The Best of Car Talk

Happy Holidays from the Best of Car Talk! We had our eye on a really ugly holiday sweater for you, but they didn’t have your size. Instead, we thought you might like to take a break from all the holiday hustle and bustle and revel in the merry misery of someone else’s car trouble. Ray has been taking car questions of late and Kyle and Chloe were lucky enough to catch him in the studio. These calls are usually for NPR+ supporters only, but in a very uncharacteristic moment of magnanimity, we decided to spread the schadenfreude around and let everyone listen in. If you have a car question for Ray, call 888 522 5478, and have a wonderful holiday season.Get access to occasional new calls like these and other prehistoric Car Talk gems, as well as about 1000 episodes of Car Talk, by heading over to plus.npr.orgLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Katie is a hiker and camper but she called the least ‘outdoorsy’ guys possible to find out if it’s safe to pour her old camp stove fuel into her car’s gas tank. Click and Clack the Wilderness Brothers ‘break camp’(and a few other things) on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Diana’s dyin’ to ditch her Dodge unless our dummies can decode her dilemma: a smell so bad that it almost defies description. Hold your nose and open your ears for this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Eric has a modest proposal: Shouldn’t the cost of the $4 part that his mechanic is replacing on his car also bear some resemblance to the cost of the labor to do the job? Afraid not, piston puss! How would mechanics ever pay for their boats if that were the case? Click and Clack expound upon various schemes- uh, theories!.. on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bruce’s son is a lawyer in Orlando, Florida who, like most of the other lawyers in the area,  drives a Lincoln Town Car. Except this one is not really helping his image. Instead of looking stylish and high class, paint is falling off in sheets leaving Bruce wondering whether repainting it would even work. Grab a brush or a can of spray paint and check out this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Gina was tooling along a local country road when an humongous spider descended in front of her eyes and into her lap. She doesn’t have any questions about removing stains from upholstery but there is the matter of the hedges and lawn furniture she wiped out as she careened down the embankment towards the waterfront. Brace for impact and check out this episode of The Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ivan was enduring an attempt to upsell him on a special oil treatment when he heard this doozy from the mechanic-turned-salesman: “We’re not the problem. We’re part of the solution.” We agree, if the solution he’s referring to is a sleazy soup of grease and jargon. Click and Clack wade through this and other messes on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Karen from Virginia has two problems: Her Ford Taurus wagon shakes something awful from time to time. The second problem is her physicist husband’s theories about the source of the shimmy. We ain’t Fakin’, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ on in this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jessica and her mom both drive their VW but every time Jessica goes to start it she gets a shock. Is this some kind of anti-Fahrgvergnugen that only Jessica has to endure, or is their another possible answer? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Paula from Virginia mostly wanted help with her Toyota Camry but, as a US Census agent she couldn’t resist wagging her finger to remind all of us to cooperate with the upcoming census collection. Fun ensues on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Lori’s man is acquiring old vehicles at an alarming rate. He loves working on them but, since he’s blind, he can’t drive them. Should Lori be putting the brakes on this hobby or practice kickstarting the Harley instead? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ellen from Boston has had enough and wants to divorce her Honda. It's been in 3 accidents, vandalized repeatedly and been hit by a falling tree. Will Click and Clack agree that this union was simply not meant to be, or will they suggest some expensive counseling sessions at the Good News Garage first? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Who doesn’t like a good flush? Certainly not us. Unless it’s our $ being flushed into some unscrupulous car dealer’s pockets via some newfangled Rube Goldberg device. Ann from Colorado thinks she might be a victim and wants Click and Clack to assuage her fears on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Our ‘Family Planning Division’ has been busy! a few weeks ago it was Anne from Georgia playing ambulance driver with her post-vasectomy-reversal hubby moaning in the back seat. This time, Kara is pregnant with twins as a result of a botched vasectomy. Urology is a tougher racket than we thought. Boy have we got questions on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Rhonda’s minivan needs help, Mike’s Subaru shuns Sundays and Gwen’s van has literally gone to the dogs on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Terri has a teenage son and he’s wearing her resistance down at the same time that he’s saving up for a muscle car. Rather than take the easy route, Click and Clack invite Tom’s son Alex to provide the teenage boy perspective. That and other big mistakes on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Show favorite Daniel Pinkwater returns to detail his latest automotive claim to fame as the ‘uber-butt’ by which all other posteriors and car seats are measured on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Shakespeare famously tried to woo a maiden by comparing her to a summer’s day. Tommy - No Bill Shakespeare he- tries comparing his wife to a truck. Will he be sleeping on the couch or in the garage this time? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Anne’s husband was under heavy sedation following a very delicate medical procedure and lying on a mattress placed in the back of their minivan for a seven hour drive home. In order to spare him the pain, Anne floored it the entire way and now hubby and the van don’t sound so good. Did she wreck the car? Did hubby survive? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Diane’s a farm girl just trying to plant this season’s crop but the various men on the farm have littered their old junk cars all over the fields. Can Click and Clack help Diane work with these fragile male egos in her midst or should she just plow ‘em under? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy