Car Talk…Car Repair and More

November 4, 2014

Today’s blog is written in special remembrance of Tom Magliozzi who died yesterday. For those of you who don’t know, Tom was one-half of “Click and Clack” the “Tappet Brothers.” With his brother Ray, they started a car repair garage in Cambridge and soon after a local radio show about cars. When I moved to Boston to attend school in the mid-1980s, I became an avid listener to their show on WBUR. In 1987, Car Talk was picked up by National Public Radio and quickly became NPR’s most popular program, with more than 4 million people listening in to weekly broadcasts.

Tom was a genius, MIT graduate, with multiple degrees, loved life, and knew how to laugh—and, make others laugh. Car Talk allowed Tom and Ray to discuss everything from car repair to how to prepare your old VW van for a cross-country road trip. I know little about cars and certainly do not do my own auto repairs, but I gained a wealth of knowledge about the importance of car maintenance, paying attention to car “idiot” lights, learning when to cover said car “idiot” lights with duct tape, how to buy a used car, and much more from listening to Car Talk.

Buying a used car? Check out Tom and Ray’s “How To Buy A Great Used Car: Secrets Only Your Mechanic Knows.” Need a mechanic? Car Talk’s Mechanic Files is an essential go-to directory for finding a mechanic. My local mechanic, Haviland’s Service Station, tops the list for Brattleboro. Need to know anything about cars—from troubleshooting to basic car maintenance—you’ll find it on the Car Talk “Car Info” webpage.

It’s of course an obvious statement to say that automobiles are a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. Automotive repair and recycling comprise a huge segment of our industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 838,000 people around the country employed in “Automotive Repair and Maintenance.” The auto repair industry is reportedly valued at some $880 billion annually. And, this doesn’t include the millions of “shade tree” mechanics around the country.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, automotive recyclers recover nearly 80 percent of the total materials by weight from a vehicle, with more than 25 million tons of materials recycled from vehicles each year. More than one-third of all ferrous scrap (iron and steel) used in the scrap processing industry in this country comes from auto recyclers. Reusing this scrap in manufacturing new products reduces air and water pollution associated with use of virgin ores by more than half. And, of course there is a lucrative reconditioned auto parts business, providing consumers with a 50 percent or more purchase savings when compared to the cost of purchasing new parts.

Car Talk was much more than just a radio show about cars, Tom and Ray surely played an invaluable role in promoting car maintenance, car repair, and even car recycling.

I’ll close this article with a few Quotes from Tom Magliozzi:

“It's only a car.”

"Happiness equals reality minus expectations"

“How do you know if you've got a good mechanic? By the size of his boat.”

“Reality often astonishes theory.”

"Life is too short to own a German car.”

“Non Impediti Ratione Cogitationis” - “Unencumbered by the thought process.”  Tom’s self-proclaimed motto.

“Never let the facts stand in the way of a good answer”

"I like to drive with the windows open. I mean, before you know it, you're going to spend plenty of time sealed up in a box anyway, right?”

By Athena Lee Bradley