(Words by Greg Rourke) Tom Magliozzi, half of “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, has died.
One of the most popular shows on NPR was Car Talk. Along with brother Ray, Tom would try to diagnose callers car problems on the air. This usually involved banter between the two, criticizing the callers choice of vehicles, and lots of humor. An generally they would solve the problem.
Tom liked to appear that he was just a regular mechanic, but in fact was a graduate of MIT. He worked as an engineer until a near fatal accident made him re-think his path in life. As he put it, he became a “bum”, but in fact worked as a consultant and getting a doctoral degree in marketing. He and Ray then opened what might have been the first do-it-yourself repair shop and called it Hackers Heaven. They later opened a traditional garage called Good News Garage.
Car Talk started after a local NPR affiliate asked the brothers to be in a panel of mechanics. They were very popular, were given their own show, and went national in 1987. They retired in 2012, but the show continues in a “Best Of” format. In addition to the fun they had with callers, each week they had the “Puzzler”, which was an almost impossible to answer, vaguely car related question. Listeners were instructed to send in their answers written on the back of expensive items the brothers wanted, such as 60 inch flat screen televisions, or a John Deere garden tractor. Each show ended with the brothers warning listeners “Don’t drive like my brother.”
You may recall their cameo in the movie “Cars”, as “Rust and Dusty Rust-Eze”, shown as anthropomorphized 1963 Dodges, a Dart and A100 van. Tom was a lifelong resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was 77, and passed away from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Editor’s note: A sad day for sure. I know some people really did not like these guys (and I am not 100% sure why) but I did. Being that they were “from here” (meaning the Boston area like me) I think I always felt some sort of a connection with the guys breaking the chops of the callers who were trying to figure out what was wrong with their cars. It was always fun to hear them respond with a hearty, “I’m sorry to hear that,” when certain makes and models were introduced by callers. They usually did a good job of helping people get their issues sorted out and even though it is “re-runs” the show is fun to listen to and will be for a long time.
Wow, you talk about a punch in the stomach. That’s how I felt when I paged down and came across this article about Tom. I never knew that he was sick and it seemed that Tom and Ray were always there on Saturday mornings to give the crazy advice and have loads of fun doing it. May you rest in peace Tom and my condolences go out to your immediate family, and to your extended families of listeners……like me.
Click & Clack (re-runs or not) have been part of my Saturday mornings for 21 years. Rest in peace.
Car guys because they really did love cars. I to never understood why some people did not like them. Tom will be missed
What will happen to Tom’s famous Dart convertible?
God Speed Tommy
A true loss for all of us.
I hate this. I love their show, always reminded me of my brother and I, endless ball breaking.
Alzheimer’s is a loathsome, really terrible disease but all the best to Ray and the rest of the Magliozzi and NPR bunch.
Tons of comments on the NPR site, some folks moved to tears. These unlikely guys were terrific and much loved. Car guys.
Loved the show, as much for the fact that they made it acceptable to laugh at yourself as for the cars. My favorite part was when they would give personal relationship advice.
SEMA should have a moment of silence for Tom. Punctuated at the end by the sound of a Chrysler failing to start and then his INFECTIOUS laughter.