These Are The Best Songs About Cars

Love Shack. That Chrysler is as big as a whale AND ITS ABOUT TO SET SAIL.

‘Love Shack’ is arguably more about the titular shack than the Chrysler, but we’re talking a car that seats about twenty — that alone is worthy of inclusion. This track also falls into the hallowed category of “songs that automatically make you do the lead singer’s voice when you sing them,” putting it in company with everything ever performed by The Cranberries. You try saying “If you see a faded sign at the side of the road” in a normal voice. It can’t be done.

Submitted by: Sid Bridge

It doesn’t specifically mention what kind of car it’s about, but this is good.

‘Cars’ earns its spot for that bass riff alone. This is a classic, immediately recognizable, and that’s before we get to the iconic music video. Even people who don’t know the name of this track will instantly recognize the sound of it, and for that this list wouldn’t be complete without it.

Submitted by: techinsanity2011

Cake- Satan Is My Motor

Was going with Cake too. Stick Shifts and Safety Belts—though probably doesn’t count since it doesn’t reference a specific vehicle. I always picture just a big American sedan—80's Impalas, Crown Vics, Bonnevilles, etc. Something with a gutless but loud V8 and an enormous bench seat.

Cake has so many to choose from. Race Car Ya-yas is the one that sticks in my head for days on end.

And don’t forget “Long Line of Cars” and “The Distance”.

Cars are really just Cake’s whole deal, aren’t they? Someone in the band must be big into cars, with how often they come up as a metaphor (or just outright focus of a song). ‘The Distance’ was even one of the most-played tracks on my custom Grand Theft Auto 5 radio station, which adds a bonus layer of automotive enthusiasm to the party.

Submitted by: Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire/Wierdisgood/Harmon20/OrigamiSensei

Car love ain’t all about hotrods.

Sometimes, you just need a practical vehicle. The little deuce coupe, the Lamborghini Murci, or even the Spadina Bus may not work for every lifestyle. In times like this, you turn to the humble CR-V. It may not be as visually impressive, but it’ll get you and four friends where you need to go.

Submitted by: 17 Seconds

[Just a YouTube link]

I don’t know how I missed this one when asking my initial question yesterday. Rush is the greatest band of all time, and any music list that doesn’t include them is a travesty, sham, or farce. While the plot of ‘Red Barchetta’ has more than a few similarities to that of the earlier ‘2112', I won’t fault Peart, Lee, and Lifeson for going back to that well.

Submitted by: The Viking

The Fratelli’s fascination with driving/stealing a “Bluebird” appears a few times in their Costello Music album, make appearances in “Baby Fratelli”, but also the song “Dirty Barry stole the Bluebird”. Also there a Bluebird reference in “Vance the Lovable Stoner” (lives in the car) as well as a line about stealing car keys in “Sneaking down the back steps”.

So a global/british variant of several Nissans, rebanded as either Stanzas or Altimas, Maximas, or Datsun 810. I mean, it is both a specific model but actually identifying the actual car is generally impossible.

Yeah an identifiable “box” is about perfect here...

Might make a Cameo in the background of Henretta

Fun fact: I originally got my passport just to cross into Canada to see The Fratellis in Toronto. I was DJing at a college radio station in Henrietta, NY at the time, where ‘Henrietta’ was (for obvious reasons) a station favorite. While the Bluebird only shows up in that track’s music video, references to it are sprinkled through the band’s (perfect) debut album. Give the whole thing a listen, it’s worth it.

Submitted by: FutureDoc

I woulda bought a Lambo but I’m not quite there yet.

I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of Hobo Johnson’s voice, but I do respect his songwriting and the Subaru Crosstrek. The two go together so naturally — neither one lies about what it is, they both have an air of honesty that makes them approachable.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

[YouTube link to ‘Black Sunshine’]

I’d go with Dragula, personally.

I Need A Car For Digging Through Ditches And Burning Through Witches! What Car Should I Buy?

Submitted by: AngryBob-VA/MaximilianMeen

[Just a YouTube link]

The new Jeep Wagoneer Canyonero is a caricature of American automotive excess. It was also one of the most unwieldy vehicles in The Simpsons: Hit And Run for the PlayStation 2, a game in which I spent far too many hours as a child because I was too young to own Grand Theft Auto.

Submitted by: 89islander

The visuals are a little misleading, but...

Dang. Now I’ve got to listen to that album on the drive home.

Modest Mouse is another group that includes an above-average number of automotive references. There’s the dashboard melting, backing your car into a cop car, even the album title ‘This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About’. Add them in to your driving playlist, you won’t be disappointed.

Submitted by: Harmon20