NPR's Car Talk Welcomes Oakland School of Engineering Students

Our house in summer is a happening hive for teens and young adults: beach bashes, surfboards, bushy, bushy blonde hairdos and a street full of vehicles. One son is in auto mechanics and the other in engineering. As the eldest heads off to Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., his Welcome Week events include a visit from NPR's very own "Car Talk."

If you've never experienced "Car Talk," you're in for high-octane fun. "Car Talk" is hosted by Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers (aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi). It's a caller-directed Q-and-A where car owners get advice about their vehicles. It's a "Dr. Ruth" for cars, with overtones of "The Muppet Show."

The show hails from Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., as do Tom and Ray, but to listen to them talk you'd swear they were from Five Points. Tom becomes Tawm and "Car Talk" becomes Cah Tawk. In case you're wondering if it's tactful to tease them about their accents, have no fear.

One of the things these guys enjoy most, besides discussing "cahs" is joking, especially about where people are from. If you've got even the hint of a funny accent or you drive a slightly unique vehicle, beware. It may take them 15 minutes of ribbing you before they can settle down to your actual question. It's just part of the fun.

These guys have a faux soap called "As the Wrench Turns" and have even a dabbled in Broadway with "Car Talk: The Musical." In Disney Pixar's "Cars," Ray and Tom played parodies of themselves. They were Rusty and Dusty Rust-Eze, the '63 Dodge Dart (one of my all-time favorite cars) and the '63 Dodge van.

Lest you think that the Tappet Brothers, under the auspices of their "law firm" of Dewey, Cheetham and Howe (think about that one) are all giggles and no gear oil, think again. Don't be fooled by the fancy chrome trim; under the hood these guys are pure automotive legend. Both have a string of letters after their name from many uber prestigious schools, including the Nirvana of gearheads, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Their diagnoses, for being sight unseen, are uncannily accurate.

Oakland University has a lot of great connections, with local Detroit General Motors, Chrysler and other giants in the world of engineering. I think our son is most looking forward to seeing Tom and Ray in person. He grew up tinkering with dad on the cars, listening to "Car Talk" every Saturday morning.

By about 5, he even got many of their jokes. Besides dad, I think the Tappet Brothers were his inspiration. Click and Clack will appear on the OU campus at Hamlin Circle on Sept. 9 from noon to 3:30 p.m. They come courtesy of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

A lifelong resident of "Pure Michigan," Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about people, places, events and issues of interest in the Great Lakes State.