I’m a dad who likes to road trip with my sons. A couple of years ago, I downloaded 300 episodes’ worth of Car Talk and introduced my young boys to it. They loved it! Car Talk is what we listen to on road trips together.
My mom got me into Car Talk when I was a teenager. She would jut laugh and laugh! When we lost mom a couple of years ago, Car Talk was one of those things that just helped me get that special sentimental feeling for my time growing up with my family. So that’s become our “guy thing” (my wife tolerates it) now. As my sons grow, “Car Talk” seems to be one shared memory that’s being woven through all of it. Across the prairies, to the Grand Canyon, into the Rockies, through Yellowstone, in the forest backroads–all of these trips together have Car Talk as the soundtrack.
You do know that this is a forum that is not visited (at least that we know of) by anyone directly affiliated with the show, correct? I first encountered the show when randomly scanning through stations on the radio at work one boring Sunday morning about 20 years ago. (which was about 5 jobs ago and feels like at least 4 lifetimes ago in terms of how much my world has changed) I was instantly hooked, though I rarely listen to it now, as the constant laughter makes me reach for the Advil bottle any more. Working with another motorhead on mornings at that job (which was not auto related), we’d try to guess the cause of the problem before Tom and Ray. So I guess that was a bonding experience for us too.
You’ll find a lot of knowledgeable people, a lot of people seeking advice, and some real characters here. I’m glad the show has brought such joy to you.
I feel the same. It’s great entertainment but unlike music, I’m not into re runs. I really liked “the boys” for not taking themselves too seriously and looking for every opportunity to do " schtick " . That 's the way you have to go through life sometimes.
It’s OK to listen to Car Talk. Don’t follow the advice too closely; I recommend a three second interval. I like my CDs but how many times can you listen to “people out there turning music into gold”? It turns out that the answer is a heck of a lot but 34 years is stretching it.
The brothers have retired now, but my guess is that you have enough episodes for a few more years anyway. Please let your sons know that they’re welcome to visit us here on the forum as well.
This is great to hear, Matt! I’ll share this discussion with the staff, including Tom and Ray. But, um… 300 episodes… whoa. While that sounds like a lot, and we worry for your sanity, I do have to point out that there are something like 1200+ episodes out there. Happy listening!
Yeah, Doug! 300! and I’ve downloaded 180 more (so all those .95 purchases from Audible this month–that’d be me). We’ve invented our own sort of “Car Talk Bingo”:
Any time Tom says "No last names please!"
Any time Ray yells “HA! We’re back!” (Bonus points if Tom says “Don’t wake me up like that!”)
Any time Ray says “Well, you’ve done it again: you’ve wasted another perfectly good hour…” AND Tom quips, "I certainly have!"
Any time they ask a caller if their parents were hippies in response to the caller’s unusual name.
Any time Ray gets to a fictional credit name and says, "Whoa, I’m not reading THAT one!"
Any time Tom makes a divorce or ex-wife joke. Bonus points for mother-in-law jokes.
Any time Ray issues a disclaimer that he’s not party to whatever topic Tom has decided to open the show with.
…etc. We have dozens of these.
Oblivion - I know Tom and Ray aren’t on the forum. I’m just sharing that CT has been our father-son road trip companions through the making of many memories, which is why this is in “General Discussion” and not under the other categories.
On the show, the guys used to ask listeners to log into the forums and share their progress through road trips. I’d love to do that, even if it’s just for my own sentimental appreciation for the show and for my time with my boys during their childhood. So I’ll prepare photos from our journeys and share them here.