The dawn of the eighties saw the last of Joan Claybrook heading up the NHTSA and her insipid 85-mph speedometer mandate adding insult to injury with the near death by boredom experience that was the national 55-mph speed limit. Those were trying times. Of course as the nation shook off the last vestiges of the humdrum seventies cars did become better, quicker, and a heck of a lot more fun to drive. Witness the U.S. birth of the GTI, the Aero Thunderbird, third-gen Camaro/Firebird twins, and the rebirth of the Mustang GT which to this day offers an unparalleled kick in the pants to dollar ratio.
And along with performance returning to cars and trucks like a formerly amnesiac lover, rock and roll brought forth tunes to celebrate its restoration. For some, the seventies was all disco and the eighties a vast wasteland of new wave and synth-pop. But truth be told, there were tons of not only straight forward rock to be had in the MTV era, but a lot of tunes that would engender right pedal enthusiasm and open window fist pumps.
This was the age of Sammy Hagar’s famous ode to social disobedience- I Can’t Drive 55, as well as a slew of ZZ Top songs that just seem so right when played on a car stereo. Looking back on this automotive epoch, what do you think was the awesomest driving song to come out of the eighties?
Image source: RetroRides
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