No. 642 – Way the Wind Blows

Performer: Rush

Songwriters: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart

Original Release: Snakes & Arrows

Year: 2006

Definitive Version: Snakes & Arrows Live, 2008

My job has given me the chance to do some cool things in the name of learning more about various product categories, and on the editorial calendar for November/December 2007 was a project on tires that I would oversee.

In the early fall, I received notice that Goodyear was holding a tire seminar meant for area salespeople. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to get a bit smarter about new tire technology that might prove useful to the readers. I called the p.r. rep (flack in newspaperese) and asked whether media were allowed to attend, and she said yes.

The tire seminar was to be held in the parking lot at Your Bank Here amphitheater at Tinley Park, which meant I would be out of the office most of the day. But the only other time I had been there was to see Rush on the Snakes & Arrows tour that summer (when they did, in fact, play this song).

The reason the event was held there leads to the coolest part: We would get to drive on the tires that Goodyear was promoting that day, almost like a road rally. Goodyear was gearing its seminar to instructing salesmen about the braking capabilities of its tires, so it set up two driving courses that featured a lot of quick turns and heavy braking, even on wet pavement.

And did I mention that one of the tires was Goodyear’s high-performance Eagle? No? Well, if you’re going to drive on a high-performance tire, you need a high-performance car, right? Goodyear procured four BMW Z-4s, and each of us would be able to take three trips around a course where we’d weave around cones, take sharp turns under acceleration and slam the brakes to come to a screeching halt. And we would get to drive—at speeds of up to 50 mph, no less—unsupervised after the first trip through.

I’m not a crazy driver. I drive about 10 mph faster than the limit on the freeway and go the flow of traffic in the city and never anything excessive. So this was a bit intimidating, and the first time through I was pretty conservative as the Goodyear driving expert gave me a few tips about accelerating and braking at speed. I had no trouble handling the car, so I pushed it the second time. By the third time through, I jumped in the car and floored it. The adrenaline was flowing.

During the actual seminar, I took some notes to recall at the appropriate time later, so it was a useful event from a practical standpoint. But the day was far more about having fun, as far as I was concerned. (And I have an inflatable Goodyear blimp now hanging form the ceiling in my office.)

And when we all left, you could see the previous activities had had an effect: Everyone jumped in his car and barreled out of the parking lot as though he still was piloting a Z-4. If the Tinley Park cops had had any inkling of this event, they would’ve been smart to set up a couple of cruisers just outside the gates. They would have made a mint that day.