Car Talk was trending this week, apparently in part because it honored Michelin with its Golden Wrench awards for making good tires. And also in part because of this guy’s tweet. I will take this opportunity to remind everyone that Ray Magliozzi is still with us and Car Talk lives on digitally.
I partly blame myself for any misconception, after I profiled Ray a couple years ago and said that Car Talk was in the midst of a “long goodbye.” That certainly appeared true at the time — Ray’s brother Tom Magliozzi passed away in 2014 and new episodes were repurposed content — but since then Car Talk’s digital presence has been resilient.
And Ray still answers reader mail, like he did yesterday addressing the urgent issue of drivers who don’t pay attention at stoplights. (Ray suggests flashing one’s high beams, or a gentle honk.)
A concern now called Car Talk Digital, Car Talk’s website has reviews of everything from insurance, to car shipping, to cars themselves, giving out Golden Wrenches for great products, Silver Wrenches for good products, and Flat Tires for bad ones.
For my money, though, the strongest part of Car Talk Digital, aside from Ray continuing to do his thing, is the still-vibrant community, with lots and lots of Car Talk fans being very nice to each other as they sort through car repairs. This, I think, is also Tom and Ray’s biggest legacy: the demystification and democratization of car repair, the vibe that everyone is welcome in the garage.
That is something we try to do here, too, because what Car Talk represents in a bigger sense will never die. And I’ll keep supporting Ray as long as he is going at it, because, at 72, he could’ve retired a long time ago. So go check out Car Talk’s website, if you haven’t in a while. If nothing else, you can catch up on Ray’s newest columns; he still sounds the same as you remember.