In later years, The Cars became most famous for Drive, a rather dull ballad that was twice a hit single in the UK….firstly in late 1984 and then again the following year when It was re-released after it had been aired during the Live Aid convert in London, when it was used as background music as a montage of newsreel clips, showing the extent and impact of the Ethiopian famine, was shown to the 80,000 attendees and the many millions watching on TV.
Credit has to be given to Ric Ocasek, the writer of the song, for handing over the monies made from the re-release, to the Live Aid charity.
Although written by Ocasek, the lead vocal on Drive was delivered by the band’s bassist, Benjamin Orr. It had been a similar story for the band’s debut single back in May 1978.
mp3: The Cars – Just What I Needed
It’s a great example of the sort of new wave/power pop sound that was very much coming to the fore at the time, one that was particularly going down a storm in the USA. It reached #27 on the Billboard Chart in mid-78, and paved the way for their self-titled debut album to go Top 20.
Slightly different story here in the UK. The first single over here was this:-
mp3: The Cars – My Best Friend’s Girl
This was one on which Ocasek took the lead with the vocals. It was released in November 1978, and made it all the way to #3, which proved to be the highest-ever chart placing for the band (Drive sold more, but never got higher than #4).
Just What I Needed was the second single in the UK, and proved to be a bit of a slow-burner, taking seven weeks in the charts to hit its peak of #17 in March 1979.
The Cars never really became a huge success over here. Despite having two hit singles, the debut album did no better than #29 – even the greatest hits package, issued cynically by the record label a few months after the Live Aid concert, just scraped the Top 30.
They weren’t always my cup of tea, but the early singles were great.
Benjamin Orr died in 2000 at the early age of 53, succumbing to pancreatic cancer. Ric Ocasek died in 2019 at the age of 75, from natural causes.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Didn’t know the Cars weren’t a big success in the UK. They were massive heroes at the front of the US new wave movement when it hit the air. Maybe they were too old? The first singles and albums were outstanding. My cover band still plays ‘Just What I Needed’ and everyone in the crowd knows all the words.
I actually bought this in my youthful innocence, but disposed of it when I realised the damage it would do to my gloomy Joy Division/avant garde hipster credentials. Such was life in 1979. It was a very catchy pop tune right enough but overall I don’t regret turfing it. Probably raised a small amount of funds that went towards some 2nd hand weirdo shit that I also subsequently shed
Wasn’t “My Best Friend’s Girl” a big hit in the UK due to, in part at least, being the first ever picture disc?
In America The Cars were the first “New Wave” band to hit platinum. Ahead of The Police. I had the first three albums at forst, but got rid of them because they just weren’t as good as OMD or Simple Minds! I went to see them live on their last tour before disbanding; but that was because Icehouse were opening! We blew off The Cars. Fast forward 40 years later and I have the DLX RM CDs of the first three albums. My loved one enjoys the first album in particular. I’m a “Candy-O” man myself. If only for the astonishing Suicide pastiche of “Shoo-Be-Doo” with its breakneck hard edit into the title track being nirvana to me. But you may be wrong about “Drive.” A song with the same ethereal vibe of another great pop song: 10cc’s “I’m Not In Love,” where I swear they had a Fairlight CMI a decade early!