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12 Bonehead Basics of Car Maintenance
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You know, That Guy who thinks that the best way to keep a car from overheating is to roll down the window. That Guy who hires the neighborhood kid to wash his car 'cause he’s allergic to “going outside and doing things.” There are lots of ways to be That Guy, but only one way not

to be: by regaining your self-sufficiency and learning the basics about car care. Using STP® is a good first step. And while we can’t do the rest for you, we'll give you a few pointers. Check out the tutorials. Take a look at the videos. And get under your hood. Good luck, and Don't Be That Guy.

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  • Nov
    18
    7 Comments

    TOP 5 DRIVING SONGS

    Posted in: Who's That Guy?, This Guy Wisdom, Car Culture
    Shaq Diesel
    Rock on the road

    Hola chief. Next week, millions of Americans will climb in their cars and make the annual Thanksgiving trek to Grandma’s house where they’ll gorge themselves on turkey and pumpkin pie until they lapse into pre-diabetic, tryptophan-induced comas. But no road trip – holiday or otherwise – is complete without the proper rockin’ soundtrack. In honor of my Nana and her amazing sweet potato casserole, I give you the top five driving songs ever recorded:

    Born to Be Wild: Get your motor runnin’ / Head out on the highway / Lookin’ for adventure, whatever comes my way. Steppenwolf wrote this rock classic back in 1968 and it sounds just as vibrant today, even without the psychedelic substances of the era. Perhaps the ultimate driving song.

    Highway to Hell: This TV show starring Michael Landon as an earthbound angel who commits good deeds each week… Oh wait, that’s Highway to Heaven. My bad. Highway to Hell is the 1979 AC/DC classic created by a trollish guitar-wailing manchild dressed in a ridiculous prep school outfit. An essential for any road trip playlist.

    Born to Run: Richard Petty may be the King, but Springsteen is the Boss. Who else could write the epic opening line In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American Dream? Perhaps the greatest rock song ever written, with the most rousing chorus ever recorded. If this tune doesn’t make you feel something, chances are you’re already dead.

    Life is a Highway: This Tom Cochran pop masterpiece from 1991 (not the tepid Rascal Flats version from last year) was the lead song on my post-college cross-country road trip playlist. Its driving rhythm and infectious chorus still makes me want to wander America’s interstates in search of adventure and mayhem. Because life really is a highway, and I do want to ride it all night long. Well maybe not all night (I have to be up early in the morning), but you get the idea.

    I Can’t Drive 55:  What I’m about to say will be blasphemous to most Van Halen-loving hard rock fans, but I’ll take Sammy Hagar over David Lee Roth any day. Yeah, I said it. Sure Roth was “Running with the Devil,” but Hagar gave us “Cabo Wabo,” “Poundcake,” and “Best of Both Worlds.” And before the Red Rocker joined Van Halen, he gave us this classic tune about a guy who was physically unable to drive the speed limit. And whether you’re a button-up tax attorney or a gnarly Harley biker dude, Sammy’s lyrics make you feel like a rebel: Go on and write me up for 125 / Post my face, wanted dead or alive / Take my license n’ all that jive / ‘cause I can’t drive 55!  (A note from our lawyers: Please obey the posted speed limits).

    So crank these up loud, and enjoy your Thanksgiving road trip to grandma’s house.  Until next time: Travel safe, live smart, and get your hands dirty.

    —RC, STP® blogger

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  • Nathan
    11.18.10

    No Red Barchetta?  No list.

  • sarah
    11.18.10

    Life is a highway? you must not have a toddler son…..that song was worn out the 10,000 my son watched “cars”....lol

  • AO, STP® blogger
    11.18.10

    I’m not going to say that a list of driving songs that doesn’t include, say, “Mrs. Robinson” is completely broken. You have to be in kind of a mood for that one. Ditto “Take it Easy” and, heck, maybe it’s just that you don’t like Foghat, not that you forgot “Slow Ride” existed. And maybe I can even forgive choosing “Born to be Wild” over “Magic Carpet Ride.” Less forgivable is the complete and total omission of any Bon Jovi, but I understand—you were pressed for space. Personally I am partial to some Doobie Brothers, or even the Strokes’ “Reptilia.”

    That’s a matter of personal opinion and taste. A driving song does not have to be on the harder side of rock. There is something uniquely pleasurable about whipping through the curves of a mountain road in Colorado in the fall, with the fallen aspen leaves swirling in the slipstream of a turbocharged sports car with the top down and Michael Nyman’s “Chasing Sheep is Best Left to Shepherd’s” playing on the radio—it lends a particular class to the whole event. All a good driving song needs to do is provide you ample opportunity to dramatically shift gears (since good driving requires a manual transmission). And you have done that. Somewhat.

    But no “Radar Love”? No “Don’t Stop Me Now,” the song that Top Gear voted the best driving song of all time? The song that Cadbury picked as the soundtrack to their commercial with the trucks? The song that explicitly informs us, the listeners, that Freddie Mercury is in fact a racing car? Did you just not know that Freddie Mercury was a racing car? Or are we witnessing the cracking veneer of your very humanity? Are you, in fact, a robot, RC, STP® blogger?

    Good sir, I’m afraid I must now challenge you to a duel. You’ve left me no choice.

  • AcidJed
    11.19.10

    feet are gross

  • holly michelle poole
    12.05.10

    fist off ac/dc kicks butt ,second my husband is such a gearhead he watched cars ,over and over again our son ,really could care less.

  • Chiming in Late
    08.15.11

    You need to Re-Write this as this is the best road trip song EVER:

    Tom Petty - Running Down a Dream

    It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down
    I had the radio on, I was driving
    Trees flew by, me and Del were singing
    Little Runaway, I was flying

    CHORUS
    Yeah running down a dream
    That never would come to me
    Working on a mystery
    Going wherever it leads
    Running down a dream

    I felt so good, like anything was possible
    I hit cruise control, and rubbed my eyes
    The last three days, the rain was unstoppable
    It was always cold, no sunshine

    CHORUS
    Yeah running down a dream
    That never would come to me
    Working on a mystery
    Going wherever it leads
    Running down a dream

    I rolled on, as the sky grew dark
    I put the pedal down, to make some time
    There’s something good, waiting down this road
    I’m picking up, whatever is mine

    CHORUS
    Yeah running down a dream
    That never would come to me
    Working on a mystery
    Going wherever it leads
    Running down a dream

  • Petwofan
    12.09.11

    Awesome choices!  I would add Radar Love by Golden Earring!

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