The Best of Car Talk

Highlight of Episode #2027: The Dregs Theory | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, Donna's husband warned her not to let her new Camry's gas tank fall below 1/4 full, because the dregs might damage a crucial part. Does the fact that this part no longer exists automatically throw this advice into the Land of the Booooooogus? Elsewhere, John can only keep his car from stalling by opening the hood and touching the engine. Does this fix have anything to do with the fact that John's a Catholic priest? Also, Tom is looking for a "girlfriend car," but can't decide if his wife should be able to drive it; Michael will inherit his father-in-law's Town Car if he can figure out it's odd steering and stalling problem; and way up north in Alaska, Linda needs to retro-fit her ATV so her sled dogs will get their off-season workouts. All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Highlight of Episode #2033: A Big, Beautiful, Piece of Junk | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, should Jason dump his beloved Camaro? It needs a new engine and completed its mission to help him find a girlfriend. Elsewhere, Shelly has the happiest dog in the world as her Explorer is spewing dog food from the vents; Oscar needs to decide whether to fix his wife's brakes or buy more life insurance for her; and should Barbara attempt her 6-month road trip in a VW Camper Van if she expects it to last more than 6 days? Also, from the land of Wacko theories, Teresa's husband thinks he has a better to chance to survive a collision if he's not wearing a seat belt; and our on-call chemist Jim Davis weighs in on Ray's hungry water theory. All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Highlight of Episode #2025: A Sympathetic Ear | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, Ryan took his car in for an oil change and got talked into an engine shampoo. Will Tom and Ray reassure him that he's not a complete idiot? At least he didn't get a cream rinse. Elsewhere, Bill parked his rental car on a beach, and discovered the next morning that the tide had rolled in—to the car. He's bailed the water, but hasn't told the rental company. Also, Ray channels Frank Costanza to try to diagnose Kevin's clicking noise; Jean is suffering a run of flat tires in her driveway; and, is a lucky doughnut enough to keep Tamatha's brakes from burning up for a third time? All this and more this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Highlight of Episode #2039: Fell Off Truck | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, Matt's bad day got a little worse when his Volvo fell off the tow truck that was hauling it from an accident. Will Tom and Ray's vast experience dropping cars help Matt figure out if his is still safe to drive? Elsewhere, should Jackie go braless when washing her car? We're talking about the car's bra here, not Jackie's. Also, Peter thinks he has a theremin player living in his car; Barb's smart-aleck son may actually be smarter than she thinks; and on Stump the Chumps, we find out if Victoria bought cars for her three sons and opted for a career in flower arranging over business school. All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Highlight of Episode #2045: The Bionic Bug | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, Rita's VW won't start after being flooded during a hurricane. Does it have a future on the road or just as a saltwater aquarium? Elsewhere, Bob discovered an unusual feature in his BMW as a result of his father-in-law being locked in the car for a half-hour; Dan's Acura may have oil problems, if his neighbor's hearing is right; and Chuck thinks his wife's parking brake technique is too quiet. Also, college sudent Kim wants help with a take-home Physics exam. Man, did she call the wrong number! All this, the Great Cathy/Kathy Stump the Chumps Challenge, and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Highlight of Episode #2045: The Bionic Bug | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, Rita's VW won't start after being flooded during a hurricane. Does it have a future on the road or just as a saltwater aquarium? Elsewhere, Bob discovered an unusual feature in his BMW as a result of his father-in-law being locked in the car for a half-hour; Dan's Acura may have oil problems, if his neighbor's hearing is right; and Chuck thinks his wife's parking brake technique is too quiet. Also, college sudent Kim wants help with a take-home Physics exam. Man, did she call the wrong number! All this, the Great Cathy/Kathy Stump the Chumps Challenge, and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Highlight of Episode #2025: A Sympathetic Ear | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, Ryan took his car in for an oil change and got talked into an engine shampoo. Will Tom and Ray reassure him that he's not a complete idiot? At least he didn't get a cream rinse. Elsewhere, Bill parked his rental car on a beach, and discovered the next morning that the tide had rolled in—to the car. He's bailed the water, but hasn't told the rental company. Also, Ray channels Frank Costanza to try to diagnose Kevin's clicking noise; Jean is suffering a run of flat tires in her driveway; and, is a lucky doughnut enough to keep Tamatha's brakes from burning up for a third time? All this and more this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Highlight of Episode #2027: The Dregs Theory | Car Talk This week on The Best of Car Talk, Donna's husband warned her not to let her new Camry's gas tank fall below 1/4 full, because the dregs might damage a crucial part. Does the fact that this part no longer exists automatically throw this advice into the Land of the Booooooogus? Elsewhere, John can only keep his car from stalling by opening the hood and touching the engine. Does this fix have anything to do with the fact that John's a Catholic priest? Also, Tom is looking for a "girlfriend car," but can't decide if his wife should be able to drive it; Michael will inherit his father-in-law's Town Car if he can figure out it's odd steering and stalling problem; and way up north in Alaska, Linda needs to retro-fit her ATV so her sled dogs will get their off-season workouts. All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Snippet of #2101: The Mustang Compost Bin Listen to hosts discuss with a caller what the little squeaks his Beetle makes when he shifts into third gear are.

#2266: The Double Groan Janice from Pasadena has a Mercedes that can't climb hills. She has taken it to several mechanics who are trying to help but can't figure it out. It could be the transmission or it could be the engine. Will Click and Clack take opposing sides on this diagnosis or is Janice going to get the dreaded 'double groan'? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2265: Pretty Bird Susan fr California managed to stick her ex-husband with a pet parakeet and kept the Mercury Lynx in their divorce settlement. But now, instead of having to clean up the birdcage and hearing 'Pretty Bird' all day long she's driving around in a car that is billowing smoke. Is it too late to reconsider the parakeet? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2264: A Lifetime of Hand Me Down Cars Victoria from DC has spent her adult years driving a series of hand-me-down cars from her family. Her latest choice -if you can call it a choice- is between her current AMC Spirit and a Chrysler K car. Click and Clack resist suggesting an untimely two-car fire and instead try to offer useful guidance on this epiode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2263: Sister Mary Anne's Tire Fund On the occasion of moving to their new fair city of Cambridge, MA the brothers tempt fate by weighing in on Sister Mary Anne's problems with her Plymouth as well as Karl's Honda horn and Scott's unalignable minivan. All this and the new puzzler on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2262: Really Low Cost Air Travel Carl from California has the urge to fly. But instead of buying an airline ticket or maybe taking a few flying lessons Carl wants to build his own airplane. Ol' Carl is certainly up for a challenge. So he called Car Talk and asked our boys which car engine would be the best choice to put in his homemade plane. Is Carl nuts? Yes. Are the brothers crazy enough to give him an answer? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2261: One Million Original Miles Julie from Maryland is trying to sell her much-beloved Chevy SUV but all her potential buyers are scared off by the car's high mileage. She needs a new sales strategy and Ray shares the story of trying to sell his old Pontiac with a million miles. And don't miss the return of the Puzzler from extended Summer vacation on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2260: Don't Forget the Sunscreen David likes to drive his Mercedes Diesel from Los Angelas to New Mexico occasionally and he thinks the car is having some trouble on his long trips through the desert. He adds that he only notices the problem after he takes his shoes and shirt off. Okee-doke. Will the boys have to avert their eyes while solving this one? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2259: Sherry's Menopausal Mercury Sherry has an older Mercury that is becoming menopausal(Sherry's words -not ours!). She says that it exhibits 'hot flashes' with the dashboard gauges spiking up and down at random times. Don't worry: as usual, all wisecracks about 'irritability, moodiness and weight gain' refer to Click and Clack themselves on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.

#2258: A Laser-like Focus In order to help callers figure out what ails their cars, Click and Clack have to keep a lot of details straight. This, the boys assure us, requires a truly laser-like focus. From show-to-show we're never quite sure what that laser is going to be focused on exactly, but on this episode of the Best of Car Talk it would seem to be 'all things South Dakotan'.