'Car Talk' A Cult Hit , Steve Kroft Talks To 'Click And Clack, The Tappet Brothers' - CBS News
 
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'Car Talk' A Cult Hit

Steve Kroft Talks To 'Click And Clack, The Tappet Brothers'


Nov. 3, 2004

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"Someone wanted to know when are we gonna retire. Why would we retire? We work an hour a week, and then we write a newspaper column. We work another hour a week. That's two hours a week."
Tom Magliozzi


(CBS) Think of National Public Radio, and the sounds of Beethoven or Bach or Brahms may come to mind. But, strangely enough, two of the network's top performers are not those venerable gentlemen, but a couple of grease monkeys from Boston.

They are Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who call themselves "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers."

And as Correspondent Steve Kroft reported in 1995, what turned them and their NPR show, “Car Talk,” into a cult hit over the years isn't just their mechanical know-how. It's their take on how cars affect American lives and loves and values.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi are unlikely stars, even in the eccentric world of public radio. Their Boston-based broadcast is the staple of 362 stations around the country. And every month, approximately 30,000 listeners call their NPR 1-800 number trying to tap their automotive expertise.

They seem to defame their profession, or at least one of the major automakers, on every broadcast. And maybe that's one reason why they're on non-commercial public radio.

Ray Magliozzi: Hello. You're on "Car Talk."

Caller: Hi. I have a new Ford Aspire.

Tom Magliozzi: Boy, I mean, you talk about a dumb name.

Caller: Well, it "aspires" to be something better, yes.

Tom Magliozzi: Exactly. I mean, why would you name a car -- I mean, what were they thinking? What did they think we were going to think?

Ray Magliozzi: Well, they narrowed it down to two choices. It was either "Aspire" or "Expire."

If the Magliozzis aren't your average radio announcers, they're not your average grease monkeys, either. After all, it's not every day that you find a couple of mechanics with degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

So how did a couple of MIT graduates end up in the auto repair business? "We thought we were going to make a million bucks," Ray told Kroft.

But the fact is the Magliozzis couldn't even afford to advertise back then, so they volunteered to appear on a public radio show as a way to get some free publicity. Their brotherly bickering and Groucho-goes-to-the-garage routines have been going on ever since.

"We were doing it for nothing. And we did it for years for nothing. And one day we decided to ask them for 20 bucks apiece a week," recalled Tom. "And, I mean, we agonized over this for the... 'Well, they'll never give us 20 bucks a week.' And they gave us 20 bucks a week. And we said, 'We're in Fat City.'"

If you accept the notion that cars are a reflection of the people who drive them, what do the Magliozzis drive? In 1995, Ray drove an '87 Dodge Colt Vista, and Tom had a '63 black Dodge Dart convertible.

"None of his family members will ride in the car," said Ray, of his brother's convertible. "The only one that'll ride with him is the dog, and he has to tie a pork chop around his neck to get the dog to get into the car with him."

Although Tom test drives all the sleekest new models, he said he'd rather drive his $2,000 Dart.

"A 500 SL Mercedes, it'd cost you $92,000. Now can that possibly be $90,000 better than this? This is good enough," said Tom. "It doesn't burn any oil. Not a drop. … It's a friend. I would say a close friend."

"It's like the black sheep of the family," added Ray.

Changing oil is just one of the list of things the brothers like to remind their listeners about. Other words of advice? Pick the garage with the lowest overhead, never buy a model during its first year of production, and never, ever, buy a French car, unless you live in France.

"Most people don't have a great opinion of people who run auto shops and garages," said Kroft. "They're right up there with politicians and journalists. How do you know if you've got a good mechanic?"

"By the size of his boat," joked Tom.

What have the Tappet Brothers been up to in Boston since Kroft last visited in 1995?

Tom and Ray still do their thing every weekend on National Public Radio, and are heard from Maine to Mexico and beyond. If you can read between the wisecracks and the laughter, it's not hard to find out what is really new with "Click and Clack."

"We are amazed that our listenership is now four million, or something like that," says Ray.

"We are amazed at the stupidity of America," say Tom, laughing.

"But they are more amazed at ours," adds Ray.

The number of listeners has more than doubled since Kroft cruised Boston in Tom’s '63 Dodge Dart convertible. Sadly, the car has now gone to the great junkyard in the sky.

"My Dodge Dart was destroyed, and it was completely totaled," says Tom. "It was a heartbreak for me, because, it was one of the finest vehicles I had ever driven."

"Which gives us some idea of the jalopies that he's owned in his lifetime," adds Ray. "And it was a cause for celebration for the rest of us, actually."

Tom has a new car now, or more precisely, a new old car – a '52 MGTD. But his car, reminds Ray, is usually in the shop.

The brothers still have their auto repair shop, even though their radio work has made them very comfortable financially. Ray still runs the auto repair shop, even though the brothers' radio work now makes them much more than the $20 a week they made when they started out.

And their enterprise doesn't stop there. Their "Car Talk" column is carried in about 350 newspapers around the world. And they’re in cyberspace, too, with a Web site that features their advice and opinions on everything four-wheeled and otherwise. There is even a section called “Shameless Commerce,” an online outlet for "Car Talk" kitsch. The brothers have still got plenty of gas in the tank and seem to have no thoughts of pulling over.

"Someone wanted to know when are we gonna retire. Why would we retire," says Tom. "We work an hour a week, and then we write a newspaper column. We work another hour a week. That's two hours a week."

"But it's two really intense hours," says Ray. "I mean, it really, really is."


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