RAY: This was sent in by a fellow named Tom Downs from somewhere in "Email-ville." He writes, "The other day I was in the local auto parts store, and a teenage boy came in. He waited in line at the parts counter and when his turn came, the fellow behind the counter barked at him, 'What do you want?'
"The kid says, 'I want a 710 cap.'
"The guy behind the counter says, 'A 710 cap, what's that?'
"The kid says 'Look, I don't know. It's right there on the engine. I open the hood and it's usually right there in front of me and somehow I've lost mine.'
"The guy behind the counter says, 'Well, what does it do?'
"The kid says, 'I don't know, look, I'm a new driver, I got my license a couple of weeks ago and my father made me promise that every time I drive the car, before I get in, I have to open the hood and look around underneath to make sure everything looks like it did the day before, that the belts are OK, the fluids are full, the hoses look OK. You know, the whole routine. But I noticed that this 710 cap which has been there every day is missing, and I need a new one, and I need it fast.'
"The guy behind the counter asks, 'Well, what kind of car is it?'" And I figure it's got to be like a Datsun 710. Remember those?
TOM: Yeah, I remember them.
RAY: "The kid says it's a Buick. The counter guy asks, 'Well, what does the cap look like, how big is it?' Well, the kid makes a circle with his hands and he shows that it's about three inches in diameter. And the fellow says, 'That doesn't help me, can you draw me a picture?' Hands the kid a piece of paper and the kid draws this cap, and he writes 710 on it. And the guy behind the counter stifles a laugh and says, 'I know exactly what you want.' And the question is what did the kid want?"
TOM: A dope slap.
RAY: Well, you could do the same thing yourself. You could draw a circle that was three inches in diameter and you could write 710 in it and then pretend you're the counter guy by turning the thing 180 degrees, and you want an oil cap.
TOM: I thought that was pretty good.
RAY: It's cute. Anyway, who's our winner?
TOM: The winner is Bill Quinn from El Calhoun, California. And for having his answer selected at random -
RAY: I don't see what's so funny about Bill Quinn.
TOM: I can't believe we selected his answer at random. From all the correct answers that we got, Bill's going to get a $25 gift certificate to the Shameless Commerce Division at the Car Talk section Cars.com with which he can get a copy of our music CD, "Car Talk, Car Tunes: America's Best Disrespectful Car Songs." Wow. Nice going, Bill.
[ Car Talk Puzzler ]
