix for this 'starter Pontiac'? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

On a recent show the brothers flatly stated that no one ever gets cited for tailgating on the roads nowadays. Christopher, a humble student from St. Louis begs to differ. He was going down the road in his Peugeot when he got pulled over for following to close to the vehicle in front of him. Hear Chris tell the rest of his tailgating tale on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.