car repair

Car Talk is a radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. Its subjects are cars and car repair, and it often takes humorous turns.

As a call-in radio show, listeners call in with car-related questions. The majority of callers are seeking advice of a diagnostic nature. The hosts, Tom and Ray Magliozzi (aka Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers) listen to the caller describe the symptoms of his or her malfunctioning car, often asking them to replicate strange sounds, then attempt to identify the cause of the malfunction. While the hosts pepper their call-in sessions with jokes directed at both the caller and at themselves, their knowledge of automobiles is extensive and they are usually able to arrive at a diagnosis and give helpful advice. Automotive News articles featuring Car Repair related topics in addition to the latest auto industry Automotive : Links.

Car Talk was first broadcast in Boston in 1977. It was picked up nationally by NPR ten years later.

Car Talk's theme song is "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by David Grisman.

Features

A recurring feature is "Stump the Chumps", in which Tom and Ray revisit a caller from a previous show and find out what effect, if any, their advice has had (assuming the caller followed it at all).

A similar feature was started in May 2001 and entitled "Where Are They Now, Tommy?" Like "Stump the Chumps", they revisited a previous caller; but the difference with "Where Are They Now.