The Tappet Brothers will continue to write 'Dear Tom and Ray', and a newly assembled 'Car Talk' show selected from their best material will be broadcast by NPR.
- Jun 9, 2012
AceShowbiz - "Car Talk" hosts, Tom Magliozzi and his brother Ray Magliozzi, announce their retirement after hosting the comedic auto-advice show on National Public Radio for 25 years. "We've decided that it's time to stop and smell the cappuccino," so 63-year-old Ray said.
Ray hinted that it was Tom's health condition which led them to retire, stating, "My brother has always been 'work-averse'. Now, apparently, even the one hour a week is killing him!" 74-year-old Tom gave a nod to what his brother said, confirming, "It's brutal!"
The show's producer, Doug Berman, additionally stressed it further to the Boston Globe, "When they decided it was time, Tom was probably more ready than Ray was." He added, "But they consider themselves a team, and they like the (syndication) plan that's now in place."
"So as of October, we're not going to be recording any more new shows," Tom dished on. However, their weekly call-in series will continue to be distributed by NPR drawing on material from their 25 years of show archives.
"When we listen to the stuff that's in our archives, it still makes us laugh. A lot," he gushed. "We're hoping to be like 'I Love Lucy' and air ten times a day on 'NPR at Nite' in 2075."
Ray added, "Thank you for giving us far more of your time than we ever deserved. We love you. And know that starting this fall, for the first time, we'll be able to sit at home, laughing at Car Talk along with you guys on Saturday mornings."
"Car Talk" started out as a local call-in show on Boston's WBUR radio in 1977, and now has been a staple on NPR Member stations for the last 25 years. It reaches an average weekly audience of about 3.3 million and has been heard on more than 660 stations.
Ray said, "We've managed to avoid getting thrown off NPR for 25 years, given out tens of thousands of wrong answers, generated lawsuit threats from innumerable car companies, and had a hell of a lot of fun talking to you guys."
Although "Car Talk" is coming to an end, the duo known as Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers will still continue to work as a team and write their weekly "Dear Tom and Ray" column.
