Aston Martin Vantage S F1 safety car (Photo courtesy of Aston Martin)
Aston Martin Vantage S F1 safety car (Photo courtesy of Aston Martin)
Last week’s format for Car Connections was so fun that I’m using it again. I picked a trio of songs from the list of US Top 40 singles for the week ending September 25, 1976, which I’ll somehow link to cars. Those songs are “Summer” by War (#7). “Rock’n Me” by The Steve Miller Band (#21), and “Fernando” by Abba (#40). You’ll see how I connect those songs to Nissan, Chevrolet, and Aston Martin, but how would you associate them with cars? Tell us in the Comments section below. (And click here for more Car Games!)
Photo courtesy of the Nissan USA Newsroom
“Summer”: Top-down cruising in a convertible. The song “Summer Nights” by Rascal Flatts. Buttes. Arizona. Desert. The Nissan Frontier Desert Runner, the basis for the Frontier Diesel Runner Powered by Cummins project truck displayed at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show.
Photo courtesy of the Nissan USA Newsroom
Equipped with a Cummins 2.8-liter 4-cylinder diesel with almost 200 horsepower and more than 350 lb-ft of torque, the Diesel Runner was designed to see if the market was interested in a diesel Frontier. According to Nissan, “The Frontier Diesel Runner Powered by Cummins arrives a mere six months after the announcement of a partnership with Cummins Inc. to provide a 5.0-liter turbo diesel V-8 in the next-generation Titan full-size pickup, which will arrive in calendar-year 2015.” Did buyers in the truck market want the Cummins-powered Titan XD? Not for long — Nissan offered that variant of the “heavy half-ton” only through the 2019 model year.
Click to learn more about this 1998 Chevrolet C/K 1500 for sale on ClassicCars.com
“Rock’n Me”: This makes me think of another song: “Like a Rock” from Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, which was used to promote Chevrolet trucks and SUVs back in the 1990s and 2000s. Indulge in nostalgia by watching the video below.
Photo courtesy of Aston Martin
“Fernando”: Fernando Alonso, the two-time F1 racing champion who currently drives for Aston Martin. Last year, the Aston Martin Vantage S became an official Formula 1 safety car, making its debut at the Heineken Dutch Grand Prix in the Netherlands. In addition to its roof-mounted light bar, the Podium Green Vantage S was equipped with a prominent rear wing and heat extractors on the hood to keep the 670-horsepower twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 cool. If there was an emergency on the track, the Vantage S could get closer to it by zooming to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds.
Does today’s round of Car Connections make you want to add a Nissan, Chevrolet, or Aston Martin to your garage? Find one on ClassicCars.com.