I’m listening to “Car Talk” right now, and one of the brothers just said klaatu barada nikto, then mentioned the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still.
I should’ve known they were like us.
Oh yeah. They’re both M.I.T. grads and the window of their office (overlooking Harvard Square) says “Dewey, Cheatem & Howe”.
I volunteer to be the third Tappet brother, “Eddie.”
I’d be the middle brother.
Say it out loud if you still don’t get it. 
“Tappet?” WTF?
I’m looking at their newspaper column right here and it says their last name is Magliozzi.
Or is this one of their jokes?
That’s them? I just actually noticed what that writing said a few days ago, and had a little laugh. And it’s right above a children’s book store named after Curious George (a creation of Cambridge native Margaret Rey, IIRC). Sound like they’d fit in here.
I love these guys, but there are so hard to explain to folks who have never heard them.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were a car nut, Cranky…”
“Um, I’m not…”
One of their jokes - on the air, Tom and Ray Magliozzi often call themselves “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers”.
And don’t forget the Car Talk site for many hours of amusement.
I used to enjoy reading their articles, although most never applied to me, until I found out they were communists who don’t really even like cars.
Thanks, ElvisL1ves–it’s starting to make sense.
I heard them on the radio, and with their accents I thought they were calling themselves the “Catholic Brothers.”
I should know by now not to believe anything they say that isn’t about cars.
I adore Cah Tawk. They are witty, intelligent, and sarcastic. I don’t know who I like better: Bob, Tom, or their long lost brother, Cece.
Want to hear my favorite Car Talk gag? Sure you do!
I love when they give the station ID, and how they always imply that they are completely out of place being on NPR. It’s usually the same formula joke, but they always manage to do it in a clever way. Such as:
“…and even though Corey Flintoff [NPR Newsreader] thinks wistfully of that offer to host “When Animals Attack” whenever he hears us say it, this is National Public Radio”.
or…
“… and even though Judy Collins breaks her guitar over her knee every time she hears us say it…”
Gotta love Tom and Ray!
Grok: I liked this one:
“And even though Corey Flintoff considers changing his name to Flinty Coreoff…”
My favorite gag:
Caller: I have a 1988 VW Quantum…
Tom: Don’t tell me, you can’t find a quantum mechanic.
<several minutes of laughter>
Do any of you recall when the crew member on the Space Shuttle called?
Click/Clack: So, where are you calling from.
Caller: Oh, I’m about 200 miles outside Boston right now.
Click/Clack: And you’re moving?..How fast are you going?
Caller: Let’s see…17,000 miles per hour.
Its a toss up for me: Either the call about getting St. Bernard puke out of the dashboard heaters of a pickup truck, or the call about the dead dog in the trunk are my favorites.
It’s group chant time!
A-rup Gup-ta
A-rup Gup-ta
A-rup Gup-ta
I haven’t owned a car in 20 years and I listen to this show every week 
Arup Gupta!
Arup Gupta!
Arup Gupta!
*
Naw, my favorite is the guy who bought an old Econoline for 100 bucks (or something like that) and was tired of the exhaust exhausting into the cargo area, and when the plywood he screwed on to the back failed he used several differently sized pipes to vent the exhaust up and topped the whole thing off with an empty OJ can to keep the rain out.
OR
The shaggy dog story about the dead, rare-breeded dog left in the back of a car at a mechanic’s place. “Does anyone want a dog?”
Be right with ya - I gotta take a wicked haircut first.