Editing Car Talk (section)

===<span class="anchor" id="ThirdHalf"></span> Features===
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2014}}

The show originally consisted of two segments with a break in between but was changed to three segments. After the shift to the three-segment format, it became a running joke to refer to the last segment as "the third half" of the program.

The show opened with a short comedy segment, typically jokes sent in by listeners, followed by eight call-in sessions. The hosts ran a contest called the "Puzzler", in which a riddle, sometimes car-related, was presented. The answer to the previous week's "Puzzler" was given at the beginning of the "second half" of the show, and a new "Puzzler" was given at the start of the "third half". The hosts gave instructions to listeners to write answers addressed to "Puzzler Tower" on some non-existent or expensive object, such as a "$26 bill" or an advanced digital [[Single-lens reflex camera|SLR]] camera. This gag initially started as suggestions that the answers be written "on the back of a $20 bill". A [[running gag]] concerned Tom's inability to remember the previous week's "Puzzler" without heavy prompting from Ray. During a tribute show following Tom's death in 2014 due to complications of Alzheimer's disease, Ray joked, "I guess he wasn't joking about not being able to remember the puzzler all those years." For each puzzler, one correct answer was chosen at random, with the winner receiving a $26 gift certificate to the ''Car Talk'' store, referred to as the "Shameless Commerce Division".<ref>[http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ "Puzzler"]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127192040/http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ |date=January 27, 2011 }}, ''Car Talk'' website</ref>  It was originally $25, but was increased for inflation after a few years. Originally, the winner received a specific item from the store, but it soon changed to a gift certificate to allow the winner to choose the item they wanted (though Tom often made an item suggestion).

A recurring feature was "Stump the Chumps," in which the hosts revisited a caller from a previous show to determine the accuracy and the effect, if any, of their advice. A similar feature began in May 2001, "Where Are They Now, Tommy?"  It began with a comical musical theme with a sputtering, backfiring car engine and a horn as a backdrop.  Tom then announced who the previous caller was, followed by a short replay of the essence of the previous call, preceded and followed by harp music often used in other audiovisual media to indicate recalling and returning from a dream.  The hosts then greeted the previous caller, confirmed that they had not spoken since their previous appearance and asked them if there had been any influences on the answer they were about to relate, such as arcane bribes by the NPR staff.  The repair story was then discussed, followed by a fanfare and applause if the Tappet Brothers' diagnosis was correct, or a wah-wah-wah music piece mixed with a car starter operated by a weak battery (an engine which wouldn't start) if the diagnosis was wrong.  The hosts then thanked the caller for their return appearance.

The brothers also had an official Animal-Vehicle Biologist and Wildlife Guru named Kieran Lindsey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://search.vt.edu/search/person.html?person=1376104 |title=Kieran Lindsey - People Search &#124; Virginia Tech |work=Search.vt.edu |access-date=2012-08-09 |quote=Kieran Jane Lindsey; Director, Natural Resources Distance Learning Corsortium, College of Natural Resources & Env. |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606065644/http://search.vt.edu/search/person.html?person=1376104 |url-status=live }}</ref> She answered questions like "How do I remove a snake from my car?" and offered advice on how those living in cities and suburbs could reconnect with wildlife.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Girl Scouts: Beyond Campfires and Cookies |url=http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2011/10/girl-scouts-beyond-campfires-and-cookie/ |work=[[With Good Reason]] |publisher=[Virginia Foundation for the Humanities |date=October 29, 2011 |quote=Answering questions like how to remove a snake from your car, urban wildlife biologist Kieran Lindsey (Virginia Tech) is the new official Animal-Vehicle Biologist and Wildlife Guru for ''Car Talk'' on NPR. Lindsey offers tips for how those of us living in cities and suburbs can reconnect with the wildlife around us—what she calls 'next-door nature.' |access-date=2012-08-09 |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712210434/http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2011/10/girl-scouts-beyond-campfires-and-cookie/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They also would sometimes rely on [[Harvard University]] professors Wolfgang Rueckner and Jim E. Davis for questions concerning physics and chemistry, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051501401.html|website=WashingtonPost.com|title=Click & Clack: A Real Humdinger|date=May 17, 2009|first1=Tom|last1=Magliozzi|first2=Ray|last2=Magliozzi|first3=Doug|last3=Berman|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=January 31, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131215029/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051501401.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2001/12/harvard-gazette-goodbye-mr-chips-2/|title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips|date=December 13, 2001|work=The Garvard Gazette|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812032824/https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2001/12/harvard-gazette-goodbye-mr-chips-2/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/12/11/chemistry-senior-lecturer-retires-after-15/|title=Chemistry Senior Lecturer Retires After 15 Years|work=The Harvard Crimson|first=Benjamin D.|last=Margo|date=December 11, 2001|access-date=August 12, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812032823/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/12/11/chemistry-senior-lecturer-retires-after-15/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Anchor|famous_callers}} There were numerous appearances from NPR personalities, including [[Bob Edwards]], [[Susan Stamberg]], [[Scott Simon]], [[Ray Suarez]], [[Will Shortz]], [[Sylvia Poggioli]], and commentator and author [[Daniel Pinkwater]]. On one occasion, the show featured [[Martha Stewart]] as an in-studio guest, whom the Magliozzis twice during the segment referred to as "Margaret". Celebrities and public figures were featured as "callers" as well, including [[Geena Davis]], [[Ashley Judd]], [[Morley Safer]], [[Gordon Elliott (journalist)|Gordon Elliott]], former [[Major League Baseball]] pitcher [[Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher)|Bill Lee]], journalist [[Farhad Manjoo]], and [[astronaut]] [[John M. Grunsfeld]].

====Space program calls====
Astronaut and engineer [[John M. Grunsfeld|John Grunsfeld]] called into the show during [[Space Shuttle]] mission [[STS-81]] in January 1997, in which ''[[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Atlantis]]'' docked to the [[Mir space station]]. In this call he complained about the performance of his serial-numbered, [[Rockwell International|Rockwell]]-manufactured "government van". To wit, it would run very loud and rough for about two minutes, quieter and smoother for another six and a half, and then the engine would stop with a jolt. He went on to state that the brakes of the vehicle, when applied, would glow red-hot, and that the vehicle's [[odometer]] displayed "about 60 million miles". This created some consternation for the hosts, until they noticed the audio of Grunsfeld's voice, being relayed from Mir via [[TDRS]] satellite, sounded similar to that of [[Tom Hanks]] in the then-recent film [[Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13]], after which they realized the call was from space and the government van in question was, in fact, the [[Space Shuttle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2024/09/21/1200780641/best-of-car-talk-draft-09-21-2024|title=#2476: Houston, We Have a Problem!|publisher=NPR|access-date=October 19, 2024}}</ref>

In addition to the on-orbit call, the Brothers once received a call asking advice on winterizing an [[electric car]]. When they asked what kind of car, the caller stated it was a "kit car", a $400 million "kit car". It was a joke call from [[NASA]]'s [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] concerning the preparation of the Mars [[Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity'' rover]] for the oncoming Martian winter, during which temperatures drop to several hundred degrees below freezing.<ref>{{cite web | title=Winter Driving Tips. From Mars. | website=Car Talk | date=November 13, 2013 | url=https://www.cartalk.com/content/winter-driving-tips-mars | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221701/https://www.cartalk.com/content/winter-driving-tips-mars | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=#9703: Lost in Space | website=Car Talk | date=May 14, 2011 | url=https://www.cartalk.com/radio/show/9703-lost-space | access-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-date=July 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221637/https://www.cartalk.com/radio/show/9703-lost-space | url-status=live }}</ref>

Click and Clack have also been featured in editorial cartoons, including one where a befuddled NASA engineer called them to ask how to fix the [[Space Shuttle]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}