I knew a consultant many years ago. He said in most cases when he was hired by a business, the CEO already knew what he should be doing. But, the issues involved more money than he had ever dealt with, so he panicked and hired a consultant. The consultant was paid to essentially find the same solution and write up a pretty report and take the heat if it failed.
TOM and RAY June 4, 1999 MIT commencement address
Ray: ā As you can imagine, another rant ensues. Well, it doesnāt take long before Charles M. Vest (President M.I.T.) puts laser printer to paper and we receive another rebukeā¦
Tom: Which I also happen to have here. Chuck wonāt mind if we read this. āDear Click ā58 and Clack ā72, I understand that you have once again expressed on-air disappointment over not being asked to speak at MITās graduation. Last summer, I advised you that the chances of being invited as Commencement speakers would be enhanced if Car Talk had a suitable flag that could be used to help us decorate the campus. I hear that you now have come up with a flag and you thought this would ensure your inclusion in the 1998 Commencement program.ā I mean we went out of our way, if the truth be known, we got the flag yesterday. But we told him we had a flag. We figured he would be gullible enough.
Ray: He went for it.
Ray: Weāre still excited, of course, and honored to be here. And after the euphoria subsided, it began to sink in that we actually had to give a speech today. And I will admit that I was concerned and maybe even a bit worried. After all, Commencement speeches are usually reserved for heads of state, respected members of the academic community, secretaries general of the United Nations. But us! Why us? But my fears began to ebb as I weighed the consequences of a poor performance today. What if we do terribly? What if weāre incoherent? Uninspiring? Uninteresting? It would be just like our radio show. I mean what could possibly happen? I mean what could they do? Ask for our diplomas back? They couldnāt do that, could they?
Tom: I donāt think so.
Ray: I donāt want to give my diploma back. I canāt!
tom and ray had radio gold.
I would imagine that they had ample opportunity to cash in beyond what they did from staying with npr on a weekly show.
I really doubt that they make any substancial profit from the site.
I ve never bought anythingā¦, but if I had a mug I d drink coffee from itā¦
my daughter liked your cartoon on PBS tooā¦
I never figured out why she liked it, she was only a nipperā¦
I have a Car Talk mug. Itās my second favorite. I broke my favorite Menards mug. It had a thumb hold on the top of the handle that made it easy to hang onto. Itās filled with decaf now at this late hour. Iāll have to say though, Iām not getting much out of the re-runs.
I like them again.
I spend every Saturday listening to them again.
I stopped listening for a while, but only because it made me sad .
I guess that my period of mourning is over, because they make me happy again.
I m out in my shed/workshop every Saturday, I even have 50 yr old sears electric heater out there that I sit in front of if the weather is bad.
me and my dog, and my truck just outside the door.
silly dog. I can be cutting with a circular saw and she ll just lay there and get covered in sawdust.
she just don t careā¦
but I digressā¦
what the heck was I talking aboutā¦?
oh yeah. I love me some cartalk.
speaking of helping people.
the regulars and semi regulars here have helped their fair share of people too, including me.
so thank the Tappets and thanks to the guys here as well.
the tappets have a better sense of humour than some of you guys thoā¦, sheesh 
2 Likes
Some other Folks can successfully go with this type of show if they do not try to replace Tom and Ray .If they had a producer or director ,somewhat like the guy that did " Mash ",I would say we could be off and running again . You can never replace characters only bring new ones on .
I too ,like to listen to " Car Talk " reruns ,but by the loss of one Brother ,it makes Me a bit sad.
They were a riot because they werenāt afraid to be complete idiots. They enjoyed being numbskulls. Ray must be devastated. Rightfully so.
Ray, we love you and miss you. Hope you are okay. Please come by once in a while. No one can make us laugh until the tears start flowing like you, my friend. You have much to offer a band of faithful loonie tunes who are rooting for you and Tomās loved ones. You can easily see for yourself how lost and lonely your sheep are without your rod and staff to bop us over the head.
You do realize that Ray very rarely posted anything on this particular forum . . . at least not under that name
But thereās at least one of the regulars who claims to know what name Ray does post under
But that doesnāt mean I believe it
You know who you are, and you go right ahead and try to make your case :trollface:
I have great respect for what Tom & Ray accomplished, creating a lucrative career out of a basically āslapstickā car repair advice show. Now that Tomās gone, letās let Ray rest until and unless he decides to move forward with a new or revived show. Even if we never hear from him again I offer my thanks for the many laughs.
I actually forgot the screen name of the guy with the speech patterns that fit ray sā¦
not that I would tell anywayā¦
I donāt WANT you to tell
Because I donāt believe youāre correct, anyways
Not on this particular issue, anyways
Donāt take it personally 
Now go pat yourself on the back, because thatās a valuable secret, stored between your ears 
Growing up, my best friend, Benny, was really close to and deeply loved his mom. They were real buds. Yet, he kind of bossed her around and took advantage of her some. She adored him, utterly, and she sort of let him treat her with disrespect at times. That never happened in my family.
Late one afternoon in the fall I was playing outside when my mother rang the cow bell to let us know dinner was ready. Dark clouds were sweeping in and a refreshing fall breeze shoved my face and then followed me as I skipped several treads on the outside wooden stairs that led to the kitchen. I heard my motherās voice through a storm door and a solid thick wood door. I remember because she was upset and saying the strangest things Iād ever heard. Bennyās mom was killed in a car accident earlier that afternoon. I sat down for dinner as usual but everything had changed. I felt weird. āWhat are you talking about?ā I thought. "Mrs. Jones canāt be dead. I just saw her."
Benny didnāt attend school for three weeks. When I finally did see him again, his eyes explained his sorrow. They were bright red, all bloodshot. He was pale. His face looked different. He was practically disfigured with bruised and swollen cheeks. He appeared to have died, too. He was never the same. They moved away about a year later. He would never again be the goofy, carefree, fun loving ten year boy I knew.
When he saw me, he said, no, ābeggedā or āpleadedā are better words. He pleaded with me never to hate or disrespect my mom. He lowered his head. Then, he stared into my eyes with all that grief and pain in his face- wet with tears, mucous running down his nose, and said, "I would do anything, anything, to have the chance to tell her one more time how much I love her. Thatās what hurts so bad. Itās ripping my stomach out. I will never again tell her that, how much I really love her. I canāt believe it. I donāt have one more chance. That hurts more than anything else. I just wish, I just wanted to tell her one more time, before she left, that I love her."
I still wish I would take his advice. Some people are pretty damn important.
Sorry to hear about your friendās mom
But what the heck does that story have to do with anything . . . ?!
Not to take people for granted ?
kmccune, āNot to take people for granted ?ā you got it. especially those i take for granted. thatās my specialty, plus, being convinced the grass is always greener anywhere except where i happen to be. though Tom is gone, his legacy lives on. he was one of the most popular personalities on all of NPR. and Ray was equally loved and appreciated. i want Ray to know that he and his brother did something very unique with their lives and we are not going to forget them. thatās all.
so far, during my brief sojourn on this Big Blue Ball (WESW, Waylon Jennings, defying gravity. never did dream i would fall) i have never met anyone who didnāt enjoy being appreciated. life can change in a split second. might as well let others who mean a lot to us know it, at least once in a while. IMHO, Tom and Ray were not just crazy, fun loving knuckleheads who happened to be M.I.T. smart with gobs of car knowledge. Their hearts, the incredible size of their hearts, is what separates them from most people and is most impressive to me. They lived on a whole other level. yes indeed, they were/are amazingly talented, but they were/are much more than that. Both of them were/are committed deep down inside, in the core of their nature, in their heart of hearts, to help others. more than anything else, thatās what stands out to me about them. people like those two donāt grace this earth very often.
Oh, BTW, I drove my honey today and Iām floating away on Cloud # 9, Baby!
How many times is he going to tell the same story about his friendās mom?
maybe Harry would like to post pictures of the beast :naughty:
āHow many times is he going to tell the same story about his friendās mom?ā Herr Schicklgruber.
48 to 65. Or, 38 to 50.
Yep ,we are only here for a "itty ,bitty ,while ".
"Ye are the salt of the earth ,if salt loses its savor ,how can it be restored ? "
Perhaps NPR or some outfit will find a "Cartalk " champion again ,I cannot tell you how amazed I have been about the local "clear channel " station bringing a young lady on board .its amazing, the old curmudgeon Guys were getting hard to stand ,now there is a freshness and vitality that greatly exceeds my expectations (it seems like those Guys went back to school or somerthing )never underestimate the reception of new blood ,this is my sincerest hope ,that "Cartalk "( the show ) can be revitalized ,its a piece of "'Americana " I for one ,am not ready to give up . The Tappets showed the way for this genre if you will I know there are others ,but these Guys had never worn out the "slot " so to speak .