I love those guys, their advice is pure shit sometimes, but they're always entertaining
http://cartalk.com/index.html
& they have forums there too.
FAQ #1: What's the 800 number for the radio show?
888 CAR TALK. For the alphanumerically challenged, that's 888-227-8255. Listeners outside the U.S. should call 617-353-6350.
FAQ #2: When is the show actually broadcast? I've heard it at different times in different cities.
Car Talk uses voice mail to be fair to people in all the different time zones. Anyone can call anytime they like and leave a message. Every week our Associate Producer Louie Cronin and her staff of lackeys go through the messages and pick a variety to throw at the guys when they go on the air.
FAQ #3: So, when should I call in?
You can call anytime you want and leave a message on the voice mail. If the lines are busy when you're hearing the show, set your alarm for 3 :00 a.m. and call then.
FAQ #4: What do you look for in callers?
Louie tries to get a variety of callers on every week; people from different parts of the country, with different kinds of cars, different types of problems...some mechanical, some interpersonal, some criminal. But there's no specific type of person or question for which she's looking.
FAQ #5: Do Tom and Ray know the questions in advance?
No. That would entail researching the right answer, which is what? Work -- something to which they are categorically opposed in all its forms.
(By the way, the guys don't participate in caller selection, because Doug Berman knows they'd just pick all the easy questions. Only Louie Cronin knows who's going to be on the show each week, since she calls people back. And she's not telling!)
FAQ #6: What are my odds of actually getting on the show?
We take about a eight calls every week from about 2,000 we get on our voice-mail system. Your odds are just as good -- or as bad as anyone else's. So it's worth a try!
FAQ: #7: How do you prepare for the show?
Prepare? Does sitting around a folding table eating bagels count as preparation?
FAQ #8: Can I visit the studio for a show taping?
Unfortunately, no. We produce the show at WBUR in Boston, and they only have room for the guys, a couple of lackeys and a cot for Berman to sleep on.
FAQ #9 : How do I get a transcript of the show?
Order a tape and start typing. We don't transcribe the show.
FAQ #10: Do you have a CD of the car tunes you play during the show?
Funny you should ask! In fact, it's one of our best sellers. You can buy it from our Shameless Commerce Division. Need a few thousand?
FAQ #11: What's your theme song?
You can get information on our theme song, the guitar instrumental that's played during the second half, and every other conceivable tune heard during Car Talk in the Music on the Show section of the web site.
FAQ #12: Will Car Talk keep going forever?
What? It hasn't been forever already? Bet it feels that way to our listeners!
Seriously, Car Talk will keep going as long as NPR wants us. Tom and Ray have a great time talking to all those terrific people from all over the country. And the rest of the staff would really miss the free doughnuts.
FAQ #13: Do the guys really work out of an office called Dewey, Cheetham and Howe?
Please! Don't ever use the "w" word!
Yes, there is indeed a Dewey, Cheetham and Howe. It's the company that produces the radio show, in addition to the newspaper column and our lousy little web site.
FAQ #14: Where is it?
Dewey, Cheetham and Howe, a.k.a. Car Talk Plaza, is right where the guys want it -- less than 100 feet away from the Cafe' Paradiso.
We're right in the middle of Harvard Square in Cambridge. If you're ever in Our Fair City, go to the middle of the square, then look toward the corner of Brattle Street and JFK and you'll see DCH.
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FAQ #15: I'm visiting Boston. Can I come by your office?
Sure, visitors are always welcome. You can have your photo taken with the life-sized cutouts of Tom and Ray.
But remember, don't bother the lackeys too much. They are the only ones who do any real work around here.
FAQ #16: Can I buy Car Talk junk at Car Talk Plaza?
Unfortunately, no.
With so many products and so few sales, we had to move the entire Shameless Commerce Division to the only state with enough room and lax enough toxic waste laws: Colorado.
However, you can always shop online. For more info, visit our Shameless Commerce Division.
FAQ #17: Have the guys written anything?
Yes, though we wouldn't advise using their books to guide you through a transmission change. They're much more effective as shims for unsteady tables.
A long time ago, they wrote a book, called Car Talk (Now what are the chances of that?). In it, they explained how a car works and what to do when it doesn't.
In the intervening few decades, they managed to write a few more groundbreaking tomes, including a collection of classic puzzlers, A Haircut in Horsetown and Other Great Car Talk Puzzlers and their favorite rants and raves, In Our Humble Opinion.
Car Talk has also produced three booklets. Each booklet covers a topic designed to save you money and hassle. They include "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!", "How to Buy a Great Used Car: Secrets Only Your Mechanics Knows," and "Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car?"
FAQ #18: Do the guys really test drive vehicles?
If by "test drive" you mean driving around with Sleepy LaBeef blaring on the stereo, dropping cigar ashes and pistachio shells on the carpeting, letting the dogs try out the leather seats and the GPS System, and knocking off as many side view mirrors as humanly possible, then the answer is, "yes," the guys do test drive vehicles.
Actually Tom, Ray and Dougie will drive anything with a full tank of gas that starts on the first try.
FAQ #19: How do they choose which vehicles to test drive?
Manufacturers circulate their new models through the automotive press on their own schedule. It's hard to know what the guys will be driving or when. And, some manufacturers are stingier than others.
We'll post a Car Talk test drive note on each new vehicle the guys drive, about a month after they drive it.
FAQ #20: Do the guys really run a garage?
Ray still runs the garage every day; Tommy doesn't work there anymore.
Tom and Ray opened the garage together, but after ten or fifteen years, Tom got sick of making his fingers bleed and breathing exhaust fumes all day. He decided he didn't want to work for a living anymore... so he went into academia.
Now he goes in late and comes home early. In fact, one day he left right after lunch and passed himself coming in!
FAQ #21: Can I visit the garage?
If you can find it. Due to an unprecedented number of irate customers, Ray now moves his garage at least once a week.
Seriously, Ray loves visiting with fans of the show. So much so, that all the other guys at the shop keep reminding him that there are cars to fix, and customers to talk to. So, you can imagine what it would be like to have people dropping by to chat.
For this reason, we only give out directions to the garage under threat of torture. Besides-it's safer for you not to go there. You'll avoid the rocks being heaved towards the garage by irate customers.
FAQ #22: Where can I find letters read on the show?
Right here.
FAQ #23: How do I send Car Talk e-mail?
Via our lousy web site. We've even set up specific e-mail links, so your puzzler suggestions, car questions and hate mail goes right to us.
Someone in the office reads all the e-mail that comes in to Car Talk Plaza. Who, we don't know. But someone must do it.
Tom and Ray do read a lot of the mail. The hate mail is their personal favorite. It's easy to imagine people hating Car Talk. What they don't get is why people keep listening!
FAQ #24: I e-mailed the guys a car question. What are the odds they'll get to answering it?
About the same odds as Pamela Anderson Lee falling for Ray. Okay, better than that.
For the approximately 1 in 1,000 who gets his question answered in the newspaper column.... Trust us, you'll hear about it. Friends and relatives will e-mail and call, questioning your judgment in writing Car Talk for advice.
The good news is you can search over 1,500 car questions from our weekly newspaper column. The chances are actually very good that we've already addressed your conundrum.
Finally, in addition to Tom and Ray, there are several lackeys at Car Talk Plaza who read the incoming e-mail. If you have an easy question to answer, there's a chance you'll get a personal reply.
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