There is nothing quite as thrilling as pressing the accelerator in whatever car you drive, and heading up the on ramp to the freeway, particularly if the car stereo plays the right music.
Back when I had my old 1970 Mustang we called it the “Jump to Lightspeed”, borrowing a term from Star Wars. The Ford had a 351 cubic inch, 240 horsepower Cleveland engine under the hood that transmitted massive thrust down the drive shaft to the rear wheels on a freeway on ramp. So engaged, it threw the driver back into his seat.
I recall one rainy day in about 1977 when the opening theme to Star Wars was set to rapid replay on the AM station, KJR Seattle, came on just as my sister and I were turning on to I-5 northbound at the county line. We spun out, but I corrected and we lived.
Why would anyone give this up for a self driving car?
And so it was this past week when I ramped up to I-5 on the way to work I had one of those great moments in the Lincoln Aviator we bought last winter.
How often is it that somehow the car stereo plays a piece of music that seems to fit the moment? It was an ordinary day, a bit cloudy so I opted for some of Richard Wagners greatest hits; selections from the Ring cycle.
And as I turned onto the ramp Ride of the Valkyries begins to play.
Suddenly I am not an aging lawyer heading for the office. Instead, I am with Robert Duvall in a Huey helicopter in a scene from Apocalypse Now (1979) charging over the water with the Air Cavalry to attack a North Vietnamese strong point during the American war there. Check it out, a gift from Bing Videos:
Perhaps it is best the Aviator did not come equipped with any kind of weaponry, but candidly, this scene from Apocalypse Now posted here is not all that different than an ordinary day on Interstate 5 in the year 2026.
Winged avenging Valkyrie, and man on his way to work in an Aviator on Interstate 5. It’s like opera. It’s like Gotterdamerung, the Twilight of the Gods.
Lawyers Road Review 