|
the automotive call-in show's affiliates to 90 stations across the country.
• Evans thinks the show can grow even more.
• "Now's kind of the time," he said.
• NPR's "Car Talk," which began on a Boston station before going national, has long been the king of the joke-filled auto advice show, airing on 660 stations across the country with some 3.3 million listeners a week. Although the Magliozzi brothers are done dishing out their advice and jabs, repurposed versions of old shows will stay on National Public Radio indefinitely.
• The hosts of "Under the Hood," which has aired for nearly as long as the Magliozzis' 25-year NPR run, enjoy mixing humor and banter, but they don't ever want comedy to overshadow solid automotive advice.
• During a recent broadcast, the trio fielded questions on a jumping fuel gauge and a cabin air filter clog, but also wandered off on a tangent on whether you're obligated to buy an item when pulling off the road to use a convenience store restroom.
• "We don't necessarily have a comedy show," Evans said. "We wanted to have plenty of humor, but also have plenty of real useable advice to get people help."
• The show debuted in 1990 with Nordstrom solely at the helm. His family initially intended the program to be an infomercial of sorts for their Garretson recycled auto parts center, but it quickly morphed into an advice show with Nordstrom tapping his expertise as a parts supplier to independent garages, dealerships and do-it-yourselfers.
• "We sit in the middle of this entire wheel and see if from all angles," Nordstrom said.
• As Nordstrom started spending less time in the garage so he could run the overall Nordstrom Automotive, he decided in 1998 to bring the shop's mechanic, Evans, on for more on-hand expertise. A listener quickly labeled Evans "The Super Tech," (Continued on page 18)
|
|
