Gary Numan - Cars - Lyrics Meaning

In 2008, Gary Numan told Mojo magazine about the original inspiration for his 1979 hit.

"A couple of blokes started peering in the window and for whatever reason took a dislike to me, so I had to take evasive action. I swerved up the pavement, scattering pedestrians everywhere. After that, I began to see the car as the tank of modern society."

The lyrics suggest Numan sees the car as a place to hide away from the world at large with lines such as, `Here in my car, I feel safest of all, I can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live...'

Numan is considered to be one of the founding fathers of synth pop and had a string of hits in the UK in the late 70s and early 80s but this track, seen as a defining new wave single, was the only hit Numan had in America.

It seems ironic that although the lyrics cite the car as perhaps partially responsible for the breakdown of society with the lines, `Here in my car, I can only receive, I can listen to you, it keeps me stable for days...' both Nissan and Oldsmobile car manufacturers have used the track in their commercials.