RAY: Bob was driving a diesel.

When the lights go out and the windows, and radio won't work, it matters little to the diesel, which has no ignition system. It's igniting the diesel fuel not with sparks, but with the heat of compression. It can run all day long without electricity.

All the hints were there: the clattering engine went far between fill-ups, an anachronistic relic, etc.

TOM: And no lights. Even the ALT light went out!

RAY: Yeah, that's pretty bad, if you don't have enough juice for that little light.

TOM: If this had been a real car, the buzzards by the side of the road would have taken care of him a long time ago.

RAY: Exactly. Who's our winner?

TOM: The winner this week is Meredith Wilsdavy

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]