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NPR. Oh.

0:31

Hello! A lot of the car talk from

0:33

National Public Radio with us click and clack, the

0:35

topic brothers and were broadcast this week from the

0:38

Futurism department. year in. A

0:40

couple of months ago, we quoted someone I

0:42

think from my Chevrolet as saying that the

0:44

cup holder war. Was. Over months

0:47

ago there was like yesterday: Nine

0:49

does fly with the new Chevy

0:51

Venture V and at seventeen or

0:53

eighteen couples and Chevy was saying

0:55

the chrysler Give it Up guys

0:57

We won. Let's. Call a truce

0:59

goal our lives. But of course. That

1:01

was. Not to be. And it turns out.

1:04

There was just a lot of the

1:06

actual before entire new front opened up.

1:08

Get this, according To Automotive News. The.

1:11

Cup holder war is turning from

1:13

quantity. To quality. Glad as

1:15

it should have. Sort of the left brain,

1:17

right brain think exact. My future cup holders

1:19

will be judged not merely on the are

1:22

plenty of Snus. But. Also on

1:24

the ergonomics and the excuse me

1:26

plenty of this point Twenty one

1:28

of that. This. Isn't

1:31

like how many there are. I looked it up

1:33

with my front and Berman This sharing an asset

1:35

elicited one of the little said there was a

1:38

real word. For it

1:40

so not merely although I'm sorry to interrupt. not

1:42

merely on the have plenty of this but what

1:44

are also on the ergonomics, it and even more.

1:46

Here's a sneak preview or some of the cup

1:48

holder technology that lies in store. For.

1:50

Ah here. While there were three basic

1:52

technology that they discussed, one was the

1:54

door mounted swing out cup holder you

1:56

swing the door out of a couple

1:58

know you get in. The close the door

2:01

you have any out from the door swings

2:03

a cup holder so it doesn't interfere with

2:05

like changing the station may was your what

2:07

if you driving along right now the couple's

2:09

as a right there in the middle of

2:11

the dashboard and a lot of cars and.

2:14

One. Of all of a sudden you're driving

2:16

along an hour show comes on. You're gonna

2:18

reach over quickly to chase the station. You

2:20

smell the coffee no more because now with

2:22

swings up on it is one of his

2:25

as the backseat tray which falls garlic like

2:27

an airline food tray. Yeah but all right

2:29

I mean. Jag. You Are has

2:31

had that sorry dozens of years, why

2:33

know But now it's months decades right?

2:35

But that was a patrician car. now

2:38

it's it's existing. Rounds on is is

2:40

is cold outside the my come with

2:42

a little silver fox plastic forks the

2:44

since the runway a line of sight

2:46

of that but on the cutting edge

2:48

of technology justice. The beverage mates were.

2:51

He has to aluminum line the

2:54

cup holders. You flip a switch

2:56

and it's skills to twelve ounce

2:58

cans of soda in thirty minutes.

3:01

Flippant the other weights and it

3:03

heats up. A

3:05

plastic. Cup of coffee to or hundred

3:07

and fifty degrees. Is and

3:09

that was that. Cost Three Hundred

3:11

Bucks. Three Hundred bucks. So what?

3:14

It's just another little addition to

3:16

the car. In increases the

3:18

resale value like having a bad for of the i

3:20

thought. Well,

3:23

that's it. Manner in there is

3:25

technology hear that boggles the mind

3:27

and I'm glad to see. That.

3:29

People like General Motors and Chrysler

3:31

Corporation. A. Working on stuff like this,

3:33

I mean, this is the kind of stuff they

3:36

ought to be working on. Everything else

3:38

that while they try leave that to

3:40

the Japanese sister as I feel like

3:42

engines and realize three as absolutely yeah.

3:44

they probably saw that area that they

3:46

call the place was hacked and and

3:48

conquer exactly and I think that's good

3:50

at most pick many people do that.

3:53

present company excessive it's it's electric

3:55

also the question about your car

3:58

out of numbers addresses 3329287.

4:01

Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi

4:03

guys. This is Joe from Tennessee.

4:05

Joe, J-O? J-O. You gave your

4:07

E to the Bosnians? Well,

4:10

yeah, they needed them in the Val Drive.

4:13

Excellent. What's up, Joe? Okay

4:16

guys, here's my problem. Yes. I have a

4:20

1981 European-made Saab Turbo 900.

4:22

It's got five

4:24

doors and it's painted walnut. Most important

4:26

things to know. Its color is

4:28

walnut? It's a walnut color. It's

4:31

a nice brown with rust holes, actually. There's

4:33

a contradiction of terms. There is no

4:35

nice brown. But

4:38

now what's under the hood is my problem.

4:41

Yeah. I think

4:43

maybe I have broken the timing belt.

4:46

Chain. Chain, okay. Maybe I broke

4:48

the timing chain. You could have.

4:50

What makes you think that, Joe? Well, because I

4:53

took the car in and I had an oil

4:55

change and a tune-up put on it. And

4:58

the gentleman came back with a bill and he

5:00

says, but by the way, honey, there's

5:03

some antifreeze on your third spark

5:05

plug. And I said, well, which is the

5:07

third? The third from the front or the third from the back? The

5:10

third from the back. He says, if I stand

5:12

at the bumper and I count back to this

5:14

passenger seat, it'll be the third

5:16

back. Oh, that's the second plug. That's sold on

5:18

the number two. Okay. He says that that

5:20

spark plug is being filed with antifreeze.

5:24

And that's why when the engine starts up, it runs

5:26

a little rough. Oh, yeah, I could. But

5:28

then it burns it off and you run

5:30

real smooth. Well, the next day I

5:32

was driving my little sob to work and I kind

5:35

of like it. So I was enjoying it. Pulled

5:37

it into the stall where I was going to park it.

5:40

And as I was letting up onto the

5:42

clutch and reaching down for

5:45

the key, it was a

5:47

loud pop and the engine

5:49

quit instantly. And

5:51

when I tried to restart it, it wouldn't

5:53

start. What did it do? The

5:55

starter made the correct sound, but

5:58

the engine wouldn't catch. Okay. But

6:00

it sounded like it was cranking. No,

6:03

it was a very even sound. Right.

6:06

More like a motor turning. More like that. Right.

6:09

Because you weren't pushing the pistons going up and

6:11

down but you weren't opening and closing the valves

6:13

if your timing chain broke. So

6:15

it would be a different sound than you would have gotten

6:18

the day before. Yeah. Yeah.

6:21

Well, that's a pretty good diagnosis. Alright. So would you like

6:23

us to tell you about the new sobs? Oh

6:26

no. Or how about

6:28

a nice Volkswagen? Oh no.

6:30

Or Subaru. Is it really

6:32

the timing chain? Well, it really does sound

6:34

like the timing chain. Oh no. Yeah.

6:37

I just love my thoughts. I have to

6:39

say though

6:43

that I've never heard of

6:45

a timing chain breaking while

6:47

the engine was idling. Never

6:50

in my 75 years

6:52

of life on this planet have

6:54

I ever heard of a timing chain breaking under

6:56

those circumstances. So it should have broke while I was

6:58

moving or when it was completely stopped? Well usually

7:01

they break when you start up or when you

7:04

put a lot of torque on it. It's

7:06

like when you're accelerating. Had

7:09

the engine for a long time been making a

7:12

growling noise while it was idling. Oh, it's

7:14

an 81 stop. It's

7:17

making 20... Yeah, it makes all kinds of

7:19

noises and it smells bad too. So

7:21

does my brother. He beat me to it. I

7:24

feel like your husband. What

7:27

did you say? Like your husband? Just

7:30

a little. Well, even though it may be rare,

7:32

I would have to believe that

7:34

the timing chain broke and you have two problems

7:36

obviously. If you're really having antifreeze getting into number

7:38

two cylinder, then you're going to fix that too

7:40

which means you probably need at least a head

7:42

gasket or maybe a new head. He

7:45

suggested I might need a head gasket. Yeah. I

7:49

mean the following of the spark plug with the

7:51

antifreeze is not what

7:53

caused you to break the timing chain. So

7:56

I just got lucky. You got lucky. Exactly.

7:58

You got lucky. they have two things happening

8:01

at the same time but that's all right they'll just

8:03

take the whole thing apart fix everything

8:05

and while they're doing it they'll do a

8:07

valve job is this whole

8:09

job will cost you a thousand bucks and uh...

8:11

you have a brand new car actually put out and i

8:13

think it's your i

8:15

love that they won't do it for a

8:18

thousand dollars and thousands of dollars a number problem

8:20

is that i have a thought dealer in my

8:22

town we have to go i can't

8:24

go ahead i have to have one

8:26

but i think they went to cheda nuga all

8:29

you'll be real i see relocation in your

8:31

future but i think it's pretty hard to

8:33

tell that top three blocks yeah

8:37

i'd not only do you have the problem of

8:39

their own sub dealers but even if they were

8:41

sub dealers that they might not have anyone old

8:43

enough to work on an eighty one is

8:47

that a hit noted that i don't

8:49

know what you have to find other people that

8:51

live in your town that have solved it you

8:54

know you hang out in the in the like movie

8:56

theater parking lot yeah i think

8:58

i did that by mistake the other night

9:00

i came out there was a thought that

9:02

look like mine in uh... uplifted slips down

9:05

yeah i put my kid has dorothy

9:07

opened his door or mikey and

9:09

his ignition it started his ignition and i started

9:11

to back up his car before i realized that

9:13

you got a screwdriver somebody's i'd

9:15

like to form the shelf and i didn't wear

9:17

glasses julia problem is solved at

9:20

your target that they don't have a good way to get it

9:24

all their some dark night and take that

9:26

car put your little plate on it it

9:29

was a lot of the stake off the third

9:31

mikey started it you know i don't know

9:33

how mine my license plate got on the earth

9:35

just one of those things and he's a few

9:37

my husband's glasses but but i don't know where

9:40

that person gets his car service and

9:42

maybe you can get your your chain in your

9:44

in your soul that number died you're gonna spend

9:46

more than a thousand bucks get a quote before

9:48

you have it done okay good luck thank you

9:50

nakat here joe about about the

9:53

puzzle or answer and more calls are coming up right

9:55

after this This

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message comes from NPR sponsor Discover.

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can help. Visit teladochealth.com/whatsyourwhy

11:14

for more information. That's T-E-L-A-D-O-C

11:17

health slash whatsyourwhy. Thomas,

11:20

it is time to test your powers of retention.

11:23

I thought we gave up on this. You were

11:25

going to just say, okay. No, I just wanted to

11:27

see how long you could stay here before you had to go to the bathroom. Oh,

11:30

yeah. I

11:34

received several different versions of this same puzzler from

11:36

several different people, which means we don't have to

11:38

give anyone a best of cards or tape, do

11:40

we? Everybody

11:42

should get one. We've got a million of them.

11:46

Here it is. You're driving in your car on

11:48

fine spring afternoon in your fair city. And you

11:51

see in front of you a car with an

11:53

interesting license plate. I remember this one. The

11:55

license plate has six characters and they

11:58

are T-A-N. 270

12:01

or as

12:03

General Schwartzkopf would say, Tango Alpha

12:06

November 270. The

12:09

question simply is what make of car

12:12

is the license plate attached to them? And

12:15

this is a great puzzle because

12:17

it's succinct. Not

12:19

historic. No,

12:22

not historic. No. No.

12:25

Okay, well we'll skip that. The hint

12:27

I gave was high school. That

12:30

was a lousy hint. I

12:32

don't think so. Well, maybe not.

12:34

Well, I couldn't even... I mean, after you know the

12:36

answer, I guess it's not

12:39

a lousy hint, but it sure didn't help me.

12:43

The hint that you gave me that

12:45

I'm embarrassed to have not jumped

12:48

right on it was you said it

12:50

could also have been T-A-N-9-0. And

12:55

even with that... You didn't

12:57

get it. I didn't get it. Only Ken

12:59

Rogers jumped right on it. When

13:01

I gave it to Ken, I didn't say T-A-N, I said, Tan.

13:04

And he immediately said, oh, tangent of 270.

13:06

Let me see, what's the tangent of 270?

13:09

Yeah. Tangent of 270 is infinity. Yes.

13:14

And that's

13:17

the car that the license plate would be attached.

13:19

There's a car named Infinity? I didn't know that.

13:21

So who's our winner? Yeah, let me see here.

13:23

The winner is Vicki. What?

13:26

Shavzin. Shavzin. Where's she

13:29

from? We have no idea because she sent

13:31

us her answer via email. I'll

13:34

tell you where she's

13:36

from. She's from exceptpiszwim.com,

13:38

whatever that is. Anyway, it's Bosnia. No

13:42

vowels. For being brilliant enough to

13:44

figure out that answer, all poor Vicki gets is

13:46

a lousy copy of the best of car talk

13:48

on CD or cassette. That's not nice,

13:50

is it? We should do something better for the winners, shouldn't we?

13:54

Nah. It costs money. Anyway.

13:58

Well, anyway, Vicki, when you hear this... Send

14:01

us another email with your address on it because we

14:03

don't know how to email the CD. Yeah, if you're

14:05

going to email a puzzle answer and you got to

14:07

tell us where you're from otherwise... Yeah, on the off

14:09

chance... You don't have to. On the one and a

14:11

million chance you might... You don't really have to tell

14:13

us where you're from. No, what are we... If

14:16

she doesn't email us... If you want the

14:18

prize, you got to tell us where you're

14:20

from, otherwise we can't send it to you.

14:22

Anyway, we have a brand new puzzler coming

14:24

up during the second half. Does that mean

14:26

that she entered this contest via the website?

14:28

Tune. Pull out now. Did

14:30

I interrupt you? If

14:33

you want to be sure, avoid it. No,

14:35

no, what'd you say? Nothing.

14:37

If you'd like to call us, our number is

14:39

1-800-332-9287. Hello,

14:42

you're on Car Talk. Hello there, how you doing?

14:44

Great, who's this? This is Steve. Steve, where are

14:46

you calling from? I'm calling from Lexington, Kentucky. I

14:50

would have guessed you were a Southerner, just... I don't

14:52

know why. Why? Why would you get out of there?

14:54

I just told people I can't tell with me. Who

14:56

told you that? Happy? Oh,

14:59

happy from here mostly. Happy Yolk-a-B

15:06

So what's up, Steve? I have an 88 LaBaer and GTS Turbo. What year,

15:08

88? Yeah, it's a 2.2 liter.

15:11

Right. And after it gets warmed up,

15:13

mostly during the summer and spring when it gets

15:15

really hot, the

15:18

thing just starts, um, island

15:20

below 1000 RPM, and

15:23

it just starts to shake like it's going to have

15:25

like some kind of major seizure. Okay. Um,

15:29

especially on hot days. And the fall and winter really

15:31

doesn't do it when it stays cool outside. I've

15:33

had a few injectors cleaned and replaced. I've had

15:36

the timing checked to tune up. They

15:38

scraped something along the turbo and the inside of the

15:40

car saying that maybe carbon buildup was part of the

15:42

problem. And a few other

15:44

things, which I can't recall, that just cost too much

15:46

money. Help. Help,

15:49

huh? Help. You

15:52

say something about like an EGR valve, am I making

15:54

that up or... No, no, you're not. No, it's a

15:56

possibility. Is that something that I would

15:58

have on my car? Yeah, you have one. It

16:01

could be faulty or it could be sticking. I

16:03

mean the way what you have I believe is

16:06

a vacuum leak of some kind. A vacuum leak?

16:08

Yeah, and the vacuum leak could be coming even

16:10

from the EGR valve. It would not be sucking

16:12

in fresh air. Rather it would probably

16:14

be sucking in exhaust, making the thing run really

16:16

rough if it's the EGR. Yeah, it does after

16:18

really long trips. The way you

16:21

describe it though, I don't like the EGR

16:23

solution. Oh, I do. I do. I

16:26

mean I like a vacuum leak much better. So

16:29

how would I – well, I don't know if they've ever tested

16:31

for vacuum leaks. I guess that would have been too simple and

16:34

too inexpensive to do, right? No, they don't even bother with that

16:36

stuff. It is

16:38

too simple. And the way you would test for it

16:40

was with a propane enrichment test. We

16:42

have a little device which you hook up to

16:44

a little propane tank and you

16:46

actually walk this thing around. It's a

16:49

little tube with a nozzle on it, and

16:51

you walk this thing around various places where there

16:53

could be a vacuum leak. And you

16:55

see if the propane, the introduction of propane

16:57

to the outside of the engine makes the

17:00

engine rev up and run smoothly. So

17:03

here it is running at 450 RPM,

17:05

rumbling and shuffling and shaking around, and

17:07

you walk around with this little propane

17:09

wand, and all of a sudden you'll

17:11

find that one spot that will boost

17:13

the RPM and smooth it out. Because now instead

17:15

of just sucking in air, it

17:17

sucks in propane with air, which

17:20

burns. Well, I don't have any propane. No,

17:23

but the garage does. You take it to the garage, and they should

17:25

have this little tester. And

17:29

they're going to walk this thing around, and they're either going

17:31

to find a leaky intake manifold gasket. It

17:33

may be when the engine gets really hot that

17:35

the intake manifold is warping a little bit, allowing

17:38

some extra air to get in there. It

17:40

could be the EGR valve is hanging up, and they

17:42

can certainly take the EGR valve off and plug

17:44

the port and see if that

17:46

problem is solved. It would be as simple as a PVC

17:48

valve, would it? No, I

17:51

don't think so. But it could be. I

17:53

mean, it could be a vacuum leak anyplace,

17:55

but it's going to be someplace that's really

17:57

affected by high temperatures. That's why it's happening

17:59

in the future. in the summer and not happening in

18:01

the winter okay and you say

18:03

they replaced all four jectors where they were placed

18:05

the checker that the queen of the dozen times

18:07

and they did for the people it

18:10

was offered up because of still better yet i i

18:12

i i will put out with taxes where you put

18:14

three hundred fifty degrees correct which

18:18

are the whole other set of problems which i don't think we

18:20

could discuss the correct so

18:22

you know you're going to move from uh... from

18:24

what was texas to the arctic circle here in

18:26

lecun kentucky it's like this is not cold up

18:28

up here for a key group where i've

18:30

been from originally i moved to texas

18:32

with a wife and had a misfortune

18:35

of leaving her there all

18:37

uh... uh... don't you have to

18:39

be that you have to put it but you have

18:42

to have a lot of them other did

18:44

some cowboy right cowboy from west texas

18:46

i think i will be a but

18:48

my career path and

18:52

i think that the truth we got in p.r.

18:54

out there and so i'm sure show enjoy your

18:56

meal here i'm not going to have to do

18:58

it with good luck with your leverage the thanks

19:00

man about what

19:03

eight hundred now there's a guy you could

19:05

drink coffee with you can just

19:07

call from the problem is more that

19:10

you can see him my brother

19:12

you would drink coffee with jack the

19:14

river if he was by not

19:20

all this is the kind of guy you could fit there and

19:22

so the big big cigar but that big

19:24

i agree and just talk to steve i

19:27

agree i agree seems to know why how

19:29

could his wife leave up how

19:31

could she doesn't get the focus of the

19:33

coffee all the time in the collecting her

19:37

uh... that's why all my wife's

19:39

of what we do you could be home and

19:41

on it what

19:45

eight hundred three three two nine two eight

19:47

enough to write a little white for coffee

19:50

what get bye

19:53

you can't see cupence bag Honestly anything if

19:58

you see it boy now trouble when they

20:01

get home tonight. For

20:03

the second week in a row. What

20:07

did you say last week? Wasn't I?

20:10

Oh, yes. You did mention I think something

20:12

about life ending when you get married. I'm

20:15

not sure, but it was something like that. I didn't

20:17

say that, did I? No, no, not in general. I

20:19

think you said life ended for me when I got

20:21

married. Is that why Joanne has been a little cool

20:23

this week? I... Yeah.

20:27

All right, then the kids came along and then it

20:29

was... Yeah. The kids have been

20:31

kind of cool all week too. Yeah. Forget them. Don't

20:34

go anywhere. Stick

20:38

around for more calls and the new puzzler coming

20:40

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to mintmobile.com slash switch. Hi,

23:05

we're back. You're listening to Car Talk

23:07

on National Public Radio with us, Click

23:09

and Clack the Tappet Brothers. And we're

23:12

here to discuss cars, car repair and

23:14

what was that topic? A cry for

23:16

help. A cry for help. Okay. This

23:18

comes from Gregory Engel. I've

23:21

listened to your show for a while now. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

23:23

whoa. Well, can I see that for a second? Rather

23:26

lengthy. It is lengthy, but it's important.

23:29

All right. I mean, it may be lengthy, but it's also

23:31

stupid. Okay. I've

23:34

listened to your show for a while now. I must,

23:36

I'll read fast. I must say I

23:38

was a lot like you guys. Carefree. I blabbed

23:40

a lot. This was before my life took a

23:42

tragic turn. A turn which I sense both of

23:45

you are on the verge of taking. There

23:47

was no help for me, unfortunately, but

23:49

perhaps my story will prevent you from

23:52

falling into the abyss to

23:54

which I have been thrown. It

23:56

started out innocently enough. I began to think

23:58

at parties now and then. loosen up.

24:01

Inevitably though, one thought led to another and

24:03

soon I was more than just a social

24:05

thinker. I began

24:07

to think alone, to relax, I told myself,

24:09

but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking

24:12

became more and more important to me and

24:14

finally I was thinking all the time. I

24:17

began to think on the job. I

24:19

knew that thinking and employment don't mix

24:21

but I couldn't stop myself. I

24:24

began to avoid friends at lunchtime so

24:26

I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I

24:28

would return to the office dizzied and

24:30

confused asking, what is it exactly

24:32

we are doing here? Things

24:34

weren't going so great at home either. One evening I

24:37

had turned off the TV and asked my wife about

24:39

the meaning of life. She spent

24:41

that night at her mother's. I

24:44

soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One

24:47

day the boss called me and he said, Greg, I like

24:49

you and it hurts me to say this but your thinking

24:51

has become a real problem. If you don't

24:53

stop thinking on the job you'll have to find another job.

24:56

This gave me a lot to think about. I

24:59

came home early after my conversation with the boss.

25:01

Honey, I confessed I've been thinking. I

25:04

know you've been thinking she said and I

25:06

want a divorce but honey, surely it's not

25:08

that serious. It is serious, she said, her

25:10

lower lip a quiver. You think

25:12

as much as college professors and college professors

25:15

don't make any money so if you keep

25:17

on thinking we won't have any money. Ah,

25:20

that's a faulty syllogism I said impatiently

25:22

and she began to cry. I'd

25:25

had enough. I'm going to the library. I snarled

25:27

and I stomped out of the door. I

25:29

headed for the library in the mood for

25:31

some Nietzsche with NPR on the radio. I

25:34

roared into the parking lot and ran up

25:36

to the big glass doors. They didn't open.

25:38

The library was closed. To this

25:40

day I believe that a higher power was looking

25:43

out for me that night. It's

25:46

page two. What are you, Paul Harvey?

25:49

As I sank to the ground

25:51

clawing at the unfeeling glass whimpering

25:53

for Zarathustra, a poster caught my

25:55

eye, friend, is

25:58

heavy thinking ruining your life at ass? You

26:01

probably recognize that line. It comes

26:03

from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster,

26:05

which is why I am what

26:07

I am today, a recovering thinker.

26:09

I never miss a TA meeting.

26:11

At each meeting we watch a

26:13

non-educational video. Last week it was

26:15

porkies. Then we share experiences about

26:22

how we avoided thinking since the last meeting.

26:24

I still have my job and things are a lot

26:26

better at home. Life just seems

26:28

easier somehow as soon as I stop

26:31

thinking. An integral part of my recovery

26:33

has been your show. I

26:35

regret, however, that your show has occasionally caused

26:37

me to have a thought, sometimes

26:40

even two. I have found myself

26:42

wanting to ask my car mechanic,

26:44

to ask him questions. Yes, questions.

26:46

A sure sign of the presence

26:49

of a deep process of thinking.

26:51

Yes. I have work to do.

26:53

I regret that unless you turn

26:55

from your direction toward answering caller's

26:57

questions in meaningful ways, I will

26:59

be forced to discontinue my participation

27:01

in your, until recently, completely mediocre

27:03

show. I hope I have

27:05

helped. Good luck. Wow.

27:09

Greg. All

27:12

right. Well, there'll be a lot of response to

27:15

that little memo. Yes, there will be. Wow.

27:17

I'm sure there will. All right.

27:19

Power, the power of words. Are you ready

27:21

for the semi-quasi, almost automotive?

27:23

You said academia. Academic. I did

27:25

say that. From academia. From the

27:27

halls of academia. From the halls

27:29

of academia. From the halls of

27:32

academia to the shores of Tripoli.

27:36

Oh, God. Who

27:39

did I steal this from? I'm a little syllable. It worked right

27:41

in there, didn't I? I stole this from, uh, Jason, uh, I

27:44

guess I, Jason. I stole this

27:46

from Joseph. I don't want to say this

27:48

last name. R A Y L E. Rayleigh.

27:51

We'll call him Joseph Rayleigh from Durham, North

27:53

Carolina. Yeah. He

27:55

says, this is a story I heard some time ago that I

27:57

thought you morons would like it, et cetera, et cetera. undergraduate

28:00

chemistry students at a major

28:02

university had a highly successful

28:04

semester in an introductory chemistry class

28:07

that they were that they've been taking. So

28:10

their confidence is high, so high in fact that

28:12

they decide to blow off the reading period, you

28:14

know that period they give you to study for

28:16

final exams, and they go to a

28:18

fraternity party in a town quite a distance away

28:20

and they have a pretty good time, in fact

28:22

so good a time I guess they probably got

28:24

a little drunk and you know met some girls

28:26

who knows what they did that

28:29

they don't make it probably did some thinking

28:31

that's in time for their final exam they

28:33

missed the exam all in

28:36

a panic they devise however a plan

28:39

they agree to tell the professor that they had

28:41

a flat tire and this prevented their returning on

28:43

time to take the exam they

28:45

pleaded them oh let us take the exam

28:47

will be ruined if we don't take it

28:50

this will never happen again don't worry the

28:52

professor agrees and tells them to return the

28:54

next morning the to

28:56

return the following morning and the professor gives

28:58

them their exams but he decides

29:00

he doesn't want to hang around he has them leave

29:02

their backpacks in the books in the office and sends

29:05

them to different rooms to take the exam the

29:08

test consists of one five-point

29:10

question some malarit problem

29:12

you know and and yeah

29:15

smiling confidently each answers the question then

29:17

turns the page and the

29:19

next question is the ninety-five point question

29:23

and the question is what is the

29:25

question oh our

29:27

question will be what is the

29:29

question that the professor put on

29:31

the makeup final exam that's

29:33

good I think this is good why

29:36

I think I mean the best questions

29:38

the best puzzlers are the ones in

29:40

which you can't even believe what the

29:42

question is when I'm not your

29:45

socks you think you know the answer or you

29:47

have time to kill at work or you feel

29:49

like just taking a guess either email it to

29:51

us by visiting car talk calm on the web

29:54

or slap a stamp on your answer and send

29:56

it to puzzler tower car talk

29:58

Plaza box 35 Harvard

30:00

Square, Cambridge,

30:03

our fifth city. Math 02238. And

30:06

by the way, if you just want to

30:09

hear the puzzler or read it again, it's

30:11

also posted every week at cartalk.com for your

30:13

browsing convenience. Now anyway, if

30:16

we choose your correct answer at random and you

30:18

catch us. I like that browsing convenience. Yes, for

30:20

your browsing convenience. We'll send you a copy of

30:22

the best of CarTalk, which could be just the

30:24

thing you need and fix that

30:27

wobbling table in the kitchen. If you'd

30:29

like to call us, our number is 1-800-332-9287. How

30:33

long are you on CarTalk? This is Beth from Somerville. Beth, Somerville

30:35

what? New Jersey? New Jersey, Somerville,

30:37

Mass. No kidding. B Somerville.

30:39

What's on your mind? Is it Somervilleian

30:41

or is it just a generic question?

30:45

Well, it's a sort of along the lines of does life

30:47

end when you get married. Ah,

30:49

we can discuss that. But the cigar

30:51

thing, that can. That

30:53

can? That can end life and or marriage. Oh yeah,

30:56

that's true. The

30:58

question is in reference to a 91 Honda

31:00

Civic and a husband. Oh,

31:02

who doesn't smoke cigars? No. Yeah,

31:04

okay. But one has to make his choices in life, you

31:06

know. It's true. There's nothing

31:09

like a Cuban cigar. I

31:11

believe Mark Wayne said a woman is only

31:13

a woman. Gertha. I

31:15

wasn't correct. Anichi might have said a woman

31:17

is only a woman, but a good cigar

31:19

is a smoke. Who said that? Rudyard

31:21

Kipling. Oh yeah. Anyway, Beth, 91

31:24

Honda Civic. 91

31:26

Honda Civic and this is actually

31:28

a case of a serious marital discord.

31:31

And I need to know two things from you all,

31:33

because you are the Supreme Court Court of Card Abuse.

31:35

The Honda discord. And I need

31:37

to know first, who is right? And

31:40

then second, how much extra wear does

31:42

the wrong person actually put on the

31:44

clutch by doing the wrong thing? Okay, well we

31:46

already know the answer to the question one. You're

31:49

right. You're right. You don't have that authority

31:51

in your voice if you weren't. However, I have agreed not to

31:53

bring the subject to the table. Not to bring the subject

31:55

up until you have made the

31:57

termination of exactly who is right. Alright, go ahead.

32:00

So what's the question? I love the wow

32:02

position. The question was, I was

32:04

taught that the correct way to shift from

32:06

first to second gear from a complete stop

32:09

is as follows. Wait, wait. From a

32:11

complete stop? You're

32:13

at a complete stop. Why are you shifting from first to

32:16

second if you're at a complete stop? Because you have to

32:18

go again at some point. But

32:20

if it's a dead stop, you're shifting into first. Yes,

32:22

that's correct. Okay. So tell us what you do. Okay,

32:25

so you're at a complete stop. You're

32:27

waiting at the stop sign. Where are your feet? Your

32:31

feet are not on the clutch. Good.

32:33

One of them is on the brake and the other one

32:35

is out the window. Yes. Got

32:37

it. When it's time to go, you depress the

32:39

clutch and engage first gear. Yes. As

32:42

soon as the car is in first gear,

32:44

you take your foot off the clutch and

32:46

drive until the engine reaches about 3,000 RPM.

32:49

Yes. Something around there. In Honda

32:51

Civic, we don't have a tachometer. Tachometer,

32:53

blah. It's about 15 miles an hour.

32:56

Okay. When the car sounds like it's ready

32:58

to go into second gear, it's kind of thinking, okay,

33:00

I really need to go into second gear now. Then you

33:02

depress the clutch and shift to second gear. Okay. Now

33:04

give us alternative B. This is alternative B.

33:07

No, wait. This is RK. That was A. That was A.

33:09

This is your position. Well, we don't want to

33:11

know whose position it is. Well, she did it

33:13

so authoritatively. It has to be hers. It's

33:17

going to be tough to beat. I'll tell you that. Okay.

33:19

Well, this is the alternative version,

33:21

which may or may not be

33:23

acceptable. Well, obviously, there

33:25

are only two choices. And the alternative

33:27

version is from your losing husband. He

33:30

hasn't lost yet. Yeah.

33:32

Okay. When

33:34

it's time to go, you depress the

33:36

clutch and shift into first gear. Yeah. Keeping

33:39

the clutch partially depressed until the car reaches

33:41

5 to 10 miles an hour. Okay. You

33:44

shift into second gear and continue driving.

33:46

Now I believe that

33:49

this is the horrible thing known as flipping

33:51

the clutch that will cause excessive wear and

33:53

result in expensive repair jobs. You're wrong about

33:55

one thing. I am wrong.

33:57

No, riding the clutch. And

34:02

it causes one to wear out

34:04

a clutch in about, I'd

34:08

say, 12,560 miles. Okay.

34:11

Now, we count on this for our

34:13

livelihood, I'll have you know. Yeah,

34:16

right. So we're at a little bit, we

34:18

have a little bit of a vested interest

34:20

in divulging the truth of the moral dilemma.

34:22

It certainly is. It's like the lawyer. The

34:25

client gave him 100 bucks and the client left and

34:27

he noticed that there were $200 bills stuck

34:30

together, at which point he was faced with

34:32

a moral dilemma. Should he tell

34:34

his partner? So

34:38

we got the same kind of moral dilemma.

34:41

Oh, okay. Well, no, but we obviously have to

34:43

side with you, Beth. I mean, your method is

34:45

100% correct. Absolutely. His

34:48

is 30% correct. Oh, no, his is 100% wrong.

34:50

Well, 100% wrong. He was

34:52

correct in that he has his foot off

34:54

the clutch. I

34:57

mean, there were some points which were correct. He put

34:59

his foot on the clutch while he's waiting at the

35:01

stop sign most of the time. Right, so he's not

35:03

100% wrong. But

35:05

in that area where he's allowing the slippage to

35:07

take place. That's bad.

35:10

This is bad. That is about the worst thing

35:12

you can do. And

35:14

many, many people do this. They

35:16

don't take their foot completely off. You want to

35:18

have your foot off the clutch all

35:20

the time, if possible. Because when your foot

35:23

is off the clutch, the clutch is not

35:25

wearing out. Exactly. The clutch wears out when

35:27

it's halfway down. And

35:29

the last thing you want to do is

35:31

be driving the car with the clutch halfway

35:33

down. Boy, oh boy. What

35:36

does it do? This was the other thing. Because I

35:38

could not explain exactly what it was doing to the

35:40

clutch other than it was bad. The

35:42

way the clutch makes the car move is

35:44

it relies entirely on friction between three pieces.

35:47

One is called the driven disc or

35:49

the clutch disc. And the other two,

35:51

which sandwich that in between them, are

35:53

the clutch cover and the flywheel.

35:56

And when you engage the clutch, it must

35:59

slip by definition. because one of those

36:01

pieces, that is the driven disc, is only moving

36:03

when the car is moving. Right. And the other

36:05

two are moving all the time the engine is

36:07

running, so the clutch must slip somewhat to engage.

36:10

Otherwise, it would be very abrupt and the car

36:12

would stall like it did when you first learned

36:14

to drive and didn't have that control with your

36:16

left leg. Right. And that's

36:18

why you let the clutch out slowly, because you need it to

36:20

slip a little bit, but you want to minimize that amount of

36:22

slippage. So if you don't let the,

36:25

once you reach the engagement point and the

36:27

car starts to move, if you don't get

36:30

your foot off the clutch pedal completely, you

36:32

allow that slippage to continue and that

36:34

wears out the clutch disc or the driven disc

36:36

because that piece is made out of asbestos or

36:39

some other friction like high temperature,

36:41

tolerant material. And

36:43

the other pieces are made out of steel. So

36:46

that piece is designed to wear out so

36:48

we can make our boat payments. And

36:52

by not getting your foot off the clutch as quickly

36:54

as possible, you allow that slippage to take place to

36:56

the extent that it can wear that thing out prematurely.

36:59

In fact, if you wanted to wear out a clutch, the way

37:01

you would do it is you would just

37:03

leave your foot halfway down on the clutch

37:05

pedal and drive around for a couple of

37:08

days. I know that this happens

37:10

because I loaned my car once to a person who

37:12

didn't know how to drive a car with a clutch.

37:15

In a matter of a few

37:17

hundred miles, she completely destroyed the

37:19

clutch doing exactly this. Oh

37:21

boy. She

37:23

was not one of my wives. Well, okay, so

37:25

I should definitely. So

37:28

you're 100% right, but before you go, how

37:30

are you going to handle this, Beth? I mean, are

37:32

you going to go nah, nah, nah, nah, nah? See

37:34

your poor husband? This is ammunition.

37:37

This is probably good for at least three

37:39

or four years. I could use this one

37:41

for a long time. You're going to do

37:43

this out in little doses. Little bits.

37:45

Remember when, you know, that one. Oh,

37:47

so you're going to keep bringing this up. Yeah, because I

37:49

have it on tape too. This is going to be like

37:52

a boil on his neck, isn't it? I got it. So

37:56

every time a disagreement occurs, you're going to say, well,

37:58

remember the... about the clock

38:00

now i don't call again i

38:03

can get right back on that phone i mean you can

38:05

do it now that's the difference between men and women i

38:08

think so i mean it is going to get me in trouble man

38:13

the approach that most men would take would be

38:15

to just have a have a clean breast of

38:18

it just come right out have an argument or

38:20

discussion or whatever it takes clear the air and

38:22

that's the last you would ever hear of it

38:26

women on the other hand tensor

38:29

neck no

38:33

are you and then it's not the

38:35

word remind one hey if you want

38:37

any advice on sleeping in the garage

38:39

yeah i can give you lots

38:41

of advice on how to get comfortable in a

38:43

garage what do you do about the mosquitoes this

38:45

time of year you're in trouble yeah

38:48

well okay bet I know you handle it well well

38:57

you've squandered another hour of your

38:59

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40:42

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40:44

Thanks so much for listening. We're clicking clack the

40:46

tap in front of us and don't drive like

40:48

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40:51

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40:58

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41:01

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41:04

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