"Car Talk" Parks It After 25 Years

[vchimpanzee]

Since WBUR is in Boston and Our Fair City is close enough to be affected (Harvard was shut down), I don't see how the brothers can avoid mentioning recent events tomorrow.

 

[FredLeonard]

Since WBUR is in Boston and Our Fair City is close enough to be affected (Harvard was shut down), I don't see how the brothers can avoid mentioning recent events tomorrow.

I thought they stopped doing new shows and they are only running repeats.

 

[drt]

I notice Sirius/XM no longer runs Car Talk on their NPR 122 line up. That's too bad. Let's hope local NPR stations continue to run "Best of Car Talk" for years to come.

On the XM side of the Sirius/XM platform; Car Talk is still being broadcast on what I jokingly refer to as the Bob Edwards channel - channel 121. I don't know if the Sirius channel line up includes channel 121 or not.

At any rate, there is at least four hours a day of old Car Talk episodes on the XM channel 121 and I'm not sure how much, if any Car Talk is broadcast on channel 121 on the weekends.

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Grandma thought Castor Oil was a good medicine once or twice a year.

Through the years I thought Car Talk once a week was good medicine. But FOUR HOURS A DAY? Heaven help us!

 

[drt]

Grandma thought Castor Oil was a good medicine once or twice a year.

Through the years I thought Car Talk once a week was good medicine. But FOUR HOURS A DAY? Heaven help us!

At least they are different episodes! , on that XM channel, there is at least 6 hours per day of the Bob Edwards show!........ I know of at least three episodes per day of the current day are broadcast and at least three hours of the prior day's show; and then the Car Talk reruns; of course, I'm betting channel 121 is not a channel people leave on 24/7, but for those wanting to hear Car Talk and/or the Bob Edwards show and don't want to bother downloading a podcast (assuming Car Talk is even available on a podcast); it would be the route to go. The main XM NPR channel has a variety of programs and isn't just focused on two or three programs.

btw- I'm betting that "Grandma Cowboy" was a very wise, common sense and practical lady!

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[aaronread]

I thought they stopped doing new shows and they are only running repeats.

Read back in the earlier pages in this thread. This point has been repeatedly discussed.

 

[quadraphonic]

"Car Talk" has been off of WFSS for a few weeks.
WUNC still airs it.
SC ETV/R news stations still have it on their schedule, too.

 

[dyeingeye]

On Point had Ray Magliozzi to talk about the Maraton Bombings. He was introduced as a host of Car Talk. There is no indication that the weekly show are now compilations of past shows. The show should be more open about its status. I don't believe the casual listener knows that he/she is listening to repeats.

 

[drt]

On Point had Ray Magliozzi to talk about the Maraton Bombings. He was introduced as a host of Car Talk. There is no indication that the weekly show are now compilations of past shows. The show should be more open about its status. I don't believe the casual listener knows that he/she is listening to repeats.

I was listening to that On Point show as well last week and like you, I was surprised that there was no mention of the program no longer being current.

I also think that many listeners, who are listening as they are doing other things may not pick up on the fact that the programs are all repeats.

Just my opinion, but I would think they would just air repeats from the last several years to at least give the appearance of the show being somewhat current, but when you start paying attention and are hearing everyone talk about the 1983 - 1991 cars on many of the shows, then you might began to wonder about what is going on.

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[Tom Wells]

It's likely that the audience HAS kept/accquired old cars, and can listen to any given show where many aspects are discussed.
Even though there are many distinctions between vehicle makes, there are many aspects, behaviors, and systems which work and behave in exactly the same ways. This is automotive wisdon dispensed without regard to years.

Just like in the song "Big Yellow Taxi", you don't know what you have till it's gone....

You could work on cars 3-7 hours a day as a hobby and learn all this stuff, but you could also consider
Car Talk a college credit worthy course, [size=10pt] If you pay attention.[/size]

 

[aaronread]

The show should be more open about its status. I don't believe the casual listener knows that he/she is listening to repeats.

That's rather the point, isn't it?

I hear what you're saying, but Car Talk is an entertainment show, not news. And it's not even about the news like Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is. Car Talk has always run several weeks of repeats every year even when they were technically producing new shows, and rarely made any direct (or even indirect) reference to it. The listeners don't care. And there's precedent; some public radios continue in repeats for YEARS after a host frickin' dies, much less retires.

Also, AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED AD NAUSEUM EARLIER IN THE THREAD, these are technically "new" shows in that most, if not all, the material has never been broadcast before. Back when they did regular production, they would tape for three hours, sometimes a little more, every Wednesday in Studio 4 at WBUR...and then edit it down at DCH's offices to 59 minutes, less breaks. So there's GOBS of material that got edited out in the decades of regular production, but that they still have on tape. So they're picking the best of the stuff that didn't make the cut the first time (which is still pretty good stuff) and making new shows from that.

 

[uncamark]

The show should be more open about its status. I don't believe the casual listener knows that he/she is listening to repeats.

That's rather the point, isn't it?

I hear what you're saying, but Car Talk is an entertainment show, not news. And it's not even about the news like Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is. Car Talk has always run several weeks of repeats every year even when they were technically producing new shows, and rarely made any direct (or even indirect) reference to it. The listeners don't care. And there's precedent; some public radios continue in repeats for YEARS after a host frickin' dies, much less retires.

He technically isn't public radio, but Karl Haas is a great example. Aren't there classical format stations still airing "Adventures in Good Music" when they could be airing the alive Bill McLaughlin show instead?

 

[vchimpanzee]

The show should be more open about its status. I don't believe the casual listener knows that he/she is listening to repeats.

That's rather the point, isn't it?

I hear what you're saying, but Car Talk is an entertainment show, not news. And it's not even about the news like Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is. Car Talk has always run several weeks of repeats every year even when they were technically producing new shows, and rarely made any direct (or even indirect) reference to it. The listeners don't care. And there's precedent; some public radios continue in repeats for YEARS after a host frickin' dies, much less retires.

Also, AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED AD NAUSEUM EARLIER IN THE THREAD, these are technically "new" shows in that most, if not all, the material has never been broadcast before. Back when they did regular production, they would tape for three hours, sometimes a little more, every Wednesday in Studio 4 at WBUR...and then edit it down at DCH's offices to 59 minutes, less breaks. So there's GOBS of material that got edited out in the decades of regular production, but that they still have on tape. So they're picking the best of the stuff that didn't make the cut the first time (which is still pretty good stuff) and making new shows from that.

If this is true, I feel sorry for the poor callers who thought they were going to be on the air and weren't.

 

[vchimpanzee]

(assuming Car Talk is even available on a podcast);

Yeah, they're all the time telling us we can.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Since WBUR is in Boston and Our Fair City is close enough to be affected (Harvard was shut down), I don't see how the brothers can avoid mentioning recent events tomorrow.

I thought they stopped doing new shows and they are only running repeats.

But they're doing everything they can to convince us they're not.

Although the bombings were never mentioned.

 

[quadraphonic]

If this is true, I feel sorry for the poor callers who thought they were going to be on the air and weren't.

I think most people called in just to ask them questions about cars and maybe talk to someone famous. Not necessarily to be on the air. Not like you can typically parlay a call-in into anything bigger.

 

[quadraphonic]

Since WBUR is in Boston and Our Fair City is close enough to be affected (Harvard was shut down), I don't see how the brothers can avoid mentioning recent events tomorrow.

I thought they stopped doing new shows and they are only running repeats.

But they're doing everything they can to convince us they're not.

Although the bombings were never mentioned.

They're not trying to convince anyone of anything. You're only noticing it because you expect things to be the way you expect them to be. When they're not: firestorm of synaptic misfiring.
You're expecting: show retires....it should fall off the earth. In this case, it was more like 'hosts retire...show continues for a while.'
Most people are just satisfied to go along with it, either way.

 

[aaronread]

If this is true, I feel sorry for the poor callers who thought they were going to be on the air and weren't.

They haven't for decades. The show taped on Wednesdays (usually 11am to 2pm, or thereabouts) but usually aired on Saturdays and Sundays (depended on the individual affiliate stations). So people who called in to 888-CAR-TALK never got a live person, nor did they ever get "on the air". They got a recording instructing callers what to say and what the deal was. Producers would comb through all the voicemails and pick the ones they liked best to call back during taping.

If you call it now, it says they're not taking calls because this week is an "archive edition". Doesn't mention that ALL shows are "archive editions" now, but again, it's an entertainment show...not news.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Since WBUR is in Boston and Our Fair City is close enough to be affected (Harvard was shut down), I don't see how the brothers can avoid mentioning recent events tomorrow.

I thought they stopped doing new shows and they are only running repeats.

But they're doing everything they can to convince us they're not.

Although the bombings were never mentioned.

They're not trying to convince anyone of anything. You're only noticing it because you expect things to be the way you expect them to be. When they're not: firestorm of synaptic misfiring.
You're expecting: show retires....it should fall off the earth. In this case, it was more like 'hosts retire...show continues for a while.'
Most people are just satisfied to go along with it, either way.

No, I'm not expecting anything except to be entertained, maybe learn a few things about cars, and maybe learn how to solve a puzzler. They're achieving that. In fact, I'm listening to the entire show now, something I used to not do.

And now my church is talking about moving their service from 11:00 to 10:00. I hope not. On some Saturdays I can't get home in time for the start, and it would really make unloading groceries a challenge. Even more of a challenge when there's no new puzzler.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

He technically isn't public radio, but Karl Haas is a great example. Aren't there classical format stations still airing "Adventures in Good Music" when they could be airing the alive Bill McLaughlin show instead?

Bill McLaughlin may be living, but the show he hosted is not. McLaughlin stopped producing new episodes of "St. Paul Sunday" years ago, maybe 2008, although APM continues to distribute reruns of show.