Being into old cars, most of us have almost certainly been in a situation where we’ve had to move a completely dead car. Maybe something went catstrophically wrong while on the road, or maybe you had to rescue a car that was destined for the crusher. Perhaps you had to rely on a janky improvised wheel chuck, some life-saving tool like an electric drill-powered winch, or the power of friendship. Anytime there’s two tons of steel free rolling there’s the potential for tragedy or a great anecdote.
What’s your best story about moving a dead car?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite song or jingle associated with a car?“.
Many of the hits this week had nothing to do with Japanese cars. It’s all fair game since we didn’t specify country of origin in the original question, and unless you grew up in Japan, the most memorable songs are going to be about whatever’s prevalent in your local market. That’s how we get steve‘s answer of the Rush epic “Red Barchetta” and @ye‘s Janis Joplin folk classic “Mercedes Benz”.
Hollywood movies are also how we get ra21benj choice of “Beat City” by the Flowerpot Men as heard in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Jonathan P.‘s selection of “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins as heard in Miami Vice, and setto‘s nomination of “Nightcall” by Kavinsky as heard in Drive.
Representing the Euros, we had Joaquin Ruhi‘s pick of “History Repeating” by The Propellerheads featuring Shirley Bassey, which played in the launch commercial of the 1999 Jaguar S-Type, and Alan‘s pick of “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin for the Peugeot 405.
As for music that makes you think of a Japanese car, Andre came in with a deep cut of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” as seen in the EF Civic commercials in Japan. dankan went with Van Halen’s cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” from the classic Barbie Nissan Z32 ad. And to prove how effective a simple jingle can be, Bryan Kitsune and Taylor C. both went with the timeless “I Love What You Do For Me” in old Toyota spots.
Coming in with a close second was Nigel‘s iceberg tier association of Ridge Racer‘s “Speedster Overheat” with the A80 Supra, but this week’s winner was Nihonnotekko:
“The beautiful roooootaryyyyy….Savaaannaaaaaaaa, arrr ex sevennnnnnnn!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBUUYPwqjBU
A longer, extra jazzy version can be heard at ~16:00 in this video, and it slaps pretty hard. The whole video definitely deserves too be watched, notwithstanding the catchy jingle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMHIOGH1bcA&list=LL&index=58&t=2s
If Mazda still has the full-length version of this song somewhere in the archives and would share it for the rotary enthusiasts everywhere, it’d be a small miracle.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
I wouldn’t call any of them “best”. They’ve been anywhere from disaster to horror stories. Towed one to a transmission shop. They utterly mangled the tranny & engine. They gave up before telling me they had a mechanics lien & to pay up or they’ll repossess the car. Found another car a few states away. Paid a trucking broker arrange to transport. Truck arrived & driver demanded payment. Tried to call the broker. Disappeared into thin air. Asked a friend in the shipping business with a law degree. She told me I was screwed. Paid twice. Hope this is a cautionary tale “for what it’s worth.”
PS: That was enough money to buy a nice 1970 Datsun 510 Wagon.
I think I permanently damaged my right wrist from pushing my ’93 Sentra SE-R to the end of an uphill driveway so that a tow truck could pick it up.
I still have fond memories of that car even though it was probably the worst example in the country, if not the world.