Welcome to Sunday Matinee, where we highlight classic car reviews or other longer videos I find on YouTube. Kick back and enjoy this blast from the past.
I love Car Talk, and I don't think it gets enough love here on Jalopnik. Click and Clack (the Tappet brothers), aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi, were known primarily for offering excellent mechanical advice, usually through a cloud of hacking laughter and corny jokes.
In this particular classic example, Click and Clack help out Alexander Bernstein, the son of composer and all around musical genius Leonard Bernstein. That's pretty "meh, cool I guess," on its own, but what's really great here is they explain what "double-clutching" is and how pointless it is on modern vehicles.
Forgive me for a bit of a segue. In case you don't remember because you were too young or too old at the time, as there was no other reason not to have seen it, in the original Fast & Furious movie, Paul Walker informs Vin Diesel that he "almost had" him. Mr. Diesel then goes on to politely inform Mr. Walker than not only did Mr. Walker not have him, but Mr. Walker never had his car.
While this is all nonsense that is characteristic of the franchise, the real incomprehensible bit for anyone who knows modern automobiles comes a second later, when Mr. Diesel chides Mr. Walker for "granny shifting" and not "double-clutching like you should."
Mr. Bernstein agrees somewhat with Mr. Diesel that it "feels cool," but he's let down a bit by Click and Clack when they inform him that on almost all cars today, double-clutching is totally unnecessary.
In the end, the Tappet brothers end up advising Mr. Bernstein just to forget that he ever called them, if only to preserve happy memories. But hey, this classic Car Talk is a happy memory of its own. And though Click and Clack may no longer be on the air, they still live on forever in our hearts.
Let us know if you want more Car Talk on Sunday Matinee.