The Best of Car Talk - #2484: Blame the Car, Not the Driver

Episode Date: October 19, 2024

In a curious case of car vs driver, Esther is convinced that her Mercury Sable is to blame for several recent speeding tickets she's received. Traffic court with the dis-honorable Click and Clack presiding on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Get access to hundreds of episodes in the Car Talk archive when you sign up for Car Talk+ at plus.npr.org/cartalkLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh air? Up first. NPR News Now, Planet Money, Ted Radio Hour, ThruLine, the NPR Politics Podcast, Code Switch, Embedded, Books We Love, Wildcard... are just some of the podcasts you can enjoy sponsor-free with NPR+. Get all sorts of option. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Music Music Music Music Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us clicking clack the Tappert Brothers and we're broadcasting this week from the Center

for Grant Money here at Car Talk Plaza. We have a new plan, a new approach for funding. Get this, we're applying for grant from the National Institutes of Health, the NIH. Now not invented here, otherwise known as not invented here. Not invented here. As everyone knows we've been utterly unsuccessful in trying to raise money from outside sources to do this show. Why? Well, we can't get money from anyone remotely connected with the automotive industry. I don't understand why that is. Because we've ticked them all off and they won't touch us with a 10-foot crankshaft. Who needs them? Who needs them? We've ticked off educators. They're out. Lawyers, it goes without saying. After all those jokes on the website. Politicians?

Hopeless. Hollywood, day haters. Cellular phone makers. Done for. Consumer goods. Insurance companies. The judicial system. No good.

Law enforcement. No. The entire country of France. There's nobody left. So we're applying. Don't forget the Middle East. There's nobody left. So we're applying for an NIH grant based on the following information. Here it is. My darling sister-in-law Monique sent me this. It says the next, this is from Shape magazine. Yes. She sent it to me because she knew I was in such great shape. Yes, she subscribes to Shape and I get out of Shape magazine. Yes, she said that to me because she knew I was in such great shape Yes, she subscribes to shape and I get out of shit

I mean, this is a little item is shape the next time you want to boost your health skip the health club and go to A comedy club according to Stanford University School of Medicine psychiatrist William Frye Laughing burns calories and helps your health while exact caloric expenditure is not yet known It is thought that a hundred good laughs, now get this, equals the physiological benefits of ten minutes on a rowing machine. Wow. A hundred good laughs. Merthful laughter has a positive impact on many physiological functions. The brain is stimulated, dah dah dah dah. Now here's why I read this, because out of all this, she chose to underline-

And if you laugh hard enough, it'll clear your sinuses. She underlines one line. It says, the brain is stimulated with greater alertness, as Fry says, which may enhance memory, sociability, da da da da seem to matter. Only the quantity. What did she mean by that? I don't know. So based on this, I suppose we can raise some money to study it. We'll just study it. Who sent you that? Your wife. Oh my wife. Interesting. Yeah, I thought it was interesting too. So no more rowing machines, no more treadmills, no more, who is that, what is that company that makes that thing you can't stand on, you keep falling off? Nordic track.

Oh yeah, the Nordic torture. Yeah, the Nordic torture. Well I remember years ago, actually maybe about six months ago, watching a three Stooges episode. And I don't remember the gist of it, except that the, um, one of the main characters besides the Stooges was the King of Kohl, Slovenia. King Kohl. And every day. When did they get the stuff? And every day he would have his subjects come into wherever he sat on his throne and they would have their daily laugh.

And they would just look at each other and start laughing. Andrew and I do that all the time. Well who was it? Was it Norman Cousins? That's the guy, right? Who claims to have saved his own life by laughing himself silly. Yes. Well you could laugh yourself to death.

Oh, well, yeah, yeah. So if you want to call us about your car, your health, your laugh, or anything else. Or if you have some grant money that you'd like to give us, don't forget, don't leave that out. Don't forget old Tom and Ray. Our number is 1-800-332-9287. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi, this is Tamara, and I'm calling from Hadley, Massachusetts.

Are you calling today or are you calling tomorrow? Remember now, Tamara, the quality of the wit doesn't matter, only the quantity. That's right. And that goes with answers to car questions as well. The quality of the car question answer doesn't matter. Well, I think it's obvious that well we don't know the answer. We give a lot of them. We give a, we speak a lot about it.

Well this has both quality and quantity so. Oh good. It could fit in. Where are you from Tamara? Hadley, Mass. Hadley, Mass. Oh, well I wasn't paying attention. That happens a lot.

That's okay. Here's my problem. I have a 1983 Nissan Sentra and I've had it for over three years now and it's given me absolutely no problem, but about half a year ago it started dying whenever it would rain or snow out. It only seems to happen on the freeway when I'm going above 60 miles an hour. I just drive along fine for about 30 or 40 miles and then it just stops accelerating. Wait, wait, is the engine running at this time?

Yeah, the engine's running. Engine's running, but no power. But no power and I pull over to the side of the road and I shut the car off and I sit there for a few minutes and make sure people don't crash into me and trucks are whizzing by and then I start it up again and I get back on the freeway and I keep going. And it only does this when it rains or when it snows out.

In complete dry, sunny, lovely weather, no problems. I believe you have a textbook case. You think so? Textbook! Textbook! That would be good. Of carburetor icing. Yahoo!

What? And in order for this to happen, the temperature has to be, if it's 70 degrees this is unlikely to happen. It has to probably be 50 degrees or less in raining. Okay. And what's happening is as the air, which is laden with moisture, gets sucked into your engine through the carburetor, something called the Venturi effect causes a temperature drop. And that temperature drop is enough to lower that air temperature from 40 or 50 degrees even to 30 degrees or

less, which as we know will cause ice crystals to form. And they form in the throat of the carburetor. And pretty soon your carburetor is choking, just like if you had a new potato lodged in your windpipe. And in the carburetor being unable to breathe because of this blockage will make the car run very poorly with low power because you're restricting the flow of air. So what, what, what, I don't,

if I stop the car and shut it off, what makes it de-ice or de-coo? The ice melts. The ice melts because you got the latent heat of the engine. And you've stopped the mechanism for making the ice. You no longer have the Venturi effect. The Venturi effect is the flow of the air down the throat of the carburetor now stop that from happening you stop making new ice you melt the old

ice and bingo you're back on the road again yeah now wait what's wrong with your car is that one of two things is going on either the little tube that's supposed to convey hot air from the exhaust manifold up into the snorkel of the air cleaner is missing yeah absolutely missing i mean you can count on it okay by always twenty five years old we lose them all the time it's made it's made out of the paper or some corrugated aluminum and they disintegrated they fall off if the two visit missing yeah

uh... that's likely that something called the thermal vacuum switch which operates the door in that snorkel, is broken. Both of which are relatively simple to fix and cheap. Oh good, I'm glad to hear that. Yeah, I mean the tube costs just a few dollars and you'll never find a thermal vacuum switch at the dealership. You'll have to go to a junkyard and get one off an old air cleaner. And it's probably in the junkyard because it didn't work either. Yeah, just buy the whole air cleaner

and throw it right on there. Yeah. Or maybe buy the whole car. You'll have a spare car, a companion car. Yeah. I would love to do that instead. Well, that's going to fix it. Guarantee it.

Yeah, guarantee it. Did you write it all down? I wrote it all down. You did. Good. I was hoping you hadn't, and you'd have to spend $20 for a tape of the show. Cancel those tapes for nothing.

See you tomorrow. Thanks for calling. Thanks a lot, guys. Bye. We'll see you tomorrow. I mean, we'll see you tomorrow. Bye. By the way, I thought I'd mention, I remember a few weeks ago.

Yeah, what is that? Well, it was a catalog that was very nicely. I like it. You're supposed to be looking at the men's section. Why? Why would I want to do that? Well, because you actually might wear, well, you might wear some of this other stuff. So. I didn't know that about you.

This was sent by Gail Geary from Lakeland, Florida. A few weeks ago, I had mentioned that we have our weekly, uh, uh, MENSU meetings. Hmm. Uh, MENSU, MENSU meetings at the, at the shop. And MENSU stands for men in need of softer underwear. And she says, click and clack. You ask where to get softer, softer underwear.

Here it is. It's a catalog from a company called, uh, I think primary layer, which is. Oh, I got that catalog. You do, huh? Yeah. And, uh, boy, there's some greats. Let me just read to you. Oh, I got that catalog. You do, huh? Yeah. And boy, there's some greats.

Let me just read to you. The support you need for active sports with the comfort of an ordinary brief, lightweight, durable, stretch nylon with an absorbent cotton terry cloth, comfortable enough to wear as an everyday brief. See? Pretty good. Oh, look at this one. Every day as opposed to what?

I mean, don't you wear them every day? Oh, it's athletic. Athletic. So even if you weren't doing anything athletic. So we're rather athletic at the shop, you know, I mean, hefting those transmissions. Sure, running away from those irate customers. Being chased around in the car back and forth, back and forth. Yeah. Yeah, here's one. No more chafing.

Oh. That interests me. That interests me too. Lightweight, stretchy, compression shorts are supportive too. Compressive. Comp compression shorts. Yes Originally designed to be worn by competitive athletes these shorts sensible design makes them a practical everyday choice I'm ordering me a case of these babies. What is it? What is some fancy piece of underwear like that go for? 16 simoleons how many a package of pair a

One a pair of one. A pair of one. Right. Right. A pair of one. A pair of one. $16? For shorts?

Yeah. Boy. $16? I got a 10-pack. What's the paper one? Hey, we've got more calls on the Puzzler answer coming up right after this. Hey, if you enjoy the best of CarTalk Podcasts, you should try out NPR+. With NPR+, you'll get access to the CarTalk archives and other perks across more than 20 of NPR's most popular podcasts. Give a little and get a lot in return. Good deal, huh? Visit plus.npr.org.

As election day approaches, NPR's Consider This podcast is zooming in on six states that could determine who wins the White House. Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. We'll ask voters in these swing states what matters to them and which way they want the country to go. Follow along with new episodes this week on the Consider This Podcast from NPR. One year ago, the event that changed a region. Heavily armed Palestinian militants in Gaza flew across the border. The October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel

Israeli ground troops have entered northern Gaza How the war unfolded and where it could be headed pagers carried by his Bala members began exploding in cars Listen to a special episode of the podcast state of the world from NPR What's happening with NPR Podcasts? Money. Power. Tacos. White-collar crime.

Green parks. Black reparations. More of the perspectives that make your world a more vibrant place. NPR Podcasts. More voices. All ears. Find NPR wherever you get your podcasts. All right, I'm not even going to ask you if you remember last week's puzzle.

I do. Because you've spoiled all the fun. It used to be- Wait, wait. What are you I do you spoiled all the fun it used to be wait What do you take colloidal minerals used to be a blithering idiot? I could count on you every week something to do with brakes and Replace the boosters. No fun anymore. You're not fun You know the answer to it. I'll admit that I don't know the answer. All right here it is and this really happened a Few weeks ago a customer who works down the street

came in with an old Volvo, a 60s vintage junk box, P1800. Wow. OK, this was Volvo's feeble attempt at a sports car. Anyway, his complaint was that the car didn't seem to stop very well, and he was sure that his power brakes weren't working. A quick test drive. Confirmed.

Confirmed, indeed, that his power brakes won't work. A quick test drive. Confirmed. Confirmed indeed that his power brakes won't work. Yeah. Okay. You first step on the brake pedal, the car slowed down and it seemed to be alright, but if you applied the brakes several times, just slowing down to avoid like crashing into the back of a UPS truck, after the second or third application, it would be like rock hard and didn't really want to stop unless you really stood on the thing. So we pulled into the shop and I said, jeez. Classic case of brake booster failure. Malfunction.

Malfunction. Like the diaphragm is sticky. Exactly. Right? Classic. It's classic. Classic. You might even say it to coin a phrase that you've used quite a bit today. A textbook case.

So I suggest it's the booster and he says great I have a used one which I know is good. So a few days later he brings the car in again along with the booster and we install it. I drive the car I call the customer and I say you drive it I'm afraid to because I really didn't notice any significant improvement but there was a slight improvement and and we are sure now that the replacement booster was okay and it turns out the original booster was okay too, because in fact, there really wasn't any improvement. So we look around and the first suspect of course

is the hose, but I had already checked the hose and I knew that wasn't it, and it leads from the manifold and supplies the vacuum to the booster. Is it plugged or restricted? Uh-uh, we put a new one on anyway, just to be in the safe side. Sure. Still no improvement.

After a few more minutes of tinkering and doing various tests, Ralph, the Volvo Wizard, figures out what's wrong with the car. It has to do with, of all things, the kind of gas he's been using. Whistling Moreover, Ralph does an adjustment that fixes the car. No. Yes. No.

Yes. No. Yes. The question is what's going on here? What adjustment does he make that fixes the car? And what is it about the gas that has anything to do with this? And I did give a hint that he did not adjust the timing.

No. Now you might think that if he had, couldn't get premium gas, they had retarded the timing that would lower the vacuum, and we thought that at first. Well. But what Ralph discovered was that there was no vacuum. There was insufficient vacuum because the valves were too tight. Ooh. And the valves were too tight because this car was designed to burn leaded gas, and the

tetraethyl lead used to act as a cushion between the valves and the seats and because that a gas is no longer available and he's been using regular unleaded in the thing he's got a bad case of valve seat recession yeah which makes the valves pounded to the seats and reduces the we're headed for that i think alan greenspan is sure reduces the we're headed for that I think Alan Greenspan is sure reduces the amount of play in the in the valve train and causes eventually the valves to get too tight hmm hence low compression because they don't really get a little close just just on the hairy edge the car still ran actually ran pretty decent being unfamiliar with the car as I am I didn't know how much power it was

supposed to have yeah none who none. Who's our winner? Alright, the winner is Alyssa Para from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Interestingly, get this, now at the end of the postcard that she sent in she says, by the way, now I don't know why she said this, does Ray snore? Other viewers may remember that a few years ago we answered this question definitively. Remember when we did this? Do you remember? What was the occasion? The occasion was that we used to meet in the office one morning every week to do things. I don't know. Doug told us we had things to do.

So we would go there and we would like read mail and stuff. And my brother, the stress was too much for him and he would occasionally collapse onto the sofa. Oh, repair to the sofa? Repair to the sofa. And one day, I mean, it took 10 seconds. One minute he's talking to us, 10 seconds later, he's gone, completely gone, and this weird noise is emanating from the sofa. And Dougie, of

course, being the radio personality that he is, jumped right up with the tape recorder. We have, preserved for eternity. Do you have the tape? Do we have the tape? Here it is. This to my brother, and all of a sudden, he's not answering us anymore, and suddenly these horrendous sounds emanate from the couch. Yeah sure, this is me, this sounds awful, like Bugsy. Wait a minute, play this again, we gotta be quiet this time, because this is a real baby. Something rather labored breathing. Labored breathing by foot.

Labored breathing. Wow. I was noticing how even it was. It was beautiful. The cadence was... You might call it a textbook case of snoring. I mean it is. It's perfect.

It's like what you see in the movies. Well, you know, all the experts claim that snoring is bad for you. It interferes with your sleep, you don't get a good night's sleep. You're not breathing properly, you're on the verge of apnea. Yeah, you're gonna die. I mean, come on, people have been snoring for hundreds of thousands of years, have they not? Well, not the same person. Well, Uncle Dono did.

He did, yes. I can't think. In fact, I often get my best night's sleep when my wife says to me, jeez, last night you snored like a walrus. And I say, but I feel great this morning. No kidding. I can't explain it.

I don't snore, so I don't know. Anyway know Anyway anyway, Alyssa para from Santa Fe, New Mexico is gonna get a brand new CD of Ray snoring And also the second best of car talk which is actually better than the first best of car talk I don't understand how that can be why would she have asked that question. I don't know by the way does Ray snore That's strange. She must have got to look at my nose on the website. Anyway, we have a new puzzle coming up during the second half of Car Talk. In the meantime, if you'd like to call us, the number is 1-800-332-9287.

Hello, you're on Car Talk. This is Topher Bill from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Topher Bill. Topher, T-O-P-H-E-R. I wrote that down. It's the end of Christopher. Tofer. Tofer Bill. Oh, it's the end of Christopher. Tofer. Yes, I'm otherwise known as the father of Becca Bill. It's the end of Rebecca. Yeah, you talked with her a couple of weeks ago. Oh, we did? About her anal retentive father. Oh! Me. You're the guy with the little book!

I am the guy with the little book. We should remind people that Becca called us a couple of weeks ago and she told us that her father had this practice of keeping a little book in the glove compartment and that every time he got gas or did anything to the car he made a notation in this log book and he insisted that she Becca do the same and it was making her nuts and if I remember we suggested to her that she take tell you to take this book and stuff it and that she had to make a clean break with you because you were controlling her life you even had the nerve to predict what kind of a car that in a

retentive guy had and you've said it was a honda civic and we're right no within a court uh... the world actually own three of court the one in question the one that i bought and gave to Becca, is a 90 Accord. This all started with me with an 81 Datsun. That would do it.

I bought it. It was my first little car. I decided to see what kind of mileage it got. It was the world's most miserable car. I had it 60,000 miles at average 18 miles a gallon Which I you know was able to figure from the little book. I Then went out and bought a bigger car I have kept the little book on that and another one since then the one that Becca has

But I've never actually figured it up. I was so incensed at the at the garbage miles I got out of the dots in that I I wanted to know if I wanted to have the data if I wanted to ever compute it. So you have all this raw data, are you saving this for like your memoirs? Well when I traded in the Datsun, I put the book under the rug with a note, Hey sucker! Here's what you got! You'll find this. Dover! Right after I've cashed your check.

Do you have other areas of your life where this anal retentiveness exhibits itself? Yeah, I mean, I do research. Data is a thing. Data are a thing. Data are a lot of it right well you know there's another piece of this uh... i own a fleet of vehicles that uh... i have an eighty six celebrity that has a hundred fifty thousand miles on it

because it's been well taken care of and i do keep track of all of repairs and everything so so it's a belief that you can't take care of a car well as you have the book the book well i think it helps you to monitor the car. Yeah well we certainly agree. I don't think I disagreed with. I certainly have no problem with your doing it. However you're imposing it on your daughter as some kind of a precondition for financial assistance. Yeah well it is my car. Oh you said you

gave her the car. Well she... Well okay. Either you gave her the car. Well, she... Oh, oh, oh, ah, ah! Well, okay. All right. Either you gave her the car... Wait a minute, let me finish. Let me finish. Now, she just finished school. The idea was that when she finished school, I would give her a car.

I wasn't quite sure what car it would be at that point. And then it would be up to her. So let's get down to it. Did you give her this car or didn't you? Huh? Did you give her the car or didn't you? Well? Did you give her the car or didn't you? Well she's using it now but she will be, as she told you, she's taking a job in Atlanta and will start there in about a month and then she'll be in Atlanta with the car.

Would you want to please instruct the witness to answer the question? You're waffling on this, Topher! No, she... Did you give it, now you say she's using the car. Whose car is it? It will be hers when she moves to Atlanta. It'll be hers by default because then she'll be there and and it will be there and i can't all okay so

you have used bill haven't actually it's or what she doesn't want it because then she'd have to insure it gotcha all but you would be exempt i would have been led to understand from the book at that uh... to be used was she was she can't act ownership of the car yeah you called her brother a wuss because... Oh yeah, we did that too, didn't we? I sent him a copy of the tape, so you might be hearing from him too.

So the deal is that right now the car belongs to you because you are in fact paying for the insurance and therefore you have every right in your mind, small though it may be, you have every right in your mind to dictate that she fill out the book. Absolutely. Okay and I guess there's no argument there but I mean the minute she leaves to go to Atlanta give the kid a break I mean come on! When she hits Spatylvania which is five miles out of here she's break. I mean, come on! When she hits Spatialvania, which is five miles south of here, she's exempt. I will call her on her car. If you follow her for five miles, you'll find that book lying in the street. Guarantee it.

I don't think the book is in there anymore. It would be interesting to find out how far from the house does she get before she heaves that damn thing being out the window i want to know she in the book are in florida now basking in the fun getting ready for a little white works with us she's slow to get to it and i doubt if she's writing in the book actually she hasn't written anything in the book since

your conversation good well she's but i haven't put any gas in the season she's rebelling at the gas uh... yeah you gotta cut the knot somewhere along the way. Oh, yeah Hey Tolf, it's been a pleasure talking to you. Well, it's been fun I've been looking for an excuse to call you guys for the last five or six years But I keep such good care of my cars that nothing nothing ever break And what's your son's name so we can be on guard if he calls? Jason, okay cars that nothing, nothing you have a break. What's your son's name so we can be on guard if he calls? Jason. Jason. Okay. See ya. See ya later. Bye. More calls and a new puzzler coming up right after these messages.

Arizona is a swing state with a booming Latino population. Joe Biden flipped it blue once. Could Kamala Harris do it again? NPR's Consider This podcast is talking to Arizona voters all week. We have to go recruit our compadres, our compadres, our neighbors. How do issues like immigration and abortion play in the Grand Canyon state? Listen this week on NPR's Consider This podcast. Hey there, it's Ian and Mike. And on the How to Do Everything podcast from the team at Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, we will answer any question you have, no matter how ridiculous.

Like maybe you want to get a haircut in space and you're not sure how. Astronaut Frank Rubio has had a haircut in space. We plan for everything, right? And so it's not a pretty haircut for sure, but it's functional. Listen to the How to Do Everything podcast from NPR. Hey, it's Mike and Ian. but functional. Listen to the How to Do Everything podcast from NPR. Hey, it's Mike and Ian. We're the hosts of How to Do Everything from the team at Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Every week, we take your questions and find someone much smarter than us to answer them. Questions like, how do I safely jump out of a moving vehicle? How do I dangerously jump out of

a moving vehicle? We can't help you, but we will find someone who can. Listen to the How to Do Everything podcast from NPR. Read about the impact of women in music with NPR's new book, How Women Made Music, A Revolutionary History from NPR Music. This stunning anthology offers original writing and illustrations, interviews and photos. And the audiobook includes 52 years worth of interview excerpts with more than 60 legendary artists. Visit npr.org slash how women made music to order now. Ha! We're back. You're listening to Car Talk on National Public Radio with us, click and clack the Tappet Brothers, and we're here to discuss, of course, cars, car repair, and the perfect marriage. There I was.

I mean, I try to keep up on what's happening in the industry and I was reading my six-week-old automotive news and on the front page they have this late news section on the right hand the left-hand side all the hot stuff that's going on and the first item is GM and Disney form alliance. Now when that when you hear that, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? They'll be making more Mickey Mouse cars. Don't they already make Mickey Mouse cars? And I suppose this is perfect for them.

I mean, this... I was speechless. I was speechless when I read it. I said, aren't they gonna get into a lot of I said aren't they gonna get into a lot of trouble? Aren't we gonna get into a lot of trouble? I just I just suspect that they've run out of names for cars and they need to borrow some from the Disney Corporation. Yeah Yeah, the goofy the Pluto The hatchback of Notre Dame

They're asking for it. I don't know. I don't want to pick up GM. No, no, no. I mean, you had to make the joke. If anyone had lied themselves, you would have to make the joke. Of course. We didn't mean anything. We didn't mean it in a bad way. Oh, I don't know. Okay, it's time for the puzzler. Oh, you, the new scintillating. I didn't say no. You said scintillating. Well, I lied. Interesting. Interesting, all right.

I have to paint the scene first. Go man, I'll close my eyes, put on my wave music. There I was, sitting at the counter at Sam's Luncheonette in our fair city. The sky had been angry that day. in that in our fair city. Yeah. The sky had been angry that day, but it was clearing with faint wisps, white wisps,

clean desperately to a promise to be a blazing blue sky. There I was. It's good. It's good. Spill an egg on my shirt. And I noticed a woman and her son next to me at the counter yeah doing their arithmetic homework or rather doing his

arithmetic homework yeah and they're adding a bunch of decimals yeah and I'll give you the numbers get a pencil. Get the pencil. Got one. 6.2. 6.2. 1.1. 1.1. 2.2. 2.2. 3.2.

3.2. Add that up. Two, four, six, seven, five, six, 13.7, 12.7. There you go, that's a little better. 12.7. They come up with 14.1. Base 8. Base 8.

Base this. The other numbers again. 6.2, 1.1, 2.2, 3.2, for a grand total of 12.7, except their total is 14.1 is the question gonna be these people are from another planet and how many fingers did they have no that's not it I shouldn't try to guess it is no what is the question they have 14.1 so I was about to correct them but I didn't get up, put on their hats and coats. And their six-fingered gloves. It's three. Three-fingered gloves, yeah. And as they leave,

I say, I've got it. Yeah? What did I get? And I gave you the hits. Yeah, all the hints are what you did you'll always do and it had nothing to do with the white clouds clean desperately Everything in there is essential. Yeah, and there was nothing more I think that you need. Okay Okay, I understand. Now if you think you know the answer, send it to us at Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza. I had promised the guys at Sam's I'd do a puzzle. Involving eggs.

Well, I was going to do something like how many hamburgers do you have to make on the grill before you can get 55 gallons of pre-sandwich? But I didn't think they'd appreciate that. Anyway, no, Sam's is a wonderful luncheonette. Anyway, send your answer to Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza, Box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mac, or you can email us your answer from CarTalk.com by clicking on the Talk to Car Talk section. And if we choose your answer, the da da da da da da da. Okay, I mean, is the question basically

that you thought that some of these numbers should have been 12.7 and they said 14.1? Well, it's clear that when you add them up the way I gave them to you, that's 12.7. Right, and they? But their answer, 14.1, is the right answer. Yeah, okay. Okay, if you'd like to call us with a question

about your car, the number is 1-800-332-9287. Hello, you're on Car Talk. This is Esther from Illinois. Hi Esther. How are you doing? Well, I'm doing pretty okay. That's good. Except I have this problem where after 30 something years of driving, no speeding tickets, never speeding tickets. Really? In the last six months I got three speeding tickets. And I think there may be something happening in my car that has contributed to this. How many have you gotten? Three. In what period of time?

Last six months. Wow. Yeah, I know, it's a lot. Is this a new car you're driving? Huh? Is this a new car you're driving? No, it's an 89 stable wagon, not exactly a speedy car. driving hot is this a new car you're driving now it can it now it can eighty nine table wagon not exactly eight

speedy car this this this happen when you when you are driving down the road and see some particular stud walking along the sidewalk no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no speed limit is 25 and one time it was 35. And there was nobody else there except for, unfortunately, the police car. Well, I mean, hmm. I mean, you got any theories here? Well, yeah, all of a sudden I was driving in my car

and my foot was off the gas and my car was doing between 35 and 40 without any gas. And I thought, this isn't that right this is not a good idle the you know those who just take your foot off the gas and the car will all by itself go all the way up to thirty miles an hour i take my foot off the break and without stepping on the gas and without stepping on the gas it'll it'll it'll will get up not immediately but it'll get up to

thirty five miles an hour on a straightaway you know if you yeah something's wrong I know there is something wrong your curb idle speed is too high Yeah, that's what I thought so what I wanted a letter from you guys I mean, I'm getting my car fixed so that I'll have the Evidence that it has been repaired but even if I show that to the judge he's gonna say yeah right. Well the thing is there's no excuse for speeding. I realize. Your only hope is to is to claim incompetence on the part of the

cops. But if you say you were speeding because there was something wrong with your car. I mean every teenager teenager in the world, when he gets caught for his first speeding ticket, he reaches down and tries to free up the gas pedal, which he claims was stuck to the floor. And that's why his car was speeding. I don't know what happened, officer, but my father just worked in my car the other day and the gas pedal stuck and I couldn't stop the car

and I'm lucky I didn't kill anybody. Thank God you pulled me over. Yeah. Yeah, so you're basically throwing yourself on the mercy of the court, but it isn't gonna work. Oh dear. It isn't gonna work, but I mean, we'll be happy to send you a letter. Well, how much is the letter

worth to you? We can probably arrange the letter. Yeah, we can phony up a letter. Yeah. But it won't help. You're gonna have to do the time, Esther. Yeah. Yeah, in Illinois though,

the time means you lose your license. Well, I mean, three and six months is a lot. They're all moving violations. Yeah. Are you going to lose your license, really? I think that's a possibility, yeah. Which is why I wanted to get the best explanation possible. Yeah.

Well, I mean, you will have it fixed, and I suppose you really do have to get a letter from... this is not a good excuse, I mean, but when you get a letter from the garage that fixes the car saying that just your curb idle was way too high, that might... who knows, David? Your good record, your previous 30 years of driving record might save you. Might. But if it doesn't, hey... Throw myself on the mercy of the court, huh? your good record your previous thirty years of driving record might save you but if it doesn't myself on the mercy of the court house of the mercy of the court and i mean how many uh...

how many buses are there i just to be the safe side get the bus schedule start memorizing it it's not the end of the world you know i mean you could be carless and not die and you may figure out in fact that you like it that you like it it's hard to get from where i live to where I work without a car. Well, you'll have to quit. You may have to quit your job. You may like that too. Yeah. Free yourself, Esther. That's right. I mean, the car is a trap. We've managed to get ourselves into this trap, and now we think we can't live without the car. But we could live without the car. Especially if you didn't have to

go to work. Why are we listening to the show? Well we could live without this show. I mean come on the world doesn't need this. Right. I'd be willing to stop doing the show if people wouldn't be willing to stop driving their cars. Yeah. We've got 150 million people driving cars around every day. It's outrageous. It's absolutely outrageous. And you know how many are driving just to go get gas? Or just so they can hear this show because their wives won't let them hear it at home. Right.

Go in the car. Get in the car and drive around, you jerk. Good luck, Esther. Thank you. Let us know how you enjoy your bicycle. Thanks for calling. I hope you make it. That's right.

The bicycle might be good. The bicycle season is coming upon us. See if you can postp. Thanks for calling. I hope you make it. That's right. The bicycle might be good. The bicycle season is coming upon us. See if you can postpone the court date for a few weeks. Okay. See you later. Bye. Bye-bye.

Whew! While you've wasted an otherwise perfectly good hour listening to Car Talk, our esteemed producer is Doug the Subway Fugitive, not a slave to fashion, Berman. Our associate producer and dean of the College of Automusicology is Ken Babyface Rogers, our assistant producer is Catherine Cathode-Ray, our engineer is Karen Given, and our technical advisor currently in spring free lunch training in Florida is Mr. John Bugsy, milk carton man Lawler. Our public opinion pollster is Paul Murky of Murky Research, assisted by statistician Margin O'Vara, Our Director of New Product Repair is Warren T. Myfoot. Our Director of Staff Pay Increases is Xavier Breath.

Our Staff Butler from the Car Talk Bombay Division is Mahatma Kote. Our Marriage Counselor is Marion Haste. Our Head of Used Car Purchasing is Will B. Hoofin' It. And our Behavior Consultant is Wyatt B. Hoovizia. The Manager of our Weekly Shrimp Buff buffet is Sheldon Devane. The curator of Tom's Car Collection is Rex Galore. The manager of the Tappet Brothers Capital Depreciation Fund is Les Ismore.

Our director of speed bumps is Salome Down Malolsovich. Our director of country music is Stan Byerman. Our director of cold weather starting is Martina Never Turnover. And our manager of automotive accessories is Francis Ford Cupholder. Our chief counsel for Malaw from Udui Chief of And Howes UU Stuey, known around the square as ULU Dewey. Thanks so much for listening.

We're Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers and don't drive like my brother. Drive like my brother. We'll be back next week. Thanks for listening. Bye bye. And now with an important announcement, here is Car Talk Plaza's Chief Mechanic, Vinnie Gobots. If you want Car Talk junk, you know, like cassettes, CDs and t-shirts, and you just

want a copy of this show and cassette, which is show number 11, you can get all that stuff on the World Wide Web by clicking on the shameless commerce division, cartalk.com. If you're too lazy to do that, you can pick up your phone with your lazy bum and call 303-823-8000. That's 303-823-8000. Thank you very much. Car Talk is a production of Dewey, Cheetah, and Howe, and WBUR in Boston. And even though sophisticated listeners cough up some pate every time they hear us say it, this is NPR National Public Radio. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh air? Up first. NPR National Public Radio. of perks across more than 20 podcasts with the bundle option. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Anxious? This October, Shortwave is helping wrangle that fear. And the trick may have to do

with horror movies. I feel more alive when I am in situations like this. Learn the surprising science to conquering fear when you subscribe now to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR. Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters come to you on the NPR Politics Podcast to explain the big news coming out of Washington, the campaign trail and beyond. We don't just want to tell you what happened, we tell you why it matters. Join the MPR Politics podcast every single afternoon to understand the world through political eyes.