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Cover of The Pleasure Principle by Gary Numan
Cover: The Pleasure Principle

Song · Gary Numan

“Cars” by Gary Numan

From the album The Pleasure Principle (1979)

“Cars” by Gary Numan appears on 66 radio countdowns from 25 stations between 1980 and 2025. It was first released in 1979 on the album The Pleasure Principle. Its best result is #11 on the KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #29 alternative song of 1980 and #139 alternative song of all time.

66countdowns
25stations
#11best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1980–2025years charted

Watch

Gary Numan - Cars HD

Video from YouTube (Beggars Banquet Records). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Cars" was Gary Numan's first solo single, released in 1979 and lifted from his debut studio album The Pleasure Principle, and it rolls in like the future on cold steel wheels: a thick, droning synthesizer riff, a bass line that never blinks, and Numan's flat, robotic voice sounding like a man safely sealed inside his own machine.

Numan produced it himself, sings lead and plays keyboards and percussion, with Chris Payne on keyboards, Paul Gardiner on bass and Cedric Sharpley pounding drums and tambourine. Rikki Sylvan and Harvey Webb engineered and mixed it for Beggars Banquet Records.

It went to number one in several countries and remains Numan's most successful single. "Complex" came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1980 29 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 298 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 265 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1989 96 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1991 397 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 305 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 278 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 213 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 417 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 47 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 170 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 109 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 281 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 65 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 11 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 100 Channel 104.9 Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) 104
1999 129 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 184 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 224 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 125 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 708 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 43 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 481 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 64 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 60 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 484 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 62 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 489 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 339 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 325 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 80 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 489 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 59 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 80 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 489 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 85 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 489 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 245 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 73 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 290 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 996 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 202 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 130 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 95 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 399 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 511 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 489 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 491 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 482 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 66 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 484 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 480 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 497 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2018 887 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2021 152 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 394 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 477 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2022 147 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 674 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 239 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 469 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 345 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2023 215 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 345 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 959 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 538 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800

Charting alongside it in 1980

Best songs of 1980 →
  1. 1And the Cradle Will RockVan Halen
  2. 2Another One Bites the DustQueen
  3. 3Whip ItDevo
  4. 4Don't Stand So Close to MeThe Police
  5. 5Once in a LifetimeTalking Heads
  6. 6You Shook Me All Night LongAC/DC

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