Magical realism, indie rock and the automobile

I've noticed that car commercials on televison seem to increasingly use magical realism as a trope. The ad for the Nissan Versa features the vehicle magically bouncing over traffic. The theme to that commercial is "Quality of Armor" by mystical indie rockers Guided By Voices.

Oh yeah going to drive my car
Oh yeah going to go real far
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
Beyond the power of your clout

The rather stolid characteristics of personal vehicle as personal armor have featured in both the design and marketing of north american cars in the last few years.

the worst offense is intelligence
the best defense is belligerance

"Quality of armor" satirises these attitudes so it seems appropriate that it is helping introduce smaller and more sociable vehicles. But marketing these vehicles still seems to offer freedom and control.

Oh yeah going to drive my car
Oh yeah going to go real far
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
Beyond the power of your clout
Beyond the secrets of this world
beyond the Montezuma Halls

Still I like the crunchy rhythm of the song. And hope I can convince the wife to ditch the car.

"Quality of Armor" written by R.Pollard. from the album "Propellor"1992 http://www.gbv.com/music.html downloaded April 6, 2008