Dear Tom and Ray: ![[bluecar2.gif]](/common/images/bluecar2.gif)
Guys, I know you love solving bets. And in this bet, you get the added
bonus of getting involved in a marital squabble, too! He says: When a car
with an automatic transmission is stopped (say, at a stop light), in Drive,
and you take your foot off the brake, the car should not move at all. I say
(after much laughter, tears and horrified looks from my cat): Your car
SHOULD move when you take your foot off the brake. And if it doesn't,
something is wrong. OK, who's right? -- Heather
Tom: Oh, Heather, I hope you have a lot riding on this bet, because your
husband has his head way up under the dashboard on this one.
Ray: You're absolutely right, of course. On the vast majority of
automatic-transmission cars, when you take your foot off the brake, the car
will start to move. That's due to the nature of an automatic transmission,
which uses a fluid clutch.
Tom: There are a few cars that won't move, owing to their inordinate mass,
their extremely low idle speed, and in most cases, the fact that somebody
left the parking brake on.
Ray: Hey, did you hear that our new pamphlet, "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining
Your Car Without Even Knowing It," is a million seller!
Tom: That's not what I said, you knucklehead. I said I had a MILLION of
them in the CELLAR!
Ray: Oh. Well, it still has lots of good information on how to make your car
last forever.
What is the most cost-effective way to buy a car? Tom and Ray hash it all out in their pamphlet "Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car?" To order, send  (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.
© 1997 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug
Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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