I just learned about car talk from a friend a few weeks ago. I’m 22 and love working on cars but had never heard of the show as none of the adults in my life have ever been car enthusiasts of any kind. I’ve been waiting each week to listen in, listening to the podcasts online as they’re posted. Imagine my shock come to find out that the show was canceled in 2012. Now sure I had been questioning why all these callers drove such old cars, but the time of year in each podcast even reflects the current time. My question now is essentially, when are these podcasts recorded from? There’s something really eerie to me finding out that these episodes were recorded years ago and I just really want to better understand. NPR’s own website presents the podcasts as if they’re from that year, labeling them by year and week and showing an incomplete archive to the show’s beginning. Basically, any info would be appreciated on when these shows are coming from/ do you guys listen to these, as one group called it, ‘zombie’ car talk shows?
CarTalk has been around over 30 years. The cirrent shows are created from the best calls over the years. I still listen. They are still funny. It never really was a “how to” show for me just good entertainment.
Yeah kinda eight years late, but never was much on telling people how to do something. If you have a question you can ask it here. There are all kinds and good mechanics. Still you’ll likely get half saying to do this and half saying to do that so you can sort it out. My advice would be to buy a good repair manual and read it to start with.
Yeah, I use nicoclub forums factory service manuals as what I drive right now are mostly family owned Nissan. If you drive a Nissan it’s an excellent resource it has every model up until 2016. Sadly an FSM cant fix a CVT, but all the same, wasn’t hoping car talk would. My issue is just with the weird nature of the show, are they going to continue it forever? Im around Boston and it still plays on the weekends. It gives me a good laugh and everything but it really just unnerved me to find out I’ve been listening to a dead man, a wonderful one all the same, but recorded from who know when.
If you watch TV, a lot of dead people on there. Now when you ask a question and they answer back, that’s the time to be concerned.
The podcast will probably continue as long as there’s an audience, Spike’s Car Radio which is a show hosted by one of Seinfeld’s buddies and former writer has mentioned that CarTalk is beating them in the rankings on at least iTunes even though the show’s been on repeats for so long. Still entertaining to listen to even if a little dated.
You might also try The Car Doctor which is a little like if Ray had hosted the show on his own, but more straightforward. He talks about Nissan CVT’s in one part of the Nov28th show.
For the longest time Car-Talk was NPR’s #1 show nationally. Started in Boston then grew from there. Plus their syndicated Newspaper columns. When they were new I listened when I could. I’m guessing I’ve probably only listened to half their broadcasts. And forget most of the ones I did hear. If I happen to be driving (only time I ever listen to NPR) and they might be on I’ll try to listen. Their humor is still funny.
Do you have a 240SX . . . ?!
Nope hahah. I currently drive a 06 pathfinder. Im selling a 06 murano with 202k and a 07 sentra with 133k miles though. The sentra taught me first hand how a nissan cvt can enjoy dying unexpectedly and has a replacement
I asked because 2400 is part of your screen name . . .
I used to know a lady who owned a bone stock 240SX . . . might have been a 1996
Anyways, every single day there’d be notes on her car, from people wanting to buy it
They all wanted to turn it into a drifter
Ah I see. Nope purely random number. They are cool cars though! I’m looking to get a drifter myself but the cheapest out there for me seems to be a BMW e46 as you can find lots of them for 4000 or under
“Car Talk” aired on NPR stations for many years. New programs were eventually discontinued a few years ago, in part b/c of the illness of one of the hosts. “Best of Car Talk” continued to be aired on most NPR stations. Many of the “Best of” shows have new, never-aired content. Tom and Ray would take more calls than would actually make it to air. The producers presumably edit out some of the old calls and replace them w/never aired calls in the Best of podcasts. As such, “Best of” continues to be successful. The show was never overly topical, other than the model years of the cars being discussed, so the content remains sounding fresh.
The current podcasts are still called “The Best of Car Talk”. Many NPR stations – including both NPR stations in the SF Bay Area – discontinued airing “Car Talk” when it switched to “Best of”. These stations have aired other programming in its place. However, the podcast programs continue to be aired as “Best of Car Talk” on some NPR stations. I think they may be broadcast on some military radio stations as well, world-wide.
Just recently the producers announced that the NPR stations that up to now air “Best of Car Talk” will stop next month (i.e. October, 2021). New NPR programming will take its air-time. However, the “Best of” podcasts will continue to be posted, and starting in October, two programs will be posted each week, edited from older shows than are currently in the podcast mix. So as long as you have the ability to listen to a podcast, you remain good-to-go.
We work on a lot of BMWs… There is a good reason for that!!!
Now that we have revived old radio programs, when I’m in Sioux Falls on a Saturday, there is a car talk program from down south someplace. I think Nashville and forget their name. The push a particular brand of miracle products but their answers to questions are very good. Sioux Falls actually had a local show too put on by one of the junkyards that was pretty good. Also after that was a handyman program that was also pretty good. The Minneapolis market now is pretty dead now for how to programs. Used to have cars, gardening, money, and even lawyers for a while on Sat. mornings and afternoons and Sunday (all non NPR) but pretty much non-existent now. Now it’s sports or paid stock market programing. You know the kind-I lost lots of money back when but then discovered how to make money . . . yadda yadda yadda.
Same holds here in the SF Bay Area. Americans overall just don’t seem to be inclined to take on diy jobs as much for some reason. I’m the only one in my neighborhood who washes their own car or changes the oil in their driveway. Everyone else is taking their car to the car wash and to the oil change place I guess. I’m guessing with the high cost of living, especially housing, people need the current income so much they can’t justify the time spent on diy jobs. They figure if they use that time for working on the jobs it will pay off in $$$ better.
It’s not how much you make, but how much you spend. I was forced to learn how to do my own work on cars because I couldn’t afford to take it to a mechanic. Wife and I now both have 6 figure incomes and I still do my own work unless it’s too big a job where I’ll be tied up with it for a few days or needs specialized equipment. Luckily with our past 5+ vehicles most work has just been preventative maintenance with the occasion things like brakes and other simple things. I won’t do struts and can’t do things like alignments that require specialized equipment.
This doesn’t just apply to cars. A few years ago I resided a small ranch I owned as income property. Removed the old damaged clap-boards and installed new sheathing and Hardie Board. With the help of my two sons we were able to do the job in a little over a week. And while I was at it I replaced all the windows with new modern double-hung windows. I would NOT do it on a 2 story home.