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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Tom and Ray, anybody?

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Dec. 26, 2009 1:28 p.m. DrBoost Dork

How many of you listen to Click and Clack? I've been listening to them on and off for about 12 years or so and hate to miss a week. One of my favorite quotes (from my fading memory) from the show:

"We have a letter here from a listener. He says, 'Dear Tom and Ray. I have a nice AMC Pacer that I take to shows and love to cruise around in. I love it! The problem is, I can't seem to find any Pacer owner clubs around. Can you guys help me find a Pacer owners club?"
After some snickering:
Ray: "Ok, you ain't gonna find an AMC Pacer Owners Club. See, Porsche owners have Owners Clubs, BMW owners have Owners Clubs, even MG owners have Owners Clubs. AMC Pacer owners have support groups" after much laughing and snorting ensued. Both from me, Tommy and Ray.
Dec. 26, 2009 1:34 p.m. EastCoastMojo SuperDork

I listen to them whenever I remember they are on. I have always wanted to write them and tell them that my intermittant wipers only work intermittantly, just to hear their responses.
Dec. 26, 2009 2:28 p.m. mtn SuperDork

I love the show. Kinda a little bad car advice (kinda stoopid to get advice from the radio) but its a great show for sure. I think they might have the show available for free on Itunes.
Dec. 26, 2009 2:33 p.m. motomoron Reader

I used to see if I can beat their "diagnoses" but eventually realized theres a carefully scripted formula for joking and generally grab-assing before delivering the verdict. On GRM the answer is always Miata - for Click and Clack if you're at greater than 100k miles on the problem car the answer is "Forester"...
Dec. 26, 2009 2:36 p.m. pinchvalve UberDork

I grab them weekly on iTunes as not to miss anything. I love the people who have a car that dies whenever they come to a stop, and when asked how long the problem has been happening, they reply "two years". OMG!
Dec. 26, 2009 3:08 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

Maybe I'm in the minority, but those guys annoy the heck out of me. They spend too much time laughing at their own jokes.

Oddly enough, I just looked up the Pacer Owner's Club website, and they actually do describe themselves as a support group.
Dec. 26, 2009 3:16 p.m. Salanis UberDork

motomoron wrote:

On GRM the answer is always Miata - for Click and Clack if you're at greater than 100k miles on the problem car the answer is "Forester"...

Interestingly, if you think about it for the average person who wants an appliance, that makes a ton of sense:

Reasonably effecient. Reliable. AWD for inclement (New England winter) weather. Enough power to get out of its way, but not enough to elicit general jackassery. Safe. Big enough to carry all the stuff that 90% of people will ever carry, but small enough to not be jackass. Not a Camry.
Dec. 26, 2009 4:35 p.m. motomoron Reader

In reply to Salanis:

There's a guy who autocrosses a Forester fairly succesfully w/ CDC in the DC area.

The NPR automotive buying bloc was dealt a huge blow by the shuttering of Saab. Now there's just Suburu and Volvo left...
Dec. 26, 2009 5:24 p.m. JoeyM Reader

EastCoastMojo wrote: have always wanted to write them and tell them that my intermittant wipers only work intermittantly, just to hear their responses.

Unless it is a slow week, they won't respond to that. The show is NOT a live call in/write in show, even though it sounds that way. You call in and describe your problem to the answering service. If they want to talk to you, you will get a call back before the next show, and your interaction with them will be recorded. If they like it, your bit will be aired.

The reason some of the stuff sounds scripted is that it is. They have several days to plan what to say to the person before they call them up.
Dec. 26, 2009 6:02 p.m. EastCoastMojo SuperDork

I know, that's why I would write them. I think it could be a funny bit, but what do I know?
Dec. 26, 2009 6:35 p.m. JoeyM Reader

EastCoastMojo wrote:

I know, that's why I would write them.

Makes sense. I've tried twice to get on the show. The first time I called to see if there was a better way to fill my tires on the corolla than popping the moon hubcaps off. The second time I wrote to respond to their "chicken in the engine bay" diagnosis with a link to a possum in the engine bay

http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/possumengine/1007693191

They didn't find either interesting enough to contact me.
Dec. 26, 2009 10:27 p.m. DrBoost Dork

I sent them (via e-mail) my op in this thread hoping they would read it. No dice.
I mean, I thought it was funny.
Dec. 26, 2009 11:13 p.m. Kramer HalfDork

stuart in mn wrote:

Maybe I'm in the minority, but those guys annoy the heck out of me. They spend too much time laughing at their own jokes.

You're not the only one. Anyone who claims to make the exact diagnosis with so little information is either a)stupid or b)yammering just to fill the airtime.
Dec. 26, 2009 11:21 p.m. madpanda New Reader

JoeyM wrote:

The reason some of the stuff sounds scripted is that it is. They have several days to plan what to say to the person before they call them up.

I feel like you just told me there is no Santa Claus. I really believed it was live and that they are just that funny. I'll still keep listening to them though, it's still the best podcast on iTunes.
Dec. 27, 2009 7:21 a.m. DrBoost Dork

OH they ARE just that funny. They plan ahead so they can make an entertaining show. I mean, they take, what, 6 calls per show right? What if all 6 of them were some middle-aged lady asking what that light on her dash means that looks like a thermometer floating in the sea means.
Dec. 27, 2009 12:44 p.m. JoeyM Reader

DrBoost wrote: OH they ARE just that funny. They plan ahead so they can make an entertaining show.

I agree. That's something that they have in common with Top Gear....both shows are semi-scripted; i.e. some of what they say has been planned in advance, and it shows....Both are car programs that are REALLY entertaining, so much so that they can be enjoyed even by people who are not into cars.

The non-scripted stuff needs to be carefully edited, too. I've heard that Top Gear will sift through many hours of film to put together one 30 minute segment. I'm sure the same is true of Car Talk.....record four or five callers for every one you end up using.....
Dec. 27, 2009 4:43 p.m. procainestart Dork

madpanda wrote:

JoeyM wrote:

The reason some of the stuff sounds scripted is that it is. They have several days to plan what to say to the person before they call them up.

I feel like you just told me there is no Santa Claus. I really believed it was live and that they are just that funny. I'll still keep listening to them though, it's still the best podcast on iTunes.

I do, too, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

They're entertaining but sometimes their advice is way off* and sometimes they're simply not especially helpful because they're too busy being entertaining.

*For example, they once told someone to have their alternator replaced when it was pretty clear they only needed a voltage regulator.
Dec. 27, 2009 6:52 p.m. SVreX PowerDork

Love 'em.

Loved 'em in CARS.

By FAR their bet show every year is always their mother's day show. They put their Mom on the show. If you think they are funny, you should hear their Mom.
Dec. 27, 2009 7:19 p.m. Jensenman MegaDork

DrBoost wrote: OH they ARE just that funny. They plan ahead so they can make an entertaining show. I mean, they take, what, 6 calls per show right? What if all 6 of them were some middle-aged lady asking what that light on her dash means that looks like a thermometer floating in the sea means.

Or the lady who called about the light which looked like a guy with a gun over his shoulder.
Dec. 28, 2009 12:02 a.m. friedgreencorrado Dork

DrBoost wrote:

How many of you listen to Click and Clack? I've been listening to them on and off for about 12 years or so and hate to miss a week. One of my favorite quotes (from my fading memory) from the show:

"We have a letter here from a listener. He says, 'Dear Tom and Ray. I have a nice AMC Pacer that I take to shows and love to cruise around in. I love it! The problem is, I can't seem to find any Pacer owner clubs around. Can you guys help me find a Pacer owners club?"
After some snickering:
Ray: "Ok, you ain't gonna find an AMC Pacer Owners Club. See, Porsche owners have Owners Clubs, BMW owners have Owners Clubs, even MG owners have Owners Clubs. AMC Pacer owners have support groups" after much laughing and snorting ensued. Both from me, Tommy and Ray.

I think they're great. But I also think they look at cars from the appliance point of view (which, admittantly is most of their audience). I find myself only listening to about half the show before I get tired of "..I've got a 96 Sebring with a steering wheel shimmy above 52 miles per hour.."

To Tom & Ray's credit, they actually knew about (or researched) the recall, and convinced the guy just how dangerous it was.

http://tinyurl.com/yz7t766

EDIT: I loved em in "Cars", too. I wonder if being the old Dodges was their idea..
Dec. 28, 2009 12:31 a.m. friedgreencorrado Dork

motomoron wrote:

In reply to Salanis:

There's a guy who autocrosses a Forester fairly succesfully w/ CDC in the DC area.

The NPR automotive buying bloc was dealt a huge blow by the shuttering of Saab. Now there's just Suburu and Volvo left...

Maybe with a space that big in the market, VW will FINALLY bring the Lupo to the US. My A2 Golf's been a DD for 17yrs because they won't. Of course, I'm sure VWoA will berkeley it up and give us Lupos with power cupholders, heated headliners, a cheap imitation of BMW's "iDrive", and another thousand pounds of equally unreliable electric BMW E36. I suspect the US dealer network just can't add. They seem to think selling 7000 cars at $28K makes more money than selling 25000 cars at $15K.

BTW: real liberals wouldn't touch a post-GM Ope..uh, "SAAB" (we watch the Corporate Overlords like hawks, and know who owns what better than a lot of folks). That's half the reason they've gone belly-up. If the original 900 had been offered with a diesel, the veggie oil crowd would be making reproduction parts for them. And perhaps by now, someone would have created a tranny that could cope with some torque..

Jeez, it's tough being a "lib'rul" and a gearhead at the same time...
Dec. 28, 2009 11:24 a.m. 81gtv6 Reader

I listen whenever I can, I have even gotten my wife hooked on the show. It is nice to see a couple of guys that are very smart, they both have degrees from MIT, but do not take themselfs too seriously.

I looked long and hard for their Cars dicasts, they were a must have for my desk at work.
Dec. 28, 2009 11:55 a.m. Carrera4 Reader

They are funny and entertaining. Also, they do eventually get around to providing appropriate solutions to the problems expressed. I always try to see if my diagnosis matches theirs (when they eventually get around to it )

My 4 year old laughs along, so apparently it appeals to a pretty wide audience!
Dec. 29, 2009 9:43 a.m. Wally UberDork

My car's not British, why does it keep asking for tea?
Dec. 29, 2009 9:48 a.m. mel_horn Dork

^^^Every time I see that I stop for coffee. Sure do have to go to the bathroom a lot...

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