🎶 New Top Car Songs Upgrade
...And let us not forget the 2025 Dodge Chargers All-electric Muscle Car
Favorite car songs update
Q: Greg, I enjoyed your column on old car songs from the 1960s. Could you please re-run them as I still don’t have a computer and really enjoyed that column? Phil S., a retired no-computer nerd from near Lancaster, Pa. who still loves newspapers.
A: Phil I’d be glad to, and I’ve updated the list with a new song and some Hot 100 Billboard results. As you surely remember, car and hot rod enthusiasts grew up with their own brand of music back in the “oldies but goodies” days. Several car songs hit the Top-10 charts, so let's once again go back in time as I have reassembled my all-time Top-10 1960-decade car song favorites. Dropped from my Top 10 was “Tell Laura I Love Her” by Ray Petersen in 1960. (Too corny).
1. "Don't Worry Baby," The Beach Boys, 1964
Still number one here in 2024, although many still ask “Is this a car song?” Yes, it is. If you listen closely, you'll find the reason for all the "worry" is the guy in the song "bragging up his car" once too often. His friends challenge him to a drag race, and now he's got to back up his words. His girl tells him "Don't worry baby, everything will turn out all right." Listen to the words and you hear it's all about a drag race, and the best melody of the bunch. Notable is this hit was another B-side hit, as the A-side “I Get Around.” This song charted up to 24 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
2. "Little Old Lady from Pasadena," Jan and Dean, 1964
There wasn’t a real "Little Old Lady" from Pasadena,” but this song with granny and her bright red Super Stock Dodge is a close second on my list. Released on the Drag City album, it's one of the absolute best, offering a great beat and lasting rhythm. Go granny, go granny, go granny go! Charted all the way up to number three on the Hot 100.
3 "Shut Down,The Beach Boys, 1963
"It happened on the strip where the road is wide," preludes a great contest between a factory Super Stock 413 Dodge Ramcharger and a fuel-injected Corvette. The Vette finally overtakes the Dodge at the finish, but in real life, I'd put my money on the 413. This is a great song for those who love drag races and the high-performance street scene. Another B-side hit to “Surfin’ Safari” it peaked at number 23 on the Hot 100.
4. "Little Deuce Coupe," The Beach Boys, 1963
The single and the titled album put the Beach Boys on top with the car lovers. The Deuce Coupe "purred like a kitten until her lake pipes roared...and got rubber in all four gears." This song might be number one for many other car song fans, and if you own the original album, it's worth a few dollars. Another B-side to “Surfer Girl,” the “Deuce” peaked at number 15 on the Hot 100 charts.
5. "Fun, Fun, Fun," The Beach Boys, 1964
"She got her daddy's car and she cruised to the hamburger stand, now." Seems "the library" was just a front to get the keys, and this little miss had a fun time with daddy's T-Bird until dad got wise. Enter the song's hero, who gets the “car-less” girl and they continue having fun cruising around in his ride. Charted up to number five on the Hot 100.
6. "Dead Man's Curve," Jan and Dean, 1964
Another hit from this talented duo, things went bad when a Jaguar XKE hits the curb entering dead man’s curve." This all happens in a race against a Corvette and as the vernacular goes, "you won't come back from Dead Man's Curve." It zoomed to number eight on the Top 100 chart and for those interested, the real dead man’s curve is along North Whittier Drive near LA.
7. “A Young Man is Gone,” The Beach Boys, 1963
New to the list, this no music, acapella song is a tribute to James Dean’s fatal highway car crash in 1955 in his factory race ready Porsche. With Brian Wilson’s lyrics (along with Bobby Troup) combined with harmonies The Beach Boys are known for, it established this cherished, mainly forgotten song, as a cult classic. The melody is set to the Four Freshmen’s “Their hearts were full of spring” and a song Brian Wilson loves to this day. It first appeared on the Little Deuce Coupe album. Never released as a single thus no chart info.
8. "409," The Beach Boys, 1962
When released, Beach Boys genius writer Brian Wilson was disappointed that "She's real fine my 409" didn't do better, even though it was a B-side hit. However, they ended up with a double-sided success when A-side "Surfin' USA" took off and eventually made the Top 10 list at number three. As for the "409," it was by far the most influential relating to actual car sales back then, hands down and charted only up to 76 on the Hot 100 list.
9. "Little GTO," Ronnie and the Daytonas, 1964
The only big hit from this group, "Little GTO" couldn't have been timed any better. With "three deuces and a four-speed, and a 389," she really "whined." This song zoomed to number 4 on the Hot 100 in September of 1964 while debuting in July at number 89. Many a GTO was sold thanks to Ronnie and the Daytonas.
10. "Beep Beep," The Playmates, 1964
My personal fun song favorite, a little Nash Rambler plays havoc with a big Cadillac, which it not only outruns; it does so in second gear! "Beep Beep" is a classic B-sided hit that charted for 15 weeks peaking at number four and a million seller it was. One of the best loved novelty songs thanks to an "in your face" attitude toward the "Caddy" owner. The song's beat escalates as the action increases. Just like “409” and “Little GTO” did for car sales, “Beep Beep” helped Rambler sell more cars, too, and zoomed to an impressive number 4 on the Hot 100 chart.
Honorable mentions from the 1960 decade go to “Drag City” by Jan & Dean, "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody, "Last Kiss" by Frankie Wilson, "Pink Cadillac" by Aretha Franklin, "Maybelline" and "No Particular Place to Go" by Chuck Berry. Also, a pat on the back to the late Dick Dale, the noted West Coast, left-handed guitarist who started the whole surf and car song craze.
New 2025 Dodge Sixpack?
Q: Greg, what’s with Dodge and the new 2025 Charger? Larry M., Endicott, N.Y.
A: The new 2025 Dodge Charger will be available either as an all-electric muscle car or an internal combustion version (ICE) for those who are not yet sold on all-electric theories. Notable is the new Charger will be available in two-door or four-door designs.
Contrary to the initial plans of an all-electric Charger, this 2025 effort will feature gas-powered design known as a Charger Sixpack, the latter bringing back memories of the 19691/2 440-V8 Dodge Super Bees and Plymouth Road Runners with the 3x2 carb setup. However, with carburetors long gone these modern Chargers will arrive equipped with two versions of Dodge’s Hurricane twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 cylinder. AWD is standard on all Sixpacks.
These engines will produce either 420 horsepower (standard output) or a robust 550 horsepower (high output). While the standard output matches the power of its SUV and truck cousins, the high-output version surpasses the old Scat Pack’s 6.4-liter V-8 but nowhere near the supercharged 797 horse Hellcats.
The all-electric version, known as the Charger Daytona EV, will launch later in 2025 and plans already include an 808-horsepower, 800-volt Charger Banshee on the drawing board.
So, the plans for this new Dodge Charger combines the best of both worlds—raw power from the ICE Sixpack and cutting-edge all-electric performance with the Daytona. Whether you crave the roar of a combustion engine or the murmur of electrons, the new Chargers will satisfy your need for speed.
(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader input on collector cars, auto nostalgia or motorsports at greg@gregzyla.com or at Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840)
