Dear Tom and Ray:

I'm an old Yale Divinity School graduate with a question for you. Why don't any auto makers make an oil dipstick of any color except steel? That's the exact color of clean motor oil! A different-colored dipstick would make it a lot easier to read the oil level, wouldn't it? -- Garrett

Ray: I'm not so sure, Garrett. While a white dipstick might make it a little easier to read, I think the bigger problem is that the oil has no color when it's new. Although it looks amber in the can, when you have only three molecules of it on the dipstick, it's practically transparent.

Tom: Right. Once it gets good and black and gooey, you have no problem distinguishing the oil from the dipstick. That's why I haven't changed my oil since 1976!

Ray: My brother has all the solutions, doesn't he? We need to hear from some Divinity/Mechanical Engineering double majors in our audience. Has anybody addressed this problem? Let us know by writing to us care of this paper, or e- mailing us through the Car Talk section of www.cars.com.

To buy or not to buy -- options, that is. Are options worth what you pay for them, or are you better off just going with the basics? Order Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car?" to find out. 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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