Corvette Stingray Coupe

Make
Chevrolet
Segment
Coupe

Tom Magliozzi, the other half of the long-running but recently cancelled NPR radio program, "Car Talk," has passed away due to complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77. Along with his younger brother Ray, the pair, also known as the Tappet Brothers, became national celebrities due to their mechanical expertise, humor, gags, weekly puzzles, infectious laughs, and their wonderful personalities. Tom, like his brother, was a graduate of MIT.

Both initially worked as engineers before they opened a DIY car repair shop. They were also on hand in case people needed assistance. One day the local public radio station called and asked for one of them to be part of a panel of car mechanic experts for a talk show. Tom was the only one to show up and he was quickly asked to come back.

Only this time Ray came along as well. That was in 1977. A decade later NPR picked their weekly Sunday show up and the rest is history. The pair suddenly retired from the air in 2012. The reason turned out to be Tom's declining health. Since then, their show continues to air weekly as a "best-of" moments from the past 30 years. Ray Magliozzi, through the law office of Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe, issued the following statement: "We can be happy that he lived the life he wanted to live; goofing off a lot, talking to you guys every week, and primarily, laughing his ass off. In lieu of flowers, or rotten fish, I know my brother would prefer that folks make a donation to their favorite public radio station in his memory, or to the Alzheimer's Association."