The Best of Car Talk - #2491: Whose Car Is It?

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

Hannah is about to graduate from college and move in with her boyfriend. They will be sharing everything with the possible exception of his car. Should Hannah immediately assert herself and claim some right to use of his car, or should she play the long game here? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.Get access to hundreds of episodes in the Car Talk archive when you sign up for Car Talk+ at plus.npr.org/cartalkLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey, it's Aisha Harris from Pop Culture Happy Hour. If you love NPR podcasts, you'll want the new NPR Plus podcast bundle. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat selection of NPR Plus podcasts with sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes. Plus, you'll be supporting public radio. Check it out at plus.npr.org. Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us, Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers, and we're broadcasting this week, ready for this, from the Center for International Cultural Devaluation.

Center for International Cultural Devaluation. Kikda. Kikda. Yeah. Kikda. They're gonna kick us out. Well, having ruined NPR and devalued American culture, we are now moving to other shores. No. Really? Yes. We are on now, we might say internationally our show. No kidding. Yeah. In Europe we're on

America One, it's NPR service and the World Radio Network in Europe. All over the world? What? Is Europe the whole world? Well, no. Well, in Japan. All over the world? Is Europe the whole world? Well no, in Japan. Japan? We're on USEN, U-S-E-N, and of course lots of other places via Armed Forces Radio. So we can, hey we're even on in Strasbourg, France. Oh no! You mean those wonderful French people will now have the opportunity... They've embraced us, they've embraced us.

Well, first of all, how come they're allowing it? I mean, we don't speak French. They don't know yet. They don't know? Oh, it's gonna be like Radio Free Europe? Exactly. We're gonna be beaming in? Exactly.

Over the Alps? Over the Alps. I love it! They're gonna hate that, man! Yeah, we're on at 3am actually. So what? It doesn't matter. There will always be that small lunatic fringe that listens. Oh yeah, exactly right. I was just thinking, when we first did the show, we were sitting in some little studio here at WBUR in Boston,

and we used to always make believe that we had a direct line to Detroit. But now we're gonna have a direct line not just to Detroit, but to Fiat? Yes. Pujol? Renault? Renault? Scrooge?

Scrooge? What more could you want? You mean to tell me that all those wonderful French people can call us with questions about this? Yeah, but not on the 800 number. You've got to dial the country code and all that, then you dial 617-353-6350. Actually that's Bourbon's home number, but if you call him then... Sure, anytime. He's awake all the time. So if you're calling from Strasbourg or anyplace else in Europe or Asia or wherever.

617-353-6350. And for you lucky Americans still at home, our number remains 1-800-332-9287. Hello, you're on Car- Hello, you're on Car-ton. What a segue, huh? Woo hoo hoo! Nice, nice, nice. Yeah, anyone there? Hi, this is Karen and I'm calling from Yosemite, California.

Karen? Yosemite. Gee, you know, there's a big park out there with almost the same name You really live in Yosemite, huh, I really do Well, does that mean you live in the park? I live right in the park our Karen who is our engineer lives in Joshua tree, California really. Really? Yes, really. That's a fun place, too. It's a heck of a commute. Well, her family lives in Joshua Tree. That's why she's always late for work. Boston to Joshua Tree is a long way.

Anyway, what's on your mind, Karen? Well, I have a car problem, and it all started because of jealousy. Oh, a tale of woe and or slash intrigue. Yes. And I must admit, I am the jealous one. Oh, really? Oh, wow.

Tell us your dirty little tale. I love it. My dirty little tale is that my boyfriend has a truck that gets a lot of attention. It's an older truck. It's an 86 Toyota, and it's got almost 200,000 miles on it. So it always has things that need attention. And I have a 94 Honda Civic with only 40,000 miles on it so it always has things that need attention and i have a ninety four honda

civic with only forty thousand miles on it and it doesn't need a lot of attention physically but emotionally i still feel that it needs attention but not as much kind of attention you mean that kind of fixing attention yes you know he always fixes his truck so i figured he should fix my car so i said hey how about giving a little attention to my car and he did and now the check engine light comes on and we can't figure out why oh Let's sleeping cars lie

Yeah, what did he do maybe we can help this is what he did he changed the air filter and the fuel filter and The spark plugs and the distributor cap and rotor you didn't do anything to make the check engine light come on It came on immediately after he was done. I mean he fixed it said hey let's take it for drive see how it goes check engine light came on. How does it run? It runs great runs fine no difference. Did he change the oil? You didn't mention oil. He didn't change the oil. The check engine light only comes on though when the car is warmed up. Oh so it didn't happen you lied it didn't happen immediately. He took it for drive it might not have happened immediately when it got in the car. So you lied, I mean you lied.

Faulty memory, faulty memory. Alright. So how do we make it go off? Well I'm going to suggest that he may have knocked off a vacuum hose. Yeah, I like it. In changing the fuel filter in this car, it mounted against the firewall. And it's a little difficult to get to. Okay. Yeah, I like it. In changing the fuel filter in this car, it mounted against the firewall. It's a little difficult to get to.

Okay. It requires that you pry on things and struggle with the two lines that connect to it. So he may have done- Oh, so he pried and struggled to take care of my car. He did. Oh, good. Yeah, he pried and struggled.

Oh, you wanted to know that? Oh, yeah. Oh, so you weren't present when he worked on it? Oh, no, yeah. She was baking cookies. You know what? That's exactly right. Pumpkin chocolate chip.

Well, I think he knocked the vacuum hose off. So I think you need to open the hood and look around and find out what he... And it may still run all right if he knocked off a vacuum hose, but it may be enough to set the check engine light. And look near the fuel filter. Okay. So it'll still be attached. It won't be lying in my driveway. No, one end of it will be enough to set the check engine light. And look near the fuel filter. Okay, so it'll still be attached, it won't be lying in my driveway. No, one end of it will be attached.

So you may have to listen for hissing. Okay. But if you have good eyes and a good strong flashlight, you may find a hose that isn't connected or a wire that isn't connected, and what you can do is just plug it back on, drive the car, the light will go out and everything will be fine. That would be great. If you don't figure out what it is, it could not, it might not be his fault. Might not be. Probably is, but it might not be his fault. You might have to take it in to

the dealer and have them put the scanner on it. That's easy enough for you to say I live very far from dealers. Well, take it to some polar bear or whatever you got out there in Yosemite and they'll fix it. Yeah. Okay. Thanks a lot Karen, bye. Okay. Good luck. They don't have polar bears. All right. No, you know also he could have, I suppose I should have mentioned, he could have misgapped one of the spark plugs. That could put you in the check-in tonight on. He had no gap. He could have inadvertently. Plugs? Oh, he oh she replaced plug could have inadvertently unplugged the oxygen sensor that would make there were a lot of things he 332 9287 hello, you're on car talk. Hi, this is Ben. I'm calling from a great city of Chicago Ben Yeah, hi, how are you doing good what's happening

all right well the situation is that i'm looking to buy a car but i got uh... basically two problems yeah first i'm a new phd which means i have no money and i have no common sense and what is your field of expertise no common sense what is your phd in oh it's in geography. Pffft! I see.

Isn't that pretty much a closed... I mean, except for some plate tectonics. I mean, what the hell's happening? On a, say, a microscopic scale. What I want to know is how you write a dissertation in geography. I mean, come on! You're starting to sound like my parents.

Anyway. Go ahead. in geography, I mean, come on! You're starting to sound like my parents. Anyway. Go ahead. You've got no money, no common sense, and you want to come. No money, no common sense. But, you know, being in Chicago, I have a friend of a friend. And this friend of a friend claims he can pick up old police cars for real cheap.

The old police car. And you know we're talking like you know Crown Victoria's or Capri classics. Yeah. Capri's classics. Yeah. Right. In the year somewhere 400 to 1200 dollars. Well I mean that's kind of the truth that if you want a substantial car I mean those police cars are not bad. Oh, yes, they are. Why? Well, actually, it's a trade-off, because typically when you buy a used car, you want one with low mileage. Police cars typically have very low mileage.

I mean, they don't go very far. On the other hand, the engines have the equivalent of 500,000 miles on them because they've all been stopped in front of the donut shop or hiding behind some pole somewhere where these guys drank coffee and ate donuts. So with the engine running, because in the summer you're gonna have the air conditioning on, in the winter you're gonna have the heater on, so the engines are complete garbage. But the rest of the car is usually in very good shape because it's hardly used. So if you're prepared to throw another thousand bucks in and buy a junkyard engine, I'd say

it's not a bad idea. But I mean, I think you just have to bear in mind that the engine is really, seriously, the engine is not going to be in good shape because they do have the equivalent of 300,000 or so miles on them. But if the car is that cheap, a thousand bucks, so you buy it, you go out into the junkyard and you get an engine and you have someone drop it in there for you. It'll be on one of those other police cars that got wrecked. Yeah, right.

And has 350,000 miles on it. But you can take somebody with you that perhaps knows a little bit about cars and a lot can be ascertained by listening to an engine and looking at what's coming out of the tailpipe while it's running because you can run these cars i imagine it'd be worth even paying somebody if you didn't have a friend that had this knowledge paying some mechanics... Pay someone to be your friend. Buy a friend to come with you.

Okay, and now should I have any preference between the Caprice Classic and the Crown Victoria? Uh, I would prefer the Crown Vic myself. I'm afraid I would too. Okay. I think it has a slightly better repair record. If I had a choice of those two, all other things being equal. Okay. Hey, Ben, best of luck.

Okay, thanks a lot. See you later. Bye. Hey, don't go anywhere because we've got a lot more calls. Well, a few anyway. And the puzzler answer coming up right after this. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally and always get the real-time mid-market exchange

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Ever look up at the stars and wonder, what's out there? On shortwave, we ask big questions about our universe. From baby galaxies to the search for alien life, we explore the celestial science behind these questions. Listen now to the Shortwave podcast from NPR. Some of our favorite planets aren't even real. But could they be? Here on Shortwave, we journey to other planets, distant galaxies in our universe and in our favorite works of science fiction.

Listen now to the Shortwave podcast from NPR. Okay, now what? I don't know. Time for the puzzle about the blind guy? No, it's... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha I turned off the radio and I couldn't though see there you go. Yeah All right. All right. So what is the puzzler? Do you remember? No, I have to get my notes. All right. Here it is. Yeah a Major League umpire enters the subway By walking down the stairs with the assistance of his seeing eye

the assistance of his seeing eye. Uh oh. We're going to get Matt Nasty Meal from all the Major League umpires now. Do you know, matter of trivia, it wasn't until 1966 that a Major League umpire wore glasses. No kidding. Up until that time they were afraid to. Right. Because everyone was always yellin we need glasses right and fine and said

she's going to have a party one brave soul yeah for his glasses when he escorted all the other on pious deposition point on that yeah okay anyway so this major league blind umpire goes into the subway station right cni dog in fact He had just come from Yankee Stadium where he had worked an afternoon doubleheader

Anyway, the dog leads into the bottom of the stairs at the subway station where he arrives at a cage behind Which is sitting a woman who was the token vendor right you know you'll be so far. She was at the token vendor The vendor of token oh I mean, I'm usually the token Italian wherever I go. And there's a sign below the window that says tokens 40 cents. The dog pees in the sign while the guy rummages around in his pocket and through the slit in the cage he hands her a dollar. Yeah. No words are spoken. Of course not. No gestures are exchanged. Oh. No little notes handed between them. No.

She has never seen him before, and he obviously has never seen her before. Yeah. She hands him two tokens and 20 cents change. Oof. The question is very simply, how did she know he wanted two tokens and not one? Is the dog involved? The dog is not involved. Is the fact that he's blind involved only tangentially.

It was in the way of a hint. Very small hint. Well, everything counts. Very small hint. And the answer very simply is that he didn't give her a dollar bill. He gave her, in fact, four quarters. So simple. So simple. Of course, if he had given her four quarters, he fact, four quarters. Oh, so simple. So simple.

Of course, if he had given her four quarters, he'd wanted two tokens. Otherwise, he would have given her two quarters, for which he would have received one token and a dime change. Right. What if he had given her like three quarters? She'd have given him a dopeslip. No, she would have given him a dime change and a token and kept him a quarter. Exactly.

There you are, sir. Who's our winner? The winner is Rebecca Dodson from Hawkins, Texas. Hawkins, I think it is Hawkins. Hawkins! That's the British part of Texas. And Rebecca, for having your correct answer chosen at random from the thousands of correct answers we got this week, you're going to win a free copy of the second best of car talk CD or tape. All we ask is you dispose of it in an environment Responsible way I mean evidently there have been a lot of these by the side of the road

Yeah, people find them in bushes and on the highway button calls, and we've gotten highly department EPA Oh, please ask people who win this thing to dispose of it in environmentally Responsible way yes, so we're for back to do that and and congratulations rebecca and and we have a new puzzle coming up during the second half of car so yeah okay in the meantime would be happy to take your car questions at one eight hundred three three two nine two eight seven whole your own car talk this is janet in seattle hi janet shy what that hi hi hi peter name i try to get a feel of all the colors so I can have that sixth or seventh sense working. Okay.

Janet, I try to visualize everybody. I try to see where they are, what they're doing. Okay, you had a few seconds to talk to Janet. Describe Janet for us. Janet is blonde. She's about five foot five or six. and she's right now in the tub. Are you describing fantasy or actually me? I'm a little confused.

Alright so he blew it right Janet? I've always wanted to be blonde, people always think I'm blonde. Ah see, well that's close. But you are in the tub, right? Okay, I'll be in the tub for you. You can have that one. So what's up, Janet? Well, I have an 89 Geo Metro with about 112, probably almost 113,000 miles. Doesn't matter. Anything over 50 is gravy.

I know. And I need to nurse it a while longer because I'm not in a position to buy a new car yet. For those that don't know, the Geo Metro is a three cylinder little thing, which is, the engine is made by Suzuki. And it's a rather puny. It's normally used in lawn mowers,

but they thought they could stick it in a car and GM Said we'll sell it we can sell anything well. I mean to its credit This thing has gone a hundred and twelve thousand well into its credit and Janet's credit It's gone a hundred and twelve thousand miles and if driven correctly three cylinders is all you need It really is if you drive the thing sensibly and don't try to drive it like it's a real car And if it only weighs 800 pounds to begin with. That's true. Hey, I bet it's great because I can like lift it out of tight parking spots. It's really handy. Probably not the safest thing to be riding around in.

No, I agree. And I am really, really looking forward to when I have a newer or whatever vehicle. But in the meantime... In the meantime, let's get back to the point. Stop beating around the bush and going off bush and going off Yeah, and stop interrupting us. Just go ahead and tell us what the story Yeah, you haven't let us get a word Are you married Janet I am not you know Oh my. Are you married, Janet? I am not. You're not? Are you offering? No. Well, I already have several wives, but I'm just thinking that someone with a laugh like yours could make someone very happy. Oh well, bless your heart. Boy. Thank you very much. Well, thanks for calling. My pleasure. Okay, I'll see you later. So long. Yeah. All right, go ahead. Okay.

Well, the fan belt on this car never quit squealing no matter how often I replace it and it's driving me crazy. You mean like since day one almost when it was brand new? For about the last, let's see, year and a half. So about a year and a half ago, the fan belt was squealing and I said, okay, I'm going to go replace it. It's the same fan belt that came with the car. It's about time. So I go and I replace the fan belt and it's fine for 10 months and then it starts squealing again. And then I discovered that I need to replace my water pump and I replaced the water pump

and the guy checks the alternator and he says, well, that's probably what made your fan belt squeal, so now you're okay and everything's fine. I went, oh good, good, good. And for about a month and a half, two months, he was right and the fan belt didn't squeal, and then it started squealing again. And it squealed and it squealed, and it squealed for about two weeks and then one day it broke. And I don't know if it's too tight, if it's too loose, if it's breaking in. See, I mean, the first thing that comes to mind from your description is that the belt is loose.

No. It's loose. Okay. Now, I had written down, first thing I had written down was misaligned pulleys. That's what I wrote down in my head. Misaligned pulleys, okay. Except that it did it before the water pump and the alternator were replaced. Okay.

Well, was the alternator replaced? No, they tested it and said it was okay, but I didn't replace it. You've never replaced it. Right. No. So it's the original one. Could just look that it was okay, but I didn't replace you've never replaced it right now So it's the original one now going out So the only thing that's been replaced the only pulley that's been that could be misaligned is the water pump But it was doing it before the water pump failed yeah But it was doing it because something else was wrong the water pump was a red herring ah Where those red herrings made?

Manitoba no I mean how can you dismiss misaligned pulleys? Because she's had no reason to have a pulley replaced. During the course of this little story that she told us, you've had like four belts. Three. Right? Yeah, in a year and a half. I mean, sooner or later, what does it take? We need a telegram to tell us that it's not the belt?

I would have someone check all the pulleys that this belt goes around because one of them I'm convinced there's something wrong with one of them. Well, I and my brother isn't I'll convince him in a minute No, I'm me that baseball bat That my brother as usual Is wrong and I think it is something as simple as having the belt too loose or the wrong belt on there That my brother, as usual, is wrong. And I think it is something as simple as having the belt too loose or the wrong belt on there. Four times? Three times.

Well, the first one probably was. Or it's some foreign substance getting onto the belt. Ah. That is causing it to slip, like oil. Ah, the new theory, the foreign substance theory. Yes. I like that. Yes, controlled substance.

The controlled substance theory. Do you have any leaks? Well, you might have the valve cover maybe leaking a little bit for example. Okay. Or the front crank, the front crankshaft seal may be leaking and somehow or another you may be getting oil on the belt. I would take it to the shop. Okay. Have them look carefully to see if there's anything on the belt that shouldn't be on it. All right. And then before they do anything to it, ask them if the tension is correct. Okay. And when they tell you it's too loose,

have them put a new belt on the tension correctly. It should have a half an inch deflection over its biggest span. Okay. They'll know, they'll, well, maybe they won't know what to do, maybe they've screwed it up three times already, they don't know how to tighten it. Did the same person put all the belts in?

No. No, no. See, the belt theory is getting weaker and weaker as we speaker. It's getting weaker and weaker, however, there is nothing else to a car. Okay. I'm convinced. Except contamination. Misaligned pulleys. So it's one of those three things. Okay. Put a new belt on every six months, it costs six bucks. Yeah, the car's not gonna last six months anyway. Yeah. Let a squeal. Turn the radio up. Oh, you didn't get a radio, eh? You're right I didn't get a radio, but I had one put in.

Well that was a mistake, wasn't it? Uh, no. How else would I hear you guys? Oh. That's what we said. That was a mistake. That was a mistake, wasn't it? Good luck, Janice. Thank you. Thanks for calling.

Bye. What a bubbly personality. Yes. Wow. Yes. That's good. Right after these messages you'll hear more calls and a new puzzler coming right up. On the Ted Radio Hour, clinical psychologists John and Julie Gottman are marriage experts. And after studying thousands of couples, they have found... Couples who were successful had a really different way of talking to one another when there was a disagreement or a conflict. How to be brave in our relationships. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.

As we're all navigating a divisive election, no matter what happens, the question remains, how the heck are we going to move forward together? So in this season of the StoryCorps Podcast from NPR, stories from people who made a choice to confront the conflicts in their own lives head on, and in sharing stories from the bravest among us, maybe we can take their lead and find some hope for the rest of us. Get the StoryCorps podcast wherever you listen. On Shortwave, we know the human body is this amazing singular thing. Capable of facing down all kinds of infection and disease

from managing UTIs to cancer to long COVID, our show is dedicated to destigmatizing our relationship to our bodies. Listen to the Shortwave podcast from NPR. Hey everyone, I'm B.A. Parker, a host of the podcast Code Switch. And on my show, I get to dig into all of the facets of being a black woman, from honoring my ancestors to exploring representation in reality TV. Code Switch is a place where I think out loud about how race and identity are connected.

Join me on the Code Switch podcast from NPR. ["Code Switch Theme Song"] Hello, we're back. You're listening to Car Talk on National Public Radio with us, Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers, and we're here to discuss cars, car repair, and wow, what a question! Well, I mean, this is an interesting issue here. We've sort of touched on this peripherally and other shows It's from Carol E and of course, we don't know where Carol E is from as a mother of four in a small town I have successfully managed to survive years of the morning drive to schools and work by following the warning list that I have developed

The higher and number you go the more dangerous the vehicle is. He's gonna give us the list. One, blondes. Two, spiral permed blondes. The wilder the hair the more unpredictable the driver. Three, a red vehicle. Yes. That's good. Yeah, red equals reckless. For a van. So if you have a red van driven by a spiral-permed blonde. Just pull over. Just pull over to the side and let her pass. Right? Yeah. A friend of mine says that this is wrong. He claims the order goes like this. Number one, a gray-haired man. Number two, a big car. Number three, someone wearing a hat. Number four, someone with big ears.

Oh yeah. Well, you know, they represent two different classes of drivers. The blondes driving the red sports cars are more dangerous because they will do something that's dangerous out of disregard or spite. Yeah. The guy wearing the hat with the big ears does it because he's almost in a coma.

Well, I mean... There's a difference. I'd much rather be hit by somebody that's already lapsed into a coma. I think we should ask people, what is the list? What is it that constitutes, if you could just glance over and see somebody, what constitutes the most dangerous, the next most dangerous... Sheesh. Okay, it's time for the puzzler really I was

reading something the other day where I discovered that Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed but wrote backwards he wrote from the right side of the page the left side of the page and he didn't write the way you would write he what was called mirror writing he actually wrote backwards so you would need a mirror to read this. And I said, huh, that's kind of interesting. I wonder why he did that. And I remember when we were kids, well, when I was a kid, when you were a kid in school, they were still pressing reeds into clay tablets to write, cuneiform writing.

Remember that? Actually, it was stones and hammers. But when I was a kid in school, every kid that was left-handed was forced. Those were the days when you could hit kids. You can't hit kids anymore, but every kid that was left-handed was forced to write right-handed, almost without exception. It's hardly ever done now. Back then, there was a very good reason for it a practical reason not a psychological one

Not a second was a practical reason for which for the most part does not exist today What was that reason? Who if you think you know the answer send it like that like I'd like to know why If you think you know the answer send it to us at puzzler tower Cartok Plaza box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Our Fair City, MA 02238. Or you can email us your answer from CarTalk.com by clicking on the Talk to Car Talk section. And don't forget if you email us your answer you're gonna send us your real address so we can send you the prize which you can

dispose of in an environmentally conscientious manner. Right. Okay, if you'd like to call us with a question about your car, the number is 1-800-332-9287. Hello, you're on Car Talk. Hi, this is Hannah from Northampton, Massachusetts. Hannah. Hannah. Northampton.

Yes. Northampton. Is that where Mount Holyoke is? No. No, that's where Smith is. That's where Smith is, that's right. Smith. Okay, got it. Yeah, just down the road from Mount Holyoke. Okay, we got it. We've zeroed in on you, Hannah. They're having troubles out there at Mount Holyoke ever since Leah left. I know. What are they doing there? They don't know what to do without her. They're having sit-ins. They think it's 1963. I know. I know. They don't know what to do without her. They're having sit-ins. They think it's 1963. I know. I think they're protesting Leah leaving, actually.

It could be. It could be. We want Leah. We want Leah. So what's up, Hannah? Well, first of all, I have to tell you that I want to present the other side of the coin of life at a woman's college because... Oh, you're a Smith College student? I am. You sounded young enough to be a college student. But you didn't want to ask. Oh, I was about to ask.

Oh, okay. But I'm a senior and I've been here for four years and I've loved it. You've loved it. I've loved it. So you think Leo is just some kind of a wacko. No, I don't. I mean, I definitely understand that a woman's college and maybe the East Coast isn't for everyone but I definitely... Well, where are college and maybe the East Coast isn't for everyone, but I definitely

Well, where are you from? I'm actually from Canada Back to the subject here you're a senior you're gonna graduate in a couple of days probably. That's right. What did you major in, like art history? French and history, a double major. Whoa, French and history. Exactly. So why was your experience at Smith College so wonderful? I mean, what's with the women's college idea? Well, I think it's all about, it's all about self-esteem and self-confidence or at least that's what it's all about for me. Yeah. I wasn't comfortable speaking in class. I wasn't comfortable doing any of those things. I you know and and being a Smith I've really I've really learned to to respect myself and to respect what I have to say. But the theory is

that it was the lack of presence of males that allowed this to happen. I think it is because... Suggesting, suggesting that males are in some way the cause... A distraction you say. No, the cause, whatever the mechanism may be, but it is the presence of boys, men in class that make that all happen. Oh, I believe that. And why is that?

If you think about my high school experience, the people who talked a lot in class, the people who put their hands up first, tended to be the guy. And the males have longer arms and you can see their hands more readily. Exactly, and they have louder voices and they have lower voices. Yeah, males Physically dominant. And it's as simple as that, huh? It also has something to do, I think, with the competition thing. I mean, I'm just not here, I'm not in competition with people.

And you know, in high school, it was very definitely a competition for boys' attention. And probably in much the same way that boys are competing for girls' attention. Oh, yeah. Oh, really? I don't know, I'm for girls attention. Oh, yeah I like it. I like it especially the idea that you should take all the testosterone poisoned 18 into 21 year old boys and put them away somewhere just get them where alone. You know where they should go They should all go with the army for four years after they go. Oh! Don't get me started on that. The boys should.

That's exactly where they belong. They should be in the army where Sergeant Torres and Sergeant McNeely are running their little butts off so they're so tired. Whatever I think of boys from 18 to 21, I wouldn't wish that on them. But I think I'm grateful that I wasn't around them. Well, I appreciate the fact that you called and explained all this to us because we are, of course, what?

Boers and Yahu's, and we don't understand or appreciate the value. And I actually have a question, too. Oh, really? Oh. Go ahead. Is it about graduate schools or? No, it's actually sort of a car question. You might call it a car protocol question.

Yeah. Ah, good. We're good at that. Uh-huh. Good. We're good at that. Whatever it means. Well, as you know, I'm graduating. I'm actually going to move in with my boyfriend, who has a car. Where'd you find the boyfriend?

Did you sneak out at night again? Somebody forgot to turn on the electric fence? Do they have an electric fence at Smith College? They do not. They don't anymore. There are no rules about boys in your room. Really? Really. So you somehow managed even though you were hidden away there in this little... I met him during the summer. Convent. That's alright, we don't care. biggest that have a good make up any story for us okay it's a lot of the content but you managed to meet this guy and now you'll be moving in with him yes okay and he had a car and i do not yeah and so this is going to be no kind of a difficult time we're moving in together and you know i think there's going to be

some stresses and i just wondered what your opinion on what are the rules about me using his car rules yeah I mean I mean I'm sharing his apartment so do I share his car I don't think so I think it's all part of the package oh it's a package deal a package deal like the American like double occupancy I't whatever applies to the refrigerator apply to the stereo? You'd use the stereo, you'd use the refrigerator. You can answer one question which will allow us to give you the right answer. What's the make and year of the car? It's a Ford Explorer and I think it's a 94, something around that. You won't be driving this. You can't't touch it here's what you do when

he's sleeping feel the key and have your own keep me you know I never really thought about that this would be an issue and then about a month ago I can't remember we're talking about but there was it was some sentence that ended in the car that's that's what I said. And he immediately jumped right on and said, the car, it's my car. Oh, well I guess that answers your question. It is certainly his car, and I don't think living together, at least at this point in your relationship, necessarily gives you any kind of rights to his car.

What's his name? Kyle. Kyle? Kyle. Kyle's don't let you use their cars. That's it. His name was like norm I mean when I when he wants me to go and pick it up somewhere. Oh, so you have driven it Oh sure when you're subservient

Yeah, okay. No you won't be driving his car. You know not much anyway, unless it needs service But I think under the circumstances you have to wait for him to offer. And at some point you'll say to Hannah, you know, whenever you need the car, feel free to take it. But I shouldn't ask, I should just sort of wait for that to evolve. I think so. I think so. And it'll tell you a lot about him too. About his generosity. Any of the courses that you've taken over the past four years address this question? Medieval history?

They really did. French? I mean, what the heck have you been doing for the last four years? This is what it's all about! What's she been doing? I've been working in the rare book room, that's what I've been doing. Working in the rare book room? Thinking about boys.

Trying to escape. Trying to figure out how to get over the electric fence. I think you will learn a lot about Kyle by the way he handles the car. Absolutely. You will learn a lot about his generosity and his feelings toward you. If he really feels strongly about you, the car will become so insignificant. I thought you spent four years not being subservient. I mean, I don't understand this.

You have sort of this self-deprecating, excuse me, you have a sort of self-deprecating attitude about this whole thing. He said, he said, come into my life, Hannah. I want you to come into my life, come into my apartment. I want you to use my refrigerator. I want you to use my stereo. I want you to use everything.

But the car is separate. The car is separate. Underwear you to use everything, but the car is separate. Car is separate, underwear, that's separate too. And underwear is separate. And don't wear my underwear anymore. I would liken the car to underwear. It's that personal. I think so. Maybe.

Wow. And at some point there may be a day at the breakfast table where he says he gives you permission to use his car and his underwear. That will be a red-letter day. He'll hand me the key to both his cars. And the locked underwear drawer. See you, Hannah. Hannah, thanks a million for the call.

It's been a joy talking to you. And good luck in your new careers, whatever they may be. And thanks for the encouragement. Thanks for the encouragement to all other young women embarking upon Women's College. Yeah. Smith is a great school. I've loved it.

Great. And your check is in the mail. See you later. Bye. Bye bye. We were on with her for like an hour. Whew. While you've wasted an otherwise perfectly good hour listening to car talk, our esteemed producer is Doug the subway fugitive, still a subway fugitive I guess, not a slave to fashion Berman. Our associate producer and dean of the College of Automusicology is Ken Babyface Rogers. Our assistant producer is Catherine Cathode-Ray. Our engineer is Karen Given. Our technical advisor, the fastest hand at the buffet table is John Bugsy free lunch. What last jumbo shrimp? Our public opinion pollster was Paul Murky of Murky Research, assisted by statistician Marginal Vera.

Our director of new product repair is Warranty Myfoot. Our document security expert from the island of Jamaica is Euripides Uppman. Our director of upward mobility in Eastern Europe is Zbignou Chrysler. Up, upward mobility? Zbignou Billet, Zbignou. Oh, Zbignou Chrysler! Yes! I get it! Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo.

Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo.

Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo.

Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zibinyo. Zib't, please, please, don't drive like my brother. And go ahead and drive like my brother. What do I care? Go do my business. We'll be back next week. Bye-bye. And now, with a very important announcement, here is Card Talk Plaza's chief mechanic, Vinnie Gumbach. Vinnie?

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