#1327: The Four-Wheeled Dowry

Jul 06, 2013
This week on Car Talk, Elisa's parents are so anxious for her to marry her live-in boyfriend, that they've offered to buy her a new car if Elisa and her beau tie the knot. Is this an offer she can't refuse, or will she be opening herself up to a lifetime of parental meddling--which may not be so bad if it means a lifetime of new cars. Elsewhere, newly employed Katherine would like to buy a new car, but is worried that she may have trouble making the payments on it, after rear-ending her boss's car on her second day. Also, Jay's wondering if a non-working tachometer can substitute for a non-working speedometer in his BMW; Chris' car has developed a seasonal allergy to starting; and Ann offers Case Study #265,498 of why you should never listen to your father when it comes to cars. All this and lots more, this week on Car Talk.

Show Open Topic

Cars that crash will always burst into flames, and other things we've learned from movies.

This Week's Puzzler

How did the kidnapped president of the Free Range Beet Growers Association know what kind of car he was being held in?

Last Week's Puzzler

How many people were in the original group?

As Read on Car Talk



3 Comments

BOGUS: Non-working Tachometer

Jay from Louisiana asked if he could utilize the tachometer reading in his BMW as a substitute for the non-working speedometer and when he went on to say he observed a tach reading of about 3500 rpm at about 95 miles per hour, Tom and Ray replied that obviously the tachometer was unreliable too because no vehicle would be revving that low at that speed. My C6 Corvette turns 1900 rpm in sixth gear at 90 miles per hour, and I have a instrument panel picture to prove it. I haven't tried it, but I believe that at 2,500 rpm in top gear, my velocity would be in excess of 100 miles per hour. Jay's tach may be working just fine, and so the boys' comment is totally bogus in this case.
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1985 BMW

The listener that called in with speedo problems with his BMW. I suggest he buy a GPS. Most GPS have a feature showing how fast you are travelling. My son-in-law uses a GPS when the intrument cluster in his Chev bit the dust. He successfully used the GPS for over 2 years.
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No Health Issues Detected

I listened to this show and I have experienced no adverse physical or mental problems therefrom...I've been monitoring my vital signs and also having people check in on me to be sure I'm all right. It is now over 3 hours since the show ended and I'm feeling a little hungry - but I think that's normal....... It's now 6 1/2 hrs later and my knee is beginning to hurt which is wierd because it never hurt before. I'm not willing to say at this point it was caused by listening to the show, but I am keeping a close eye on it and having tests run. The show ended over 12 hours ago but I'm starting to feel irritated over things that haven't bothered me in years???? I'm having some experts brought to get to the bottom of this. It's starting to look like there may be a problem with this weeks show. All right, the results are in - I was put through a battery of physical and emotional tests. I was prodded and pricked and squeezed and then I was asked more questions than I knew existed. At one point they had me believing I was involved in building the pyramids...BUT...it was established that there is NO LINK between any of my maladies and this episode of Car Talk. Therefore, I can recommend the episode unequivecally as a classic, raising new questions of auto bribery. We hear Tom and Ray sing their version of the one word song "Battery" in perfect unison - so if you're in prison or the hospital, you could do worse than to listen in to this weeks Car Talk Variety Hour... Hey When you guys gonna get Glen Campbell on?
Favorite Moment: 
When a friend called me in the middle of the show, so I had a few seconds of relief...
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