:( Tom Magliozzi, Popular Co-Host Of NPR's 'Car Talk,' Dies At 77

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Our whole family is sad at his passing. You don't really realize how much joy someone has brought into your life until they're gone.

No kidding. Feel like I lost a friend today.

[PabloX]

My 911 seems to be sad too. The charging idiot light came on tonight a bit.

RIP Tommy!

[greglepore]

I had no idea when they stopped doing new shows it was because Tom had Altzheimers.

He was a brilliant guy, MIT, marketing grad degree, funny bastard. I'll miss him terribly, and I'm particularly sad that Ray lost his best friend.

[vash]

I need more time to memorize the credits at the end.
"Dewey cheatim & Howe ".

[Por_sha911]

Wow. Bummer. They were great. Even my wife (who cares nothing about cars) loved the show. Those guys were great studies into the human personality.
When they retired a year or two ago I knew the handwriting was on the wall...

[Paul K]

RIP. I time my wrenching/garage time to coincide with Car Talk.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I'll miss those guys - bright and funny to boot. And car guys - a bit of a dying breed. I might visit the Good News Garage tomorrow to pay my respect. Pretty sure that's their shop.

Godspeed.

Oh btw I think the answer to the puzzler above is tire balancing, the solution to which is to sell the car and buy a new GT3.

[TimT]

They appropriated "Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe" from the masters...



The sign off credit were always great..... but they always included the Stooges

[flatbutt]

damn, RIP. I never miss their show.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Very sad. My Dad, who knew nothing about cars, but who was one funny man, loved Click and Clack and got me hooked at a young age.

[widebody911]

Staff credits | Car Talk

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by jyl

Was there ever a Click and Clack call about Porsches?

Edit: here, I found this puzzler. What's the answer?

RAY: This was sent to us by e-mail from John Zumsteig. He says it’s based on a true story. One crisp fall morning a man brings his Porsche into his mechanic's, saying that he couldn't drive it more than 20 miles an hour. At that speed it developed a horrendous shudder. The mechanic, being busy as usual drinking his morning coffee, tells the driver to drive his car into the shop but he couldn't look at it until later that day. When the driver returned that evening, you can probably guess the next thing: the mechanic reported that they couldn't reproduce the problem. They had taken it on a test drive, and the car ran perfectly. The next morning the driver returns with exactly the same complaint. Again the mechanic puts it in the garage and spends his morning drinking coffee and over-billing other customers. Again, the driver returns that evening, and he has the same story. “We drove it…”

TOM: The car was great. It was perfect.

RAY: “That thing ran great! What's the matter with you?” He handed him the bill for a hundred bucks. The third morning the driver returns. Same story: at 20 miles an hour, the car starts to shake itself apart. This time the junior assistant deputy fledgling mechanic, Crusty, hears the story. He asks a question. He says to the guy, did you buy new tires this summer? The guys says yes, I did.

TOM: Wow.

RAY: Crusty says, I know what's wrong with your car.

What was Crusty’s diagnosis?

Think you know? Drop Ray a note!

...so what was the answer?

[Don Plumley]

I only have listened to a few dozen episodes on NPR podcasts. Much laughter.

Both Tom and Ray (like our host, Wayne), are MIT grads. From NPR:

The Magliozzi brothers grew up in a tough neighborhood of East Cambridge, Mass., in a close-knit Italian family. Tom was 12 years older, the beloved older brother to Ray. They liked to act like they were just a couple of regular guys who happened to be mechanics, but both of them graduated from MIT.

After getting out of college, Tom Magliozzi went to work as an engineer. One day he had a kind of epiphany, he told graduates when he and Ray gave the 1999 commencement address at their alma mater.

He was on his way to work when he had a near-fatal accident with a tractor-trailer. He pulled off the road and decided to do something different with his life.

"I quit my job," he said. "I became a bum. I spent two years sitting in Harvard Square drinking coffee. I invented the concept of the do-it-yourself auto repair shop, and I met my lovely wife."

Well, he wasn't exactly a bum; he worked as a consultant and college professor, eventually getting a doctoral degree in marketing. And Tom and Ray Magliozzi did open that do-it-yourself repair shop in the early '70s. They called it Hackers Haven. Later they opened a more traditional car repair shop called the Good News Garage.

A great quote from his brother:

Tom Magliozzi who, along with his brother Ray, hosted NPR’s hit comedy show Car Talk for the last 37 years, died Monday morning from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. “Turns out he wasn’t kidding,” said Ray. “He really couldn’t remember last week’s puzzler.”

R.I.P.

[URY914]

What does "complications of Alzheimer’s Disease" mean and how do you die from it?

[strupgolf]

Originally Posted by URY914

What does "complications of Alzheimer’s Disease" mean and how do you die from it?

The disease eats away your body functions. Brain fails, eating fails, body muscles go blank and you cant function. Those are all known as " complications".

[TimT]

NPR homage to Tom

[TimT]

What does "complications of Alzheimer’s Disease" mean and how do you die from it?

Eventually normal responses etc. faill... Like swallowing.. there is a disconnect between the brain and the muscles that swallow.... drowning because you cant swallow.

Horrible way to go..

[URY914]

In the last few days NPR has had several tributes to Tom. Today Terry Gross replayed and old interview with Tom and Ray from 2001. Great stuff. I was laughing while driving down the road.

[vash]

Originally Posted by URY914

In the last few days NPR has had several tributes to Tom. Today Terry Gross replayed and old interview with Tom and Ray from 2001. Great stuff. I was laughing while driving down the road.

i heard it!! his producer talking almost has me te..i got dust in my eyes.

my wife and i will continue to "air banjo" that intro jingle..

[berettafan]

Loved those guys. Proof that not all liberals are intolerable.