"First off, the song was inspired by a short story first published by Richard Foster in the Nov. 1973 issue of Road & Track; you can read the full story here. In short, it's a futuristic tale in which government regulations have conspired to make cars so safe that they could survive 50-mph head-on crashes with no damage to car or driver. A rebel who has use of an old MGB, however, regularly drives his little car out in the country but is often beset by drivers of "Modern Safety Vehicles" (MSVs) who like to ram old cars just for kicks. The story relates one harrowing adventure in which two MSVs coordinate their attack. The song itself (lyrics below) differs somewhat from the story. In the original, new cars seem to be normal in most ways--gasoline engine, wheels, etc.--just much safer, at least for the driver and passengers. In the song, the antagonists are "gleaming alloy air cars" which seems to imply some sort of anti-gravity technology. Also, in the story, driving an old car was perhaps a bad idea, but not illegal. The song suggests that driving personal cars or old cars is against the law ("before the Motor Law" and "I commit my weekly crime"). It's not clear just why our hero is being chased; because of the apparent illegality of the act, it always made me think that the pursuers were actually police cars rather than simple miscreants as in the story. The cars, as noted above, differ as well. In the story, the protagonist drives an MGB which is only 15 years old, but the car in the song is a Barchetta that has been kept and preserved "for 50-odd years"." - Paul Buchheit

I keep wondering about those "Motor laws", so I finally Googled it. - Paul Buchheit

Did you read the original story? It says a lot about an MG: "After carefully checking the fluid levels, tire pressures and ignition wires, Buzz slid behind the wheel and cranked the engine, which immediately fired to life." Only on a British car would you need to check the ignition wires before driving! And it's actually notable that the engine immediately started. - Gabe

And what's with that picture? The car is red, but it's definitely not a barchetta (it has a roof). - Gabe

According to classiccars.com a barchetta is: "an open top car dedicated to racing without doors or a top and with uniform and streamlined bodywork. It could have one or two separate seats." - Maggie