Dear Tom and Ray:

I was listening to your NPR radio show a few weeks ago and heard a woman ask about a smell "like burned or roasted popcorn." She thought it was coming from her car's exhaust. You were correct, I think, in telling her that it was not coming from her exhaust, but from under her hood. You were wrong, however, I think (it had to happen sometime!) in telling her that it was probably spilled oil on the engine. You should have asked her if the smell started in the late fall or winter, and if she parks her car outside at night near any oak trees. My husband and I have two cars we park outside near lots of oak trees. More than once, we have smelled a "roasted popcorn" smell coming from our car, and it has always turned out to be the same thing -- roasted acorns. The little squirrels that live in our trees stash several dozen acorns up under the hood on the engine block. These nuts slowly roast and give off this rather pleasant, but odd, smell. I'll bet that's what your caller was smelling. -- Christine

Tom: You may well be right, Christine. We should have asked the caller if the neighborhood squirrels were singing any Mel Torme tunes.

Ray: You mean like "Acorns roasting on an open engine ... "

Tom: Exactly. We'll keep this in mind, Christine, for any future roasted-nut- related inquiries. Thanks.

Changing your oil regularly is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your car, but how often should you change it? Find out by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1998 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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