Original Air Date: 2010-07-24

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#1030: The New Delhi Catessens
This week, Car Talk kicks off with a few unsuccessful names for international sports teams. Ready to catch the Bolivia DeHavillands vs. The Prague Tologists? Well, neither are we. Then it's off the Georgia, where David's getting a hot foot from the floor of his Isuzu. Meanwhile, out in Michigan, Devon's Jeep has turned into the lunch spot for critters. Happily, the solution may be as near as her baby's diaper. Also, Brian in Washington learns the cost of making his wife drive around in the family mini-van while he's cruising in his Lexus convertible, and does the future of Sara in California's relationship rest on how many quarts her sweetie used in an ill-fated oil change? All this and lots more, this week on Car Talk.

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Original Air Date: 2008-08-02

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Brilliance to Brattiness: Andy and Melissa
"Do two people who don't know what they're talking about know more or less than one person who doesn't know what he's talking about?" That's the query posed by listener Andy Reischman, whose legendary missive is featured on this week's encore edition of Car Talk. Also, our most infamous nemesis, Melissa Peterson, calls in. In case you've forgotten the little twerp, she hated us-- and so did her dog. This time, she's asking Tom and Ray to side with her in a fight with her parents. Lotsa luck, Melissa. On the other hand, the boys are much more obliging to the listener asking for lyrics to the song, "Goodbye My Coney Island Baby." Maybe even a little too obliging? To top things off, we've got actual questions about cars--a stalling F-150, a Saturn that doesn't like reverse, and a search for a loose garter snake in the glove compartment. All this and more, this week on Car Talk.

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Original Air Date: 2007-08-04

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Death Valley Dinesh and Other Hot Tales
This week's encore edition features one of Car Talk's most endearing whacko callers, our pal Dinesh. (To this day, mention his name at Car Talk Plaza, and Tom and Ray still shake their heads in disbelief.) Listen in, as he discusses his Summer vacation plan--a stroll across Death Valley. In the daytime. You might think buzzards would be at the top of his list of concerns, but Dinesh is really worried about how his car's gonna hold up in the heat. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Red's not worried about summer heat, but, he does have a little problem with the fire that burst out on the floor of his convertible. Can Tom and Ray cool things off, or should Red start shopping for asbestos boxers? Out on the West Coast, a bad case of "convertible envy" led Linda's husband to rip the rood off her beloved Volvo. She wants to know if NHTSA will okay the alternations. Also, what's worse than life with a beer gut? Tanya the Trainer, quite possibly. Hear how good intentions go south in one calorie-draining week, as we revisit one of our all-time favorite stories. Finally, it's back home to Our Fair State, and single-guy John. His conundrum? Do you tidy up your car for a first date, or is it best to let those prospects see the true (and trashy) you? Hear what Tom and Ray say, when it comes to automotive dating etiquette. All that and more, on this week's supremely overheated edition of Car Talk.

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Original Air Date: 2007-08-11

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The Dispersion Principle
On this week's encore edition of Car Talk, we dive headfirst into treacherous marital waters, thanks to writer Laura Doyle. Her thesis? The secret to a happy marriage is a submissive wife. Are Tom and Ray buying it, or is our first caller on the mark when she says it's a wife who just pretends to be submissive? What about a submissive husband? Somehow, the answer to all this may lie in Ray's tale of his broken bird clock. Balancing out his saga of martial duplicity, we've got a tale of marital devotion. Ann's husband traveled from Georgia down to Florida to get his vasectomy reversed. She thanked him by driving like a banshee to get him back home. What do they have to show for their generosity? Right now, it's just a grinding noise coming from their Caravan. Find out if the post-op race home did the damage. Also, out in Flagstaff, Noah's "going away" for 14 months. He won't tell us where (we think it involves three square meals a day and a cot), but he does want to know how to store his van, so it'll run when he gets released--sorry--returns home. Meanwhile, in Connecticut, Rick's girlfriend just got her VW Fox back from the shop. They fixed her problem, but her car seems to have aged over the weekend--by 20,000 miles. Did her mechanics take it on the Mother of All Road Trips? Still with us? Excellent, because you'll hear one of the most twisted car classifieds ever, followed by several minutes positively unencumbered by the thought process, thanks to Dave in New Jersey. He's getting better remote range by holding his keyless entry under his chin. Or so he says. Tom and Ray visit the perilous world of Male Answer Syndrome, Ray develops a "dispersion theory of electromagnetism... and the rest of us shake our heads in unmitigated incredulity, in this week's Call of the Week. All that and much more, on this week's encore edition of Car Talk.

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Original Air Date: 2007-07-28

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Dave From Bemidji: Best. Roadtrip. Ever.
This week's encore edition of Car Talk features an all-time classic call: our pal Dave from Bemidji, Minnesota. His tale of driving a 350,000 mile Chevy Cavalier home from Alaska still stands as the ultimate Car Talk road trip. We're pleased to present the original saga in all it's glory, as Dave explains how he rewired a cooling system, and blew the gunk out of the exhaust... with little more than a barbecue grill. His zit-inducing tale is also our Call of the Week. Also, Tom and Ray share some shocking news: 70 percent of Italians admit to telling several lies a day. And, we're not just talking about mechanics. Is it national venality or just good sense? In our first half, what the heck use is a mechanic-husband if he's never around when your Volvo is acting up? Tom and Ray assign some work to Kate's favorite wrench-spinner--for when he's not out boat shopping. Then, Steve moved to Chicago, lost his job and his girl-- but not his car, which has a secret anti-towing device. In our second half, Heather explains how a glove box repair trip worked its way north of three thousand bucks (no, we're not lying), and married couple Tim and Pam ask the boys to referee a dispute over whether he wrecked her engine mounts while off-roading in her Saturn. In our 3rd half, it's "Calling all Students", as Tom and Ray share a convenient form for knocking your GPA up a point. All that, plus where to get your weekly Puzzler fix, this week on Car Talk.

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Original Air Date: 2007-02-17

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Greetings From Athol, Idaho
Hot on Cupid's heels, this week's show is all about our callers' relationships-- with their cars. First stop: Fort Collins, where Dan is lamenting over a Ford that's inducing a world class case of hypothermia. Can Tom and Ray defrost this icy relationship? Then, can Richard convince his road-weary Lexus that it's time for a few, new parts? And brace yourself: Tommy's thrown down the gauntlet. Again. Got a super-high-mileage American car? Tommy says, "Bullfeathers!" In our Call of the Week, it's the first ever Car Talk the massage-mileage conundrum. Could that massager that's tapping into the cigarette lighter be sucking the life out of Kelly's Plymouth Breeze? Then it's off to Vermont, where we meet devoted Dad Ari, who's worried that the fireworks display his Ford Plow truck is putting on is making his daughter think every snow day is the 4th of July. All this and more, this week on Car Talk

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