New Puzzler, 3/28/97: Finicky Volare

Ray: Here it is. I remember one day this old geezer drives into the shop with his '76 Volare. And says something like, "Boys, my car is having trouble. It doesn't like a certain kind of ice cream that I buy." He goes on to explain that he only has three flavors of ice cream he likes to eat and that he goes to the local parlor to buy. He eats either vanilla, chocolate, or three-bean tofu mint chipped-beef ice cream. He says, "When I go to buy chocolate I park in front of the ice cream parlor. I buy the chocalate. My car starts right up. The same thing happens if I buy vanilla. The problem occurs when I buy the three-been tofu mint chipped-beef. I buy the stuff. I come out. The car won't start. It cranks, and cranks, and cranks, and cranks. It doesn't want to start. Finally it starts. It runs on one cylinder, maybe it runs on two cylinders, it shakes and rattles, and it takes me 10 minutes to get going." Crusty who's asleep in the corner says. "You're right. Same thing happens to my car and you're right it is the ice cream."

Tom: Wow.

Ray: All the information you need to solve this is packed into the Puzzler.

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]