Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Click and Clack cartoon debuts tonight on PBS]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/09/click-and-clack-cartoon-debuts-tonight-on-pbs/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/09/click-and-clack-cartoon-debuts-tonight-on-pbs/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/09/click-and-clack-cartoon-debuts-tonight-on-pbs/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



If you've been dying to see animated versions of Click and Clack -- aliases Tom and Ray Magliozzi -- then you'll want to tune into your local PBS station tonight. Their new series, As the Wrench Turns, starts off with their presidential campaign, with one of the platforms being "America needs a lube job!" We're all for it. Big Bird and the Cookie Monster will also make a cameo, though we're not sure if it's tonight. Check your PBS site for local times, or check out the show's site for a preview of the mechanical mayhem.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

Click and Clack cartoon debuts tonight on PBS originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last July, we told you that Car Talk's Tom and Ray Magliozzi were in the process of creating an animated series for PBS about the Tappet brother's on and off-air hijinks in Harvard Square. While you'll have to wait until July 9th for the first of ten episodes of "As the Wrench Turns," later this month, Click and Clack will be starring in a Nova production entitled "Car of the Future," where Tom searches for a suitable candidate to replace his rarely running and often maligned '52 MG roadster.

Like many of us, Tom and Ray grew up with the idea that transportation in the 21st century would have evolved into a utopian wonderland of flying cars and an oil-free existence. Obvious, that's not the case. So the duo headed out to the Detroit Auto Show and the Alt Wheels Festival in Boston, as well as a brief stint in Iceland where the northern nation is ramping up hydrogen fuel cell development, to find out what the future holds. If you want to get your daily dose of bad jokes and incessant cackling, set your DVRs to record the on April 22nd at 8 pm.

[Source: NYTimes and PBS]

Click and Clack take (another) detour onto the small screen originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>car of the futurecar talkCarOfTheFutureCarTalkray magliozziRayMagliozzitom magliozziTomMagliozziThu, 17 Apr 2008 18:04:00 EST<![CDATA[Click n' Clack write Congress for higher fuel economy standards]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/06/click-n-clack-write-congress-for-higher-fuel-economy-standards/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/06/click-n-clack-write-congress-for-higher-fuel-economy-standards/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/06/click-n-clack-write-congress-for-higher-fuel-economy-standards/#commentsFiled under: ,

We've all seen celebrities marching on Capital Hill and appearing before Congress to support their cause du jour of the day. In the same vein, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, also known as Click n' Clack on their public radio program Car Talk, recently sent a letter to the House Select Committee on Global Warming urging the government to increase fuel economy standards. Believe it or not, they deliver just as many jokes when addressing Congress as they do their 3 million+ listeners every week. Their main point is that automakers could achieve a national fleetwide average of 35 MPG in five years if it were a priority. They argue that U.S. automakers have claimed higher fuel economy standards would ruin them for the past 50 years, and each time the bar has been raised a little higher, they've managed to adapt and still deliver unto us our SUVs and muscle cars. At the same time, the brothers remark that it may be time for more appropriately-sized and -powered vehicles, suggesting those days of large SUVs and high-power muscle cars should end. Curiously, they also seem to predicate their call for a higher fuel economy standard on the benefit of energy independence alone, making no mention of the environmental perks that are obviously associated.

The letter can be read in its entirety after the jump.

[Source: The Detroit News via AutoblogGreen]

Continue reading Click n' Clack write Congress for higher fuel economy standards

Click n' Clack write Congress for higher fuel economy standards originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tom and Ray Magliozzi might be the first to admit that most people on the radio have faces that suit the medium, to put it delicately. There's no place to hide when you make the jump to television, but the Tappet brothers have avoided that with their new animated sitcom PBS will be rolling out next summer. The show is not yet named; a contest soliciting names from fans of the pair's radio show will be announced soon. Plots will center around the oft-discussed hijinks that the brothers snort and chortle over between calls. The fictional Car Talk Plaza, located in Cambridge Massachusetts' Harvard Square, will be coming to life, and the cast is fleshed out with a variety of supporting characters, most of which seem to be based on real individuals, or composites of several people.

For all their self-deprecating humor, Car Talk is one of the most popular shows on NPR, and their producer, Doug Berman, is on board for the TV series as well. The Magliozzi's animated series will be the first primetime animated show aimed at a general audience for PBS. There's a talented team behind the show, and it may even bring new eyeballs to sometimes fusty PBS. In addition to the show, there's a partnership with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators in which the animated stars deliver safe driving messages to drivers while they suffer in line at DMVs, as well as on educational materials and on the web. We wonder if that effort will be called "Don't Drive Like My Brother."

Coming soon to a TV near you: Click and Clack originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>animationcar talkCarTalkclackclicknprpbsradiorayseriessitcomtappettelevisiontomtvThu, 12 Jul 2007 09:36:00 EST<![CDATA[NPR's Car Talk podcast added to iTunes Music Store]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/06/nprs-car-talk-podcast-added-to-itunes-music-store/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/06/nprs-car-talk-podcast-added-to-itunes-music-store/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/06/nprs-car-talk-podcast-added-to-itunes-music-store/#commentsFiled under: ,



Car Talk is celebrating 20 years on NPR, and the self-effacing, often goofy show is now available in iTunes. It's exciting to "play along" and see if you come up with the same answer as brothers Tom and Ray, an now you can do that at your leisure. We have our local NPR station's schedule memorized, but sometimes it's just not possible to catch the show when it airs; throwing a tantrum won't always get you your way. The show certainly has its detractors, and some of the content can tend toward softballs, but the Magliozzis have built vast appeal and recognition, not to mention a little merchandise empire. If you want to hear hearty guffaws and try to solve the puzzler on your time, check out the Car Talk website, or iTunes and subscribe to the feed.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

NPR's Car Talk podcast added to iTunes Music Store originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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