Honda is releasing a road trip playlist — dubbed 50 Years of Civic magic — to celebrate the Honda Civic’s 50th anniversary and the launch of the nameplate’s latest iteration, the Civic e:HEV. The Japanese automotive brand teamed up with Magic Radio’s "The Home Run" presenter Simon Philips to compile the ultimate driving playlist featuring a track from every year since the original Civic launched in 1972.
“I think first and foremost, a perfect driving track makes you, the car, and the road one. It makes the traffic go away and complements the driving experience, when that song plays, it draws you in, and for that moment, it's the ultimate connection between you, your car, and music,” said Philips, who also celebrated his own 50th birthday this month.
“Driving for me is one of the most personal spaces, and the driving environment can really influence our mood. A great driving song helps to mentally prepare you for the journey ahead, and to savor a moment,” Philips added.
The 50 Years of Civic magic road trip playlist covers everything from hits of the decades past such as Alice Cooper’s rousing anthem “School’s Out” to this year’s number one hit “Starlight” by Dave. The track was curated after they conducted a survey of some 2,000 UK motorists about their attitudes to in-car entertainment.
“Since we launched the Honda Civic, the analog radios and tape decks may have evolved into touchscreens, but the principle remains the same. There are few better pairings than a road trip with a brilliant playlist,” said Honda UK Head of Automobile Rebecca Adamson.
A quarter of the respondents of the aforementioned survey said that they already have their own playlist and almost half of them (48 percent) said that they “experience a lift in mood when they listen to music in the car.” Furthermore, four out of 10 respondents said they “feel more relaxed at the wheel when listening to music.”
In addition, around 24 percent of the respondents said “they feel more focused with music on in the car” while about 22 percent of the survey participants said “they found music made them feel more energy at the wheel.”
Apparently, the power of music and tailoring your soundtrack when you drive can be explained by science.
“Research shows that being able to listen to favorite artists, and being able to listen to music in general, may increase the perception of situational control and in turn extend music’s effect on stress reduction,” said Goldsmiths University Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr. Diana Omigie.
“Previous studies into how individually selected music can induce and maintain positive moods during a simulated driving experiment have produced interesting results. Subjective mood ratings have shown that music can successfully maintain a positive mood in high traffic density and during the negotiation of narrow lanes,” said Dr. Omigie.
Here are the songs included in Honda’s 50 Years of Civic magic as compiled by Magic Home Run presenter Simon Philips:
Honda’s 50 years of magic playlist is available to listen to on Spotify.
Photos from Honda
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