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capitalone.com/commercial. Member FDIC. Hello

0:32

and welcome to Car

0:34

Talk, a national public radio with us, Click

0:36

and Clash with Tappert Brothers. And we're broadcasting

0:39

this week from the Mike Kupholder, Runneth Over

0:41

division here at Car Talk Plaza. Now,

0:44

here's a story that we've been following for

0:46

many years. And if you remember, we were

0:48

on the front lines or front line or

0:50

something like that, leading the rest of the

0:52

national press in breaking this story. You

0:55

remember that? I certainly do. I remember

0:57

that we pointed out. What

0:59

was that vehicle? A Chevy Lumina wagon.

1:02

Yes, it was. Minivan. Yes.

1:05

And we pointed out that in the fully deployed position,

1:08

all seats down. Shields

1:10

up. Shields up. There

1:13

were, in that vehicle, count them.

1:16

How many were there? I think 17. No,

1:19

there were 13. There

1:21

were 13 because it was

1:23

slightly fewer than two cups per

1:26

person, except all the people

1:28

wouldn't be able to sit down because all

1:30

the seats had to be down. So with

1:32

only two people, it was almost seven cups

1:35

per person. And now we have, in

1:38

fact, we had it filled up. We had great

1:40

coupon, mustard in one. Here

1:43

it is straight out of automotive news,

1:45

April 8th issue. This

1:48

is news. Chevy declares

1:50

cup holder coup. John

1:55

Middlebrook, the new general manager of

1:57

Chevrolet, declared victory in the

1:59

minivan cup holder. War at last week's

2:01

New York International Auto Show. The

2:03

Chevrolet Venture. What is

2:05

that? Is that a new vehicle? We

2:08

didn't even see that one

2:10

yet. The Chevrolet Venture has

2:12

17, count of 17, compared

2:14

to a mere eight on

2:16

the Chrysler Corporation minivans. The

2:18

victory left Middlebrook in a

2:20

magnanimous mood. Wow,

2:23

see we should sign a couple the truths and

2:25

get on with our lives, he said. Sure

2:28

they want to sign the truth. Sure, now that

2:30

they won the war. The coveted award. They have

2:33

not heard the last word I'm sure. Not from

2:35

Chrysler, the men of smoke and mirrors? Are

2:38

you kidding? Come on

2:40

Lutz, you can do it. Bob

2:42

Lutz, the chairperson of Chrysler Corporation, will

2:45

not sit down on this one.

2:48

He will not lie down dead and

2:50

roll over. He will come back. I

2:54

predict. You do, eh? Well

2:56

I predict if we give up this number we'll get a phone

2:58

call. Go ahead. 1-800-332-9287. Hello, you're on Car

3:02

Talk. I'm

3:06

hoping you can

3:08

help me see the light.

3:10

This 86 wagon's giving me

3:12

grief. And you I have meant

3:26

to leave. Come on Flick

3:28

and Clack, you got to come through. Tell

3:31

me just what I should do.

3:36

Hey, I'm

3:40

Liz, I'm calling from New Haven. New Haven?

3:42

New Haven? I'm calling from Nashville.

3:44

No, no, no, I did steal the

3:47

tune from a Nashville song. Gee,

3:50

that was very good Liz, you've got a

3:52

future here. You do. Doing

3:54

what? I know not, but you have a

3:57

future of some kind. An 86 what? Wagon

4:00

Volvo and 86 right left

4:02

at 240 or 240 yeah, okay, and

4:05

it pulls to the right 240 DL

4:07

yeah, it comes to the right Pulls

4:10

to the right yeah, I took the

4:12

most interesting question. We've ever had I mean

4:15

the most interesting presentation of a

4:17

question So

4:20

who do you work for other

4:22

any other verses? What

4:24

was it huh? I think I keep kindergarten

4:27

really that's my that's my day job And

4:29

and you and you've seen country and Western at

4:31

night. Well. No you cruise the bars. What what

4:33

do you do? No, I wish I

4:36

had a job singing country and Western well You're

4:38

not gonna believe this, but I'm sure the talent agents will

4:41

be calling us in the morning. Well.

4:43

We wanted to find out Liz

4:50

is All

4:52

right, so you drive this 86 240 DL Yeah,

4:56

I just got it the beginning of February

4:58

Yeah, and I took it to be aligned

5:01

because the dealer had to do something to

5:03

it and when they were done It

5:06

needed this alignment So I took it to

5:08

be aligned and and the top the tire

5:10

place that aligned it couldn't Align

5:13

it and they couldn't make their computer numbers

5:15

match up. Uh-huh why? In

5:18

big letters at the bottom of

5:20

that printout the manufacturer does not

5:22

specify a front caster adjustment And

5:25

I did nothing we can do so

5:27

I took it to the dealer back to the dealer I

5:29

bought it because it was still under warranty and they Adjusted

5:32

a few things, but they couldn't tell me what because when

5:34

I went to pick it up The man who had done

5:36

the work had gone to Santo Domingo Extradition

5:41

of what not deported But

5:46

it's still you know it still does this pull

5:50

Not as terribly as originally, but I can't imagine

5:52

it's good for the car to drive it And

5:55

it pulls as you're driving along on

5:57

a straightaway They

6:00

sort of let go of the steering wheel, it

6:02

goes, hmm. Yeah, no, it's pulling because they can't

6:04

get the wheels lined up, and they can't get

6:06

them lined up because there's no cast or adjustment

6:08

provided for, there's no way to move the

6:11

top of the strut assembly. And the

6:13

reason that this is occurring is that this car

6:15

has been in an accident of some kind. Ah.

6:18

Probably, but in an accident. I see.

6:20

Yeah. And something got bent,

6:22

either the strut got bent, or

6:24

the strut tower got bent, the thing that

6:26

the strut attaches to, and it's

6:28

now made the thing unalignable. So do

6:31

you think I was duped here?

6:33

Well how long ago did you buy this

6:35

vehicle? Well just the beginning of this

6:37

past February. Did you compose a song for

6:39

them? No, but I think

6:41

she's working on it. Yeah,

6:44

I mean, this is too bad,

6:46

but it's probably enough of a reason to

6:48

go get your money back. Really?

6:51

Well at least ask, I mean, if in fact the

6:53

frame is bent, it can be straightened. If

6:56

the strut is bent, the whole, the strut can

6:58

be replaced. So it's fixable. It

7:00

is? Oh sure, yeah. I

7:02

mean, I would think so, unless it was so

7:04

badly bent and they really can't straighten it at

7:06

all, in which case you'll have to get your

7:09

money back. But if it's only a slight pull,

7:11

my guess is- It's only a slight pull, it's not terrible.

7:13

And the warranty is up, so it would be kind of a

7:15

fight for me to get my money back, I think.

7:18

Although it was an existing problem beforehand, I think. Sure it

7:20

was. I would

7:22

maybe go to an alignment specialist in

7:24

your fair city of New Haven and

7:27

ask them to give you a definitive

7:30

answer on what it is that's making

7:32

it not, making it out of

7:34

alignment. Okay. And then

7:36

go back to the dealer and say, hey look, this is what

7:38

these guys said, fix it. Okay.

7:42

And if they say no, then you call Dewey

7:44

Cheetaman Hal, we'll send our crap legal experts down

7:46

in the New Haven. The leg breakers. Yeah,

7:49

Vinnie Wombats and we'll take care of

7:51

it. Okay. Something is bent. Okay.

7:54

And they're trying to- they probably put like 80 pounds

7:56

of air in that right front tire. Okay.

8:00

the emergency break in the left rear wheel

8:02

really tight with the agony the hope to

8:04

create a compensation effect really a

8:06

character not while the along there are lots

8:08

of little tricks yet and we are bound

8:10

by the secret society to which we belong

8:12

not to divulge anymore that you

8:15

know you're already in trouble just by saying what you

8:17

said they'll be waiting for us when we leave the

8:19

studio uh... and

8:22

i can see a song coming

8:24

on for for the

8:26

situation when you go back there and they

8:28

tell you that they won't do anything about

8:30

it you bought the car it's too late

8:32

so long lives well they probably wouldn't be

8:35

able to hear those lyrics over the radio

8:38

so we always need our biz uh...

8:42

uh... and you're going to

8:45

use bent in there somewhere bent is

8:47

an important part of the uh... uh...

8:50

and uh... good

8:53

luck with thank you so much for your help see

8:56

you later we love your song

9:00

we'll be right back with the answer to the puzzle

9:02

right after these messages this

9:08

message comes from npr spencer better help

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T-E-L-A-D-O-C health slash whatsyourwhy. I.

10:31

I know you can't remember last week puzzle you know

10:33

in l a form with the already have that at

10:35

all of the form and you don't remember it solves

10:37

is already so it. Because. It's

10:39

it is awfully. Tiring. I

10:41

do have a you know more duel a note

10:44

from the guy who sent me the forms. Zoom.

10:46

One of those name know assuming he

10:48

says yo a semi some or theory

10:50

is. Matt.

10:53

Jackson from Rapid City, South Dakota. Where are you

10:55

mad He said he's gonna send me new forms.

10:57

I think it's unfair of him to send these

10:59

forms and not send me some good puzzler. Here

11:03

we are. Yeah, Sherlock.

11:05

Holmes and Doctor What does was good

11:07

to a relaxing by the fire in

11:10

the study of to twenty one be

11:12

Baker Street here. Holmes's.

11:14

Puffing on his favorite Taliban

11:16

fall, Watson was reading the

11:18

Times. Suddenly. Watson glanced over

11:21

the top of the paper and look directly at

11:23

homes. When's. Your birthday homes.

11:26

And the A business. You

11:28

tell me was very cruel to Watson. What

11:31

was he treated him like a second class.

11:34

Was a talker and he was a

11:36

doctor. John Watson was a doctor throat

11:38

and whole series I'm lucky was a

11:40

bumbling school rather shabbily in indeed I

11:42

don't like it at all I can

11:44

me these a jerk like the way

11:46

you treat me as a success of

11:48

you tell me Watson has replied with

11:50

a smile. The. Day before yesterday

11:53

I was thirty two. And.

11:55

Next year I will be thirty five. impossible

11:58

snapped what And

12:01

of course Holmes was right. Yeah, he always was

12:03

right. Can you tell what day of the year

12:06

they were sitting by the fire? All

12:09

what day of the year Holmes celebrated his

12:11

birthday? Either of those will be good. Yeah.

12:14

Well they were sitting by the fire on January 1.

12:19

Holmes' birthday was December 31st. So

12:21

yesterday was his birthday. The

12:23

day before yesterday he was 32. Yesterday

12:27

was his birthday. This

12:29

year. On December 31st. This year

12:32

he will be 34. And

12:34

next year on December 31st. He

12:37

will be 35. Pretty snazzy, huh? That

12:39

was good. It seemed impossible. It seemed impossible

12:41

for a moment there. I'm

12:44

still trying to work it out. So

12:46

who's the winner? I'm glad you asked

12:49

because the winner is Mark Lemon from

12:51

Woodwood, Iowa. And

12:53

for being our winner this week, Mark will

12:55

get his very own copy of the Best

12:57

of Car Talk on CD, which one purchased

12:59

by the dozen make excellent flower garden borders.

13:01

As some people know, you can just line

13:03

them right up there. Yes, indeed. And

13:06

by the way, if you didn't win the puzzler and you want

13:08

a copy of the Best of Car Talk, you can always get

13:11

one at cartalk.com on the World Wide

13:13

Web or by calling Car Talk's Shameless

13:15

Commerce Division whose number is unlisted. No,

13:17

it's 303-823-8000. I've

13:21

always been bothered by the fact that you say whose

13:24

number is. The Shameless Commerce

13:26

Division is not a who. Its

13:29

number is. What's number is? What's number

13:31

is? Last step. I

13:34

like that. Oh, which is? Which is number

13:36

is? Which number is? 303-823-8000. Okay,

13:38

from now I'll make that correction. Which

13:42

is number is. Okay. Anyway, we have a

13:44

brand new automotive puzzle coming up during the second

13:46

half of today's show and we're going to play

13:48

Stump the Chumps. So stay tuned for that. In

13:51

the meantime, you can call us at 1-800-332-9287. Hello,

13:54

you're on Car Talk. Hi,

13:56

this is Marietta from Stanford.

13:58

Marietta. martin

14:01

marietta i doubt that marietta from

14:03

suppose and ford is

14:06

that like stanford university of them for

14:08

kennedy kennedy and for them yeah that's

14:11

them well that's what i thought right then ford

14:13

kennedy kennedy uh...

14:16

my problem is that i tried

14:18

a nineteen ninety four ford explorer

14:21

and uh... about three months ago i'd

14:23

noticed that uh... the

14:25

uh... electric uh... car seat

14:28

and device that makes it go forward

14:30

and backward yeah i would jam and

14:33

when i looked underneath i'd notice that uh...

14:35

my and two-year-old

14:38

funds little pinky pacifier uh...

14:40

had had a gotten sucked into the track

14:42

the the rubber part of it yeah and

14:45

it jammed into the track and uh... haven't

14:47

been able to move it ever sent in

14:49

the problem is it so far away from

14:51

the gas pedal i now have to drive

14:54

with that boxes and all kinds of things

14:56

behind it uh... and

14:58

i i i just can't move it uh... it moved

15:00

a little bit but it's really jammed up to the

15:02

point where i can't reach so

15:04

you can't move the seat has different

15:07

degrees of freedom exactly you just can't

15:09

move it forward and backward i

15:11

can move it backwards but i can't move it forward

15:13

enough so i could reach the gas pedal because the

15:16

binkies in the way the pinky stuck in the hell

15:18

do you make out of titanium but when you

15:20

move it back doesn't that clear the binkies

15:22

no it doesn't actually stop at a gas

15:24

station and they tried pouring some oil in

15:27

it and putting a ride through there and

15:29

they fished out tiny pieces of rubber but

15:31

they were able to get the whole thing

15:33

yeah uh... and i thought maybe all the

15:35

issue of this big team from the back eighty

15:37

either did it got just drawn in

15:39

and i would really defeat forward or

15:42

back she uh... well

15:44

that's why i've always been a believer in riveting the

15:47

big key to the high-chair on the part of the

15:49

car so i think you want to the part of

15:51

the kid right now you

15:53

know that welded to some part of the kids

15:55

body yeah i mean

15:58

it's not a big deal i mean someone ought to be able

16:00

to get down there and big battle well

16:02

we tried it we were able to do

16:04

it i guess my question is is it

16:06

is it really expensive to bring it somewhere

16:08

and have them remove this track system in

16:12

uh... we know not really i mean

16:14

i don't know to what extent you gum the thing up and

16:16

i don't know what a big he does to the track

16:18

system but we get these calls anyway uh...

16:23

this is a good life but i was gonna have

16:25

to actually on both the seat the

16:27

whole thing right out right and give it a big

16:29

get to me i don't know what you're doing the

16:31

situation i think about the seven of the face of

16:34

this problem but i would imagine you you may be

16:36

looking at a couple of hours labor okay so it

16:38

might not be the mean if you just loosen it

16:40

and raise it up a little bit you know

16:42

the binky ottob slide right out now

16:45

i think these big he's just been mashing mangled in

16:47

the air yeah yeah we found almost

16:49

all of it except there's a a piece

16:51

missing yeah the past that the piece

16:53

that that's the piece yeah and it's probably the

16:55

plastic part of it not the rubbery part of

16:57

it yeah could be you try going to

17:00

be go all the way back with the seat and then slam

17:02

it forward yeah it's just that

17:04

one point that stops stuff yeah

17:06

i just can't reach the pedal have

17:09

you tried having someone sit in the back seat

17:11

put his feet up against the seat push on

17:13

it while you're doing that i

17:16

don't think i tried that i'm sure that'll

17:18

break something yeah you're

17:20

interested in trying to break something that's gonna

17:22

cost you many hundreds of dollars i would

17:25

recommend my brother's technique yeah i i think

17:27

of course that's what i would try first

17:29

okay if it were my car but it

17:31

would probably break something i'd be prepared to

17:34

face that eventuality so if

17:36

you prepare to face that then give that a shot

17:38

maria if not if not do it the right way

17:40

have someone loosen it up and take it to the

17:42

ford dealer note yank the seat out okay and then

17:44

you can save that piece and that'd be a great

17:46

conversation piece you can hang it not a threat hanging

17:48

from the rear door put it in the kids little book

17:50

you must be making a book for the k i've got a

17:52

book for this i mean don't forget

17:55

it'll already be all flattened out a little fit right in

17:57

the book you can just right

17:59

watch it right. What's this what's this kid's name?

18:01

This is Nicholas. Nicholas. Nick's

18:04

first automotive experience. That's

18:06

right. Wonderful. Okay.

18:09

See you later. Good luck. Bye bye.

18:11

Bye bye. Hey stick around

18:13

for more calls and the new puzzler coming right

18:15

up. This

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by state law. Hi,

20:19

we're back. Here's a week of car talk

20:22

on National Public Radio with us, cooking collective

20:24

Tappert Brothers, and we're here to discuss cars,

20:26

car repair, and yet another theory. You may

20:28

recall that a week or so ago we

20:31

discussed the theory of billboards and how they

20:33

are causing the earth

20:35

or slowing down the earth's rotation. Yes,

20:37

the sail effect. Yeah, we'll get this.

20:40

This is from Kami Rosvon who actually...

20:43

S-A-L-E, right? S-A-L-E,

20:45

right. The tension

20:48

came on sharper. Kami

20:50

Rosvon actually sent this in to our website

20:52

on one of the little cafe

20:54

datra things, I guess. On

20:57

your last week's show, you asked for interesting theories.

21:00

So here's one I've had for a long time,

21:02

but I've never had the time to submit for

21:04

publication. Ah. As

21:07

your theory last week suggested, some of

21:09

us don't think that the earth just

21:12

rotates because of unknown God-given forces. The

21:14

theory about the billboards is an interesting

21:17

one, but it does not take into

21:19

consideration the theory of relativity E equals

21:21

MC squared. I

21:23

believe my theory is better. After all, I

21:26

have a PhD and therefore I am licensed

21:28

to speak with authority. I can

21:30

also send you my mathematical reasoning as an attached

21:32

document if you think you need further proof. I

21:35

believe that every time we

21:37

walk to go somewhere, we

21:40

are not really walking but forcing

21:43

the earth to move, hence

21:46

bringing the destination to

21:48

us. For every action,

21:50

there's an equal and opposite reactant. So if

21:52

you want to go somewhere, it's better to go

21:54

in groups. Our

22:01

earth moved faster and the nation

22:03

destination gets to you sooner This

22:06

is why a lot of joggers run

22:08

in groups. Yes, of course short as

22:10

the trip women go to bathrooms in

22:12

pairs. Yes When

22:16

walking with a companion you always think that you

22:18

got to your destination Faster

22:20

because you did because you did you

22:23

guys are on the right track keep up the

22:25

good work It's

22:28

good to be recognized for the job that you do and

22:30

thank God the Chinese haven't discovered this yet because they all

22:32

do that Yeah,

22:38

you know science elite blow up time

22:40

for the new puzzler Yeah, and as

22:42

I promised this is automotive and folkloric

22:44

and I didn't promise all those things

22:47

historic and all you will now But

22:49

it is yeah It comes from the

22:51

the days when crusty first began to

22:53

work for us our good old

22:55

pal crusty And if you may remember crusty

22:57

had an old 55 Chevy

22:59

pickup truck or some such thing. Yeah a

23:02

real beast. Yeah I remember used to look

23:04

at it all the time drooling you thought

23:06

it was so wonderful beautiful And

23:08

one day that our workday is finished

23:10

and all crusty is outside on the street

23:12

with his pickup truck And he's

23:15

got the right rear wheel jacked up Mmm,

23:18

there's bumper jack out there. Oh actually his little

23:21

Little pump jacket little hydraulic jack. He's got the

23:23

right rear wheel off the ground and I

23:27

I'm ready to go home I'm out by my by

23:29

my conestoga wagon and I asked him what's up.

23:31

You have a flat and he says No,

23:34

I don't and he

23:36

mumbled something about Battery

23:40

mmm grumble grumble grumble late for

23:43

dinner Yeah, and

23:45

I know he was a bumbling old fool

23:47

So I just got up my car and you have

23:49

drove away sure but as I did I noticed

23:53

he let the card let the truck down and

23:56

I could see him driving away in the opposite direction What

24:00

was he doing and what were these

24:02

mumblings all about? Did I correctly interpret

24:04

your mumblings as stotter motor

24:07

and late for dinner? Something

24:09

like that. Late for dinner. Something to that effect.

24:12

Mmmmmmm... Late for dinner.

24:14

But he had the right rear wheel jacked up.

24:16

And when I asked her if he had a

24:18

flat he said, No. No, I

24:20

don't. Yeah.

24:23

What was Crusty doing? Whistle.

24:26

Now if you think you know the answer, Or

24:29

you just want to kill some time. This is a

24:31

very vague puzzler at the moment. It has to be

24:33

vague. I can't give any more hints than this. I

24:36

mean he could have been doing anything. He could

24:38

have been reconnecting the gas tank. What do we

24:40

know? No, no. I gave enough information. You did.

24:43

So we have to... The mumbling... Did...

24:45

The words were stotter motor.

24:48

Is that correct? Yes,

24:50

they were. Stotter motor,

24:53

late for dinner. Late for dinner. Yeah.

24:55

Late for dinner, stotter motor, grumble grumble.

24:57

Grumble grumble. Grumble grumble, no I don't

25:00

have a flat. Alright.

25:03

Geez. But I will give the hint. Oh. That

25:07

he had the lug wrench in his hand.

25:10

Oh. Good

25:13

enough, huh? If you think you know the answer,

25:15

Or like I said, you have extra time

25:17

at work and you want to take a guess, Either

25:20

email that guess to us by visiting

25:22

cartalk.com on the World Wide Web, Or

25:26

use the good old U.S. Mail and send your

25:28

answer to Puzzler Tower, Car

25:30

Talk Plaza, Box 3500, Harvard

25:32

Square, Cambridge... Our fair city.

25:35

Math 02238. By the way,

25:37

if you just want to hear the Puzzler again,

25:39

It's always posted every week at cartalk.com. And

25:42

you can either read it, or you can

25:44

hear it, if you have real

25:46

audio. Oh, okay. Look, before we take

25:48

another call, I believe it's time for

25:50

your favorite game, Tommy. Yes, it's time

25:52

to play... unterschiedlich-

26:03

Stop the

26:07

Chances where we contact a random

26:09

caller from a previous Car Talk

26:11

show and ask the oh so

26:13

dangerous question were we right?

26:16

And why not? Okay so who

26:18

is this week's Chump Stumper? Today's

26:21

contestant, Leisel Dees, hails from Wheaton, Illinois.

26:23

Now when she's not trying to start

26:25

her 89th civic wagon, she's correcting people

26:28

who think her name is Weasel. This

26:31

is the part where I say oh yeah I

26:33

remember Leisel so we can do that thing with

26:35

the harp and he writes oh

26:37

yeah I remember Leisel I can almost

26:39

hear her now. So you're

26:42

moving next Saturday you need the car. Right.

26:45

Well and we haven't taken it in yet because of course it

26:47

has to be towed into the shop to see what's wrong with it. Well

26:50

I mean I can think of some awful things that it

26:52

could be. Would you like the worst of the things that

26:54

it could be? Give

26:57

it to me. We're buying a house.

26:59

What can be worse than mortgage payment? That you're

27:01

going to be buying a car too. Okay. Well

27:03

when you apply to the pool. Now if you

27:05

remember, Leisel's Honda was cranking but

27:07

it wouldn't start. Her husband determined that the

27:09

car wasn't getting any spark. In

27:12

feeling that was a sufficient accomplishment, he went to watch

27:14

a baseball game and left the car to rot in

27:16

the backyard. So in desperation,

27:18

Leisel called us and we told her to

27:20

try replacing the igniter. So

27:23

Leisel, are you there Leisel? I'm here. You?

27:26

Aha. Hello. Now before we

27:28

ask you what happened, we have to ask you

27:30

the standard series of FCC mandated questions. Have we

27:32

had any contact since you were on the air

27:35

with us weeks ago? With

27:38

you? Yeah. We had any contact you? No,

27:40

no. Okay. Have you received any cash or

27:42

tote bags from National Public Radio in an

27:45

attempt to influence the answer that you will

27:47

give us here today? I wish I had.

27:49

You didn't get the tote bag? That's right.

27:51

Or the baseball cap. Would

27:54

you like to receive any cash or tote bags?

27:57

Would your answer here today? Of course. All

28:00

right break it to us gently Did

28:03

you even consider taking our advice first of

28:05

all? Well, of course we did you

28:07

did we did and you went someplace and

28:09

asked Them to replace the igniter. So we

28:11

did we had a toad and it

28:13

was the igniter Unbelievable

28:20

My husband thinks I'm wonderful And

28:23

if it gets any better, we'll be naming our kids a

28:25

clicking class Well,

28:28

we want to thank you for playing

28:30

stunk the chumps and and

28:33

more importantly to congratulate you on having the

28:35

courage To on our advice go

28:37

ahead and replace something that we only heard about a week

28:39

or two before the call Yeah,

28:43

good luck on so now it runs and

28:45

everything everyone's happy your husband thinks you're a

28:47

genius That's right. We even had the

28:50

alternator change because we thought we know

28:52

it was a belt the belt would be

28:54

good Whatever else you said that we should probably

28:57

have changed. We had changed and how's the new house?

28:59

It's great We're

29:01

all settled in my can of movers heard me talk to

29:03

you guys and they thought that was great Well,

29:07

enjoy your car it'll probably last another few

29:09

months and those tote bags will be coming

29:11

any day now Bye

29:18

bye We Tread

29:22

three three two nine two eight seven. Hello.

29:24

You're on car talk. This is

29:26

Howard calling from Memphis. Hey Howard What's

29:28

happening? We call you Howie? Yeah, no

29:30

stick with Howard Howard Howard How

29:33

is the bane of anyone ever named Howard? I

29:35

think oh is it really how many how many

29:37

attractive characters on sitcoms? Have you ever seen named

29:39

Howie? Yeah, well, that's about

29:41

the measure. Huh? Yeah. Well, it's a star

29:43

howie Mandel He's a comedian right?

29:45

Yeah, and you want to be taken more

29:48

seriously than a clown? Serious

29:50

guy what I'd be calling you guys know Howard

29:53

where are you from? Center

29:56

for Memphis. What's up, man? Well,

29:58

I drive a eighty

30:00

nine lincoln lsc mark

30:02

seven and i have

30:04

a of rather embarrassing problem up like

30:07

when i uh... in my journey turn

30:09

the car off it really doesn't matter how

30:11

much it mccarr when i get out of the car flam

30:14

the door get back four steps away my car

30:16

does a curly impersonation it goes to the the

30:18

the the the the the the the the the

30:21

you know it it it usually extract some sort of

30:23

comment from dates and that sort of thing i just

30:25

curious as to what could be causing uh...

30:28

will be pretty much exactly

30:30

uh... will be it won't do

30:33

it if you just sitting in the car so if

30:35

you stop right i used to get out

30:37

of the car well even if i sit

30:39

in it for five or ten minutes doing something and i got

30:41

a car will still do it i think that's good personal

30:44

delicate question but you heavy

30:47

though i'm not i'm

30:49

no three hundred-pounder away about two hundred thousand

30:51

i think this thing is a level right

30:53

system if i'm not mistaken exactly right now

30:56

i think that that the level right system

30:58

is is is readjusting for for you are

31:00

getting out of the car and

31:02

that would make the the power that doesn't tell you something

31:04

that they would have built in as a no no this

31:06

is something there's something wrong with it but it must make

31:09

the sound when when in fact you're moving but you don't

31:11

hear it because it's

31:13

drowned out by all the other noises that are around well

31:15

that's good point me to tell where the sound is good

31:17

part of the car the sound is coming from that's definitely

31:19

coming from the front you know that's where the pump is

31:22

right so when the pump and that's what's turning on is

31:24

the pump okay so it must be something

31:26

wrong with it's probably ready to call it is a

31:28

ninety nine eighty-nine yeah i'm gonna blow out about a

31:30

week and you want to know what anymore but your

31:32

bumpers will be dragging on the ground but uh... under

31:36

care to be sending sparkly yeah i mean you

31:38

haven't taken this into get it looked at though

31:40

i have a doctor got called experts first and

31:42

it doesn't every time uh...

31:44

in varying degrees about that kind of

31:46

just a little and sometimes it's the

31:48

full-blown larry mow and curly yeah it'll

31:50

be easy to find because they'll sit

31:52

in the car and open all and

31:56

unlock the hood and then as soon as you get out your

31:58

run to the front of the car throw open the whole and

32:00

you'll see exactly where the noise is coming from.

32:03

Just take that ball guy and step out, right? The ball

32:05

guy will step out, right? Well,

32:09

good luck getting it fixed, but I

32:11

think you should leave it. It's sort of a conversation piece. And if

32:13

that's going to turn off a date right

32:15

off the bat, then... Well, once I

32:17

figured out that my car was actually impersonating Curly, I've been

32:20

able to turn it to my advantage. I'm

32:22

sure. I think you should. Just

32:24

keep a little personality with it. I think you should leave

32:26

it, as a matter of fact. So I'm going to tell people

32:28

now that on your advice, I've done this. So add another level

32:30

of absurdity to it. No, no, no. Ben and yet say that

32:33

you added it to the car. Oh,

32:35

really? You got the Curly package.

32:39

Oh, don't you have the Curly package? I

32:41

thought everybody did. Yeah, tell

32:43

you to get the stew, juddition. We only offered this for a

32:45

couple of minutes, and I happen to get it the way I

32:47

want. And you happen to be one of the guys who got

32:49

one. I got the Curly package. Good

32:53

luck. Thanks a lot, guys. Well,

32:56

you've squandered another perfectly good hour listening to

32:58

Car Talk. Our esteemed producer has dug the

33:01

subway fugitive, not a slave to fashion, Punk

33:03

and Lips Berman. Our associate producer and dean

33:05

of the College of Automusicology is Ken Babyface-Rodgers.

33:08

Our engineer and assistant producer is

33:10

Jennifer Travalin Leisure-Lobe. And

33:13

our- when are you going again, Jen? Just

33:15

dropped in today in God knows where she'll be next

33:17

week. She's working

33:19

on us. She's got the brochures in front of her

33:21

as we do. Jennifer noticed- she just

33:24

changed religions, you know, because she realized that there

33:26

were no more Jewish holidays for three more months.

33:29

So she is now- Right, she'd break Hinduism. I

33:31

think it's Buddhist. Our

33:36

touch of advice, who I'm happy to

33:38

share with everyone, is here today is

33:40

John Bugsy Sebastian, Mr. Hyde's Sweet Cheats

33:42

Free Lunch. In Twinkle Toes, Hula, Hepstone,

33:44

or Press, two little bites make that

33:46

three purple cheeseburger, Paula. Our

33:49

public opinion pollster is Paul Murphy of Murphy Resources,

33:51

assistant vice statistician Marge and Oveira. Our

33:54

automotive medical researcher is Dr. Denton Fender.

33:57

Our literary critic, Dr. Ernest and Julio Hemingway.

33:59

Our jazz music- coordinated as President DeBlos.

34:01

The designer of our casual clothing

34:03

line is No Tai Woo, and

34:05

our staff neurologist is Willa Capita.

34:07

Our director of country music is

34:09

Stan Byerim. Our fleet manager is

34:11

Laska DeLaRental. Our staff marriage counselor is Marion Haines.

34:14

Our producer's office is furnished by Rick Kleiner. And

34:16

of course, our chief counsel from the law firm

34:18

of Dewey Treatment How is Yule Lewis Dewey, known

34:20

to the emerging spring bums in Harvard Square is

34:22

Huey Louie Dewey. Thanks so much for listening. We're

34:25

clicking clacks with Tap & Brothers. Don't drive like

34:27

my brother. Don't drive like my brother. We'll be

34:29

back next week. Bye-bye. Go

34:35

ahead and get a copy of this huge show. It's number 17. You

34:38

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