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#1233: It's All About the Hot Butt

Aug 18, 2012
This week on Car Talk, Tom and Ray discuss the ever-so-important car accessories: butt coolers and heaters! Cupholders and fuzzy dice are so passé--keeping your derriere at the optimum temperature is now what it takes to be au courant. At least, if you're Ray Magliozzi. Then, we delve into other pressing automotive issues... like how often should you clean bird poop off your car? And when it comes to breaking in a new vehicle, do you have to drive like a blue-haired old lady? And, when you leave a gas station with the pump nozzle in your gas tank, can you sue for emotional damage? Tom and Ray consider these slightly automotive but highly pressing ethical questions, and lots more, this week on Car Talk.

Show Open Topic

"Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake. Stepped on the gas instead of the brake"-- and other great epitaphs.

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5 Comments

Speedometer errors and virginity

Speedometer/odometer errors are common, I guess. But American Honda was subjected to a class action suit about odometer errors expiring factory warranty protection too early. Particularly, some owners of 2006 Acuras (including mine) were granted a warranty extension based on mileage. http://www.odosettlementinfo.com/ BTW, Robert Shaw recited a dirty little rhyme in JAWS about a woman who'd kept her virginity.... It was an actual epitaph from an old gravestone in Ireland.
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segment ten

Interestingly enough, 280/5280 is 5.3%.
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segment ten

Ever since I got a GPS i noticed that if the OEM tire size is on the car the speedo under reads. The odometer however seems to be reasonably accurate. I put it down to the manufacturers don't want people claiming their speedo was wrong when they get a ticket.
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round and round

About speedometer reading fast. Mile markers are unlikely in error, especially if you use several. Tires, however, are not always the same. Wear of 9/32 represents about a 2.4% circumference change. Air pressure variation maybe 0.4%. Most important, check that the tires are the right size as original for the car. My gps give my speed continuously, and seems spot on.
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Speedo vs. mile marker...

In one word, GPS. Most GPS nav machines and more than a few phones these days, can calculate speed and mileage WAY more accurately than a piece of string! Only problem is to you will need a computer and a statistical plan to justify the federal grant!
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