Synopsis

The Cars perform "Touch and Go" inside an unusually deserted amusement park, turning the rides into an offbeat stage. The band members play their instruments while positioned around the carousel and other attractions, with the machinery and empty surroundings supplying most of the visual movement. Rather than building a narrative, the video emphasizes the contrast between the song's polished, restrained sound and the playful, slightly surreal setting, giving the performance a dry sense of humor characteristic of the band's early visual style.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Touch and Go" was filmed at Whalom Park in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. The carousel and other park rides are prominently used as performance locations.

• "Touch and Go" and "Panorama" were the Cars' first music videos. Both were made in 1980, before MTV began broadcasting in the United States in August 1981.

• The Cars were interested in the unusual, humorous video work associated with Devo, which helped lead them toward this more conceptual approach instead of a conventional stage performance.

• The song was the lead single from the 1980 album "Panorama" and reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the album's highest-charting US single.

• In his final radio interview, recorded on December 8, 1980, John Lennon singled out "Touch and Go" as an example of 1950s-inspired songwriting presented with an 1980s sound.