The Best of Car Talk

Our show is even more of a mess than usual: Paul's Toyota is dripping oil on his pants while he drives and Suzanne's husband's Ford is leaking gas and stinking up the house. 'Clean up in aisle 4' with the 'Mop-a-lot-zi Brothers' on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

What's in a middle name? Most of us got stuck with a simple middle name that belonged to an ancestor or maybe Mom's favorite bookie. But our Technical Advisor, John Bugsy, Sebastian, Mr. Height, Free Lunch, Sweet Cheeks, Donut Breath, Twinkle Toes, Make-That-Two-Triple-Cheeseburgers Lawlor got a doozy! How did he earn them all? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

In Car Talk's version of our dystopian future, all cars are designed by the French, with wiring by the British and emissions systems by Volkswagen. In Kathy's dystopian present her Chevy is already in regular communications with nearby banking systems technology. Can Click and Clack rescue us from the 'rise of the machines'? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Reverend Tim's passengers think that he should own up to the real origin of the unholy smell in his Nissan, but the good Reverend called on a higher power for his Sentra salvation. Too bad he got a wrong number and ended up on our show instead! Will a well-placed air freshener deliver Reverend Tim to the promised land? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Lindsay from Virginia thinks that her hubby, Bill, is trying to sabotage her admittedly 'uncool' Chevy Malibu. Will Click and Clack give Lindsay the straight dope or will they be just be regular dopes and try to help hubby out here? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Judy from Colorado has a delicate issue on her hands involving her husband who insists on warming up his car for several minutes every morning(just like dear old dad did). Click and Clack, realizing the multiple implications of this for our environment and hubby's psyche, have the perfect, measured response. Check out the Freudian slip-ups on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

On this episode of CSI Car Talk, officers Click and Clack don't need no stinking badges to stare down a serial killer! But wait: Is Lena from El Paso guilty of being a serial clutch murderer? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Allen is a private detective in Tennessee. He's doing surveillance in his parked car -trying not to be noticed- when all of a sudden his windshield wipers develop a mind of their own. Was Allen's cover blown? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

It's 'National Take Your Brother to Work Day' on this episode of the Best of Car Talk. Ray tries in vain to show Tommy how to be a more professional-sounding NPR host -or at least how to fake it more convincingly.

Norma has put over 700,000 Miles on her GM truck driving trailers across the US for 12 years. Somewhere along the way the truck developed a starting problem that Norma has gone to elaborate lengths to overcome. Find out what's normal for Norma on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

To the casual observer, the life of an NPR 'star' may seem to be fun and games and a pretty cushy gig. Not so! On this week's Best of Car Talk we take you behind the scenes for a glimpse of two hard-working network hosts hardly working on their weekly newspaper column.

Sonja Henie Buck Naked with Chocolate Pudding. Need we say more?

Mechanics aren't known to be a particularly literary lot, but since so many are also verbally challenged, customers often have only their 'estimate of repairs' to help them figure out what's wrong with their car. Katie from Virginia reads from hers on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Scott and Amy are taking a ski trip to the Colorado Mountains. Unfortunately, Scott's old car has a loose exhaust manifold and after several hours of exposure to CO fumes Scott and Amy land in the hospital instead of on the slopes. What are the chances for romance in the 'Hyperbaric Chamber of Love'? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

MIT boasts 98 Nobel Laureates among its ranks. Just a notch below them are our two knuckleheads who have been recognized as 'distinguished' MIT alums... by 'US' magazine. Practically the same, we think. Hear what the boys think about that and a few car problems on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Two classic calls on this Best of Car Talk program: Sasha has a home remedy for leaky radiators. Next, Cynthia begs the Magliozzi brothers to settle a dispute between her two brothers over a car. All that, more calls and a new puzzler!

Trade-in value for most used cars is a carefully crafted calculation made by car dealers having to do with the car's current resale value and the size of the dealer's boat payment. For junkboxes like the Chevy Malibu that Joan is trying to unload it just depends on how much gas is in the tank. Find out what our two knuckleheads thought of Joan's heap on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

John from Pennsylvania thinks he has an atypical warranty issue with his local Chevy dealer. If he explains to the dealer that his new Corvette exhibits engine problems at 140 miles per hour, he's pretty sure that the dealer will then explain to John that he has voided his warranty. John is clearly nuts for driving at mach one, but is he right about his warranty? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

The Lost City of Atlantis... Amelia Earhart... Who's buried in Grant's Tomb... All of these age-old mysteries pale in comparison to finding out which of the Brothers Magliozzi is 'Click' and which is 'Clack'. Austin Matlow writes to try and set the record straight on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

Al thought it would be fun to pile his family in their Ford Van and Drive to the Rockies for vacation. And it was fun -until the Van's brakes stopped working on the way down at 12,000 feet. Did Al coast all the way home to Louisiana or did he come up with a fix 'on the fly'? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.