Laughing out loud With fear and hope, I've got a desperate plan
Way back in late 1992 I was driving a POS that spent more time in the shop then it did on the road. So what does one do in that situation? Well, they go buy themselves a new car. And this car wasn't just "new" to me. It was brand new. I was the first owner. It was something I had never experienced before and I was so proud of myself.
Full disclosure this particular vehicle was not my first choice but since I had to have a co-signer on the loan I didn't get my first choice. The co-signer was one of my step dads and my brother Shane's biological father. He lived in Columbus, Ohio and I was living with him when I met Larry. Hell for a while, Larry and I both lived with him until we found a place of our own.
Anyway while he was nice enough to co-sign on the loan he was not going to do so on a 1992 Samba Green Pearl Honda Del Sol. ( I still wish I had that car.) So I ended up with a 1992 Dodge Daytona or as Larry referred to it as soon as he saw it "our red Barchetta".
Back in the day cars still mostly came with cassette players and this one was no exception. Larry did have a cd player in his Ford Escort that we installed into the Daytona since we knew we would be in that car more than we would the Escort. It was all the rage in the early 90', to have a cd player in dash that you removed the faceplate when you were not in the car to deter thieves, but that meant you were now carrying a face plate with you everywhere.
Once we had the CD player installed we took the car out and started a tradition that we continued for years. We picked a song to commemorate the occasion and took a drive to play that "first" song. Big Shocker the song for this vehicle was our very own Red Barchetta by Rush.
I don't know where to begin with this one. It's honestly taking me a minute to start, which is unusual in general and especially for a Rush song that I love.
I guess I'll start with asking you to just read the lyrics because it's actually a short story that was inspired by another short story that was published in Road & Track magazine in November, 1973.
Based on the Broken entry I just did you know I'm a "car guy", so of course when I'm 18 years old and hear this song on QFM 96 it spoke to me, and speaks to me now.
But now it's a sadness as opposed to inspiration.
At the end of this post I've listed every vehicle you could buy with a manual transmission in 2024. Do you see a Honda Prelude? No - they don't make it anymore and I had a manual 1988 4 Wheel Steering and a manual 1993 Si VTEC. Do you see a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution? No - they don't make it anymore and I had a manual 2003 Tarmac Black EVO VIII and a 2003 Blue By You EVO VIII. Sure you see a Acura Integra (ewww - four door), but I had a 1994 Integra GSR TWO DOOR. Hell even the Ford Escort Shannon references was a manual - and she had to learn how to drive it! I think you get it - it's a melancholy sadness.
Anyone not in America reading this, as well as some Americans who don't really know me, will be surprised to learn that I only follow one sport - Formula One. I could care less about baseball, basketball, football, hockey, Indy Car, NASCAR, etc.
And what did F1 do? Went from V12 to V10 (the best IMO) to V8 to V6 Hybrid engines. God I miss the sound of those V10's. So another motoring melancholy sadness.
And modern times - electrification. Which I'm not opposed to, but whether it's by personal choice or federal regulations, this song is becoming more and more true by the day.
It's worth revisiting Life Is A Highway for candid SCCA shots in some of my cars.
In all fairness, the term Barchetta in the automotive industry is used for a two-seat car without any kind of roof. The proper Italian pronunciation is [barˈketta], with a /k/ rather than the /tʃ/ sung by Geddy. Neil Peart's favorite car was the 1948 Ferrari 166MM ″Barchetta″. So none of the cars I've owned and especially Shannon's Daytona qualifies as a true Red Barchetta.
But it was the car we got married in. It was the car we traveled to Kansas in during the summer of 1993 - which was my first trip to Kansas ever.
Red Barchetta Music by Lee and Lifeson / Lyrics by Peart Inspired by "A Nice Morning Drive", by Richard S. Foster
My uncle has a country place That no one knows about He says it used to be a farm, Before the Motor Law And on Sundays I elude the Eyes, And hop the Turbine Freight To far outside the Wire, Where my white-haired uncle waits
Jump to the ground As the Turbo slows to cross the Borderline Run like the wind, As excitement shivers up and down my spine Down in his barn, My uncle preserved for me an old machine, For fifty-odd years To keep it as new has been his dearest dream
I strip away the old debris That hides a shining car A brilliant red Barchetta From a better, vanished time I fire up the willing engine, Responding with a roar Tires spitting gravel, I commit my weekly crime..
Wind- In my hair- Shifting and drifting- Mechanical music Adrenalin surge-
Well-weathered leather, Hot metal and oil, The scented country air Sunlight on chrome, The blur of the landscape, Every nerve aware
Suddenly ahead of me, Across the mountainside, A gleaming alloy air-car Shoots towards me, two lanes wide I spin around with shrieking tires, To run the deadly race, Go screaming through the valley As another joins the chase
Drive like the wind, Straining the limits of machine and man Laughing out loud With fear and hope, I've got a desperate plan At the one-lane bridge I leave the giants stranded at the riverside Race back to the farm, to dream with my uncle at the fireside
Every Manual Transmission Car Available for 2024 2024 Acura Integra 2024 BMW M2 2024 BMW M3 and 2024 BMW M4 2025 BMW Z4 2024 Cadillac CT4 V-Series Blackwing Sedan 2024 Cadillac CT5 V-Series Blackwing Sedan 2024 Chevrolet Camaro 2024 Ford Bronco 2024 Ford Mustang 2024 Honda Civic 2024 Jeep Wrangler 2024 Kia Forte GT 2024 Lotus Emira 2024 Mazda 3 Hatchback 2024 Mazda Miata 2024 Mini Convertible and 2024 Mini Hardtop 2024 Nissan Versa 2024 Nissan Z 2024 Porsche 718 Boxster and 2024 Porsche 718 Cayman 2024 Porsche 911 2024 Subaru BRZ 2024 Subaru WRX 2024 Toyota GR86 2024 Toyota GR Corolla 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro 2024 Toyota GR Supra 2024 Volkswagen GTI and 2024 Volkswagen Golf R 2024 Volkswagen Jetta
Ghost of a Chance 