Car Talk

This week on The Best of Car Talk, our all-time favorite demonstration of Male Answer Syndrome. The electric brakes on Paul's cattle trailer engage when he uses his turn signal. Will Tom and Ray's ready acknowledgment that they know nothing about electric brakes stop them from offering a diagnosis? Of course not! Is there any chance of it being a correct diagnosis? Of course not! Elsewhere, Alice and her husband are enjoying retirement by arguing over whose route to their daugher's house is better for their car. Also, Ralph's Suburban is channeling an old TV game show; Cathy's son locked her keys in the trunk and the retrieval has led to lots of chipped teeth; and will Marsha's husband's shifting habits kill her clutch permaturely? All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Tom and Ray prove they are their brother's keepers, until Ray's explanation for Becky's smelly Toyota goes too far off the deep end. Elsewhere, Arlene bought an old Volvo for her teenage daughter, who promptly drove it off road and tried to fix its overheating by pouring Mountain Dew in the radiator. Does Arlene need to find her daughter a better teacher, or a convent? Also, Kate's mechanic husband can't figure out why her car has touble starting; Warren wants to treat his Olds to a paint job, but his wife is convinced that will make it die within two months; and Newton is still trying to figure out how his driver in Africa kept his Land Rover running for 60 miles by sitting on the engine with his hand over the carburetor. All this, plus the truth about lying, and lots more.

Stella is renting a highway billboard for a personal ad. What size font should she use to attract the right guy, and should she divulge she's a lawyer? Elsewhere, Frank may need to offer a couple of spiral cut hams to find out why his car is squealing; Kelly was told never to change his transmission fluid, but that may not be his concern, since his truck appears to be out of transmission fluid; Chris' brake pedal sank to the floor, but Tom and Ray are more interested in his askew cassette cases; and can Mabel's screeching Subaru really be explained by, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Power Equals I Squared R"? All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Tom and Ray run through the entire table of elements trying to identify the white powder in Ann's Subaru's radiator. If only they could put that much effort into figuring out why the car is blowing through heater cores! Elsewhere, Jamie wants to achieve his modest life ambition of owning a truck with power steering, but doesn't know whether to also go diesel; Dr. Gary is having doubts about his professional services exchange with his mechanic neighbor; Doug needs to decide whether he wants to become the "Chuck Yeager of CV joints", or risk being stranded on a railroad track; and Anna discovered a rat in her Civic's passenger seat--how did it get there? All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.