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K.S. Wangwriters

Quick stats: Sammy Hagar rock star/entrepreneur
Daily driver: 2003 BMW Alpina (Sammy's rating on all his cars: 10 on a scale of 1 to 10)
Other cars: 15 cars includes Jaguar, Ferrari, Fords (see below)
Favorite road trip: Highway 1
Car he learned to drive in: 1962 Chevrolet Impala
First car bought: 1951 Chevy Deluxe

Mention the name Sammy Hagar [www.redrocker.com] and people might think former frontman of Van Halen, or they'd like to do shots with him at his Cantina, with his Cabo Wabo tequila, of course. But many people hear his name and say four words: "I Can't Drive 55."

While his signature song may be true, these days Hagar can't drive his 15 cars enough. "I rotate them, I have a warehouse that all of them are in, and I can keep four at my house," Hagar said, of his Marin County home. "I really do, I rotate cars constantly."

Music is where he made it big, but Hagar's most famous song tells where his other passion lies. When he gets on the phone to discuss his cars, he asks if the phone connection is alright, then laughs, "I can't afford expensive equipment; I spend all my money on cars."

He's not kidding. As the Red Rocker begins to list them off the top of his head, it takes a while to get through the list of 15 cars which he rates "all 10s" on a scale of 1 to 10. "I don't have any cars I wouldn't rate as being a great special car."

The ride he drives the most is his 2003 BMW Alpina. "Yesterday I drove an Alpina Z8. It's a black-on-red convertible. Awesome car. I drove it over to the warehouse to do an interview and ended up driving my '74 XKE convertible back."

Hagar's No. 444 Alpina was the last year BMW made the sleek roadster. "They made them for only three years and why they stopped I don't know, it's one of the greatest cars I own and I've had all kinds of cars," Hagar says.

"It handles so well, it's so beautiful, it's kind of retro, it's kind of a cross between an XKE and a 427 Cobra. It's kind of bubbly like that and it's powerful and goes around corners. It's comfortable, sounds great, gorgeous, and it's fast, geez, need I go on?," Hagar pauses as he catches his breath. "It's an automatic, but it has the paddle shift. It's really fun to drive because it's easy, you can put it in automatic mode, you can do whatever you want with it, and it's smooth. It's not like my Aston Martin Vanquish S, which is clunky as hell - it's difficult to drive in traffic or in hills or in cities."

Zipping up the hills around the Bay Area, Hagar uses the Steptronic often, "makes it easier," he explains. "Nobody wants a difficult drive, it takes the fun out of it."

Sammy's car collection
Hagar is almost poetic in describing each of his cars. He owns one of the last Aston Martin Vanquish S's and says, "It's way too pretty and too elegant to be as mean as it is; and most mean cars should be rough and tough. But it's really elegant and classy and mean. For only a two-seater, you feel like you're in a four-seater."

The 1974 Jaguar XKE was also one of the last ones made and Hagar adds, "Sometimes they're the best ones because, like some of the early XKEs really heated up bad. They fixed this one little hose thing that made all the difference in the world."

He also has a 2005 Ford GT, one of the first 10 made. "They used to be called GT40s, but that's because they were 40 inches off the ground and this is 41.5 inches off the ground, so they'd have to call it a GT41 and a half," he laughs. "Another amazing car that's very, very underrated."

He continues to praise the GT. "Ford made them and then stopped because they didn't go over that well. But it's the fastest car I own. You know stock cars, from the factory? Fastest factory car I've ever driven. It just happens so fast. I've never been in a car that goes from 0 to 170 in about 14 seconds," Hagar laughs. "It's unbelievable. It's a little overpowered because when you go around corners, you can lose the car. It handles fantastic, but if you're a heavy-footed racecar kind of guy, you'll wear the rear tires off, because it just burns rubber."

There is also a matching 2007 Shelby, both are white with blue stripes. The Shelby was also one of the first 10 made. "I've ended up with late-model old cars - the last ones made of my older cars, but my newer cars are the first because I'm excited. I go, 'I want one. '"

As for the Italian side of Hagar's family of cars -- he has a 1983 Ferrari 512 Boxer, which may be familiar to fans of the 1984 hit "I Can't Drive 55" and video. "That's the 'I Can't Drive 55' car, if you've seen the video. It was my big hit that year and I still have that car."

While Hagar bought his "awesome" ride new from the factory, it's since racked up 56,000 miles. "The seats wore out from my getting in and out of it. If Enzo Ferrari saw that car, he'd look at that seat and say, 'My friend, that's what the Ferrari is made for,'" Hagar says with a faux Italian accent. "I would never have it completely redone. I'd leave that seat with the holes in it because it's cool. The rubber on the pedals - on the brake -- kind of wore out. It's great. I love it."

Hagar has what he calls his "matching" 1984 Ferrari 400i, which he also bought new at the time. It's black with a red interior, while the Boxer is black with beige interior. "I'd rather have a four-seat Ferrari than a four-seater Mercedes, if you need a back seat for your kids," Hagar says. "I have a 456 GT and those are four-seaters and they're awesome. So when I've got the kids and the wife in the car, we have air conditioning, CD player, and a 170-mile-an-hour car. What more do you want?"

That would be his "gorgeous" 1997 Ferrari 456 GT. Then there's a 1970 Chevy El Camino 454 and a replica of a 1967 Mustang by Gateway Classic Mustang. The Mustang has RRS brake, steering, and suspension, a small-block 427 Roush engine with 640 hp and a Keisler five-speed manual tranny.

"It's fast and crazy, but it's almost impossible to drive because it really can't handle that kind of power - the rear wheels - unless I tubbed it to get wide enough tires. I didn't want to do that. It's practically impossible to ever step on the gas an even in third gear," Hagar laughs. "It's red and black. It's awesome and it's pure meanness. There's nothing beautiful about it. It's evil."

The rest of Hagar's cars he says are "no big deal" -- like a brand-new 2007 Mustang convertible he keeps at his home in Cabo San Lucas where his Cantina is (the other Cantina is at Lake Tahoe). There, he's also got a Chevy Suburban.

Hagar has a couple other SUVs: a 2007 Explorer at his home in Hawaii and a brand-new Mercedes GL550. "It's not really my car, I hate to say it - but I do drive it once in a while when the whole family needs to go somewhere," he says of the Mercedes. "My wife drives it. She's also got a 550CLS. Those are her matching little cars. But I drive them. Like I said, they're all 10s. Those are really nice cars, but I'm not a Mercedes guy."

Hagar is trying to figure out if he forgot a car. "I swear, it's crazy, I'm trying to count the cars in my head," he laughs. But then he remembers a supercar that's this year's birthday gift - a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the fastest V-12 they've ever built.

"Just ordered it new from the factory," Hagar says proudly. "It gets delivered in October on my birthday, and I put a plaque in there - 'This car's made for Sammy Hagar on 10/13. '"

The coveted supercar is black with a big red stripe down the hood and trunk, with a red interior; and Hagar already has plans for it. "It will be on the cover of Ferrari magazines because I'm going to take it around and do promotions with it at Ferrari meets. I'm smart, I'm using my celebrity thing to get in so I can get on a track with my car anywhere I want and drive the hell out of it," Hagar says. "So they'll let me come to all the meets and be the pace car at Ferrari events and all this stuff. I weasled my way in."

Speaking of the track, ever have the urge to practice heel and toe? "Yeah, that's Bob Bondurant-style trail-braking and I use that phrase in my song 'I Can't Drive 55' - 'Opening eyes and one foot on the brakes and one on the gas,'" Hagar laughs. "If I'm in a situation where I know the road pretty well and there's nobody around, I get it on a little bit, sure. Wouldn't you? I practice all the time, every chance I get. Honestly, knock on wood, I've never been in a wreck. That's something to say for a guy my age who's driven as much as I have."

Hagar also took a four-day Bondurant course at Infineon Raceway and rode shotgun with him. "He took me around, and you want to talk about one foot on the brake and one on the gas. The way he trail-braked, it was the scariest experience I've ever had. There's no carnival ride on the planet that compares with going around the track in a Cobra with Bob Bondurant. Oh, Lord have mercy, I thought I was going to die at least five times. I said, 'Say your prayers, Sammy. '"

Backstory of "I Can't Drive 55"
Hagar rerecorded the song to "I Can't Drive 65" in 2001 for NASCAR's "Full Throttle" album. "I wish I wouldn't have changed the words on that because it's really about - I can't drive 55," Hagar chuckles. The song has been licensed for more races and more TV shows than any song he's ever written.

Most people hate getting speeding tickets, but in Hagar's case, who'd have thought it would paid him back in dividends?

"I was vacationing in Africa in 1983, and I came back through London to New York and I had a place in Lake Placid," he says. "If you can imagine going from Nairobi to London, changing planes to New York, New York, to Albany, and then get in a rent-a-car and drive two and a half hours to Lake Placid - this was 24 hours of travel. I was burnt. I was in a cranky mood and at two o'clock in the morning, I got pulled over for going 62 miles an hour on a four-lane road. I said, 'Ah, man, come on, you've got to be kidding. '"

They speed limit had just changed from 65 mph to 55 mph. "I said to the person I was with," Hagar whispers, "'I can't drive 55, I just can't.' I started laughing and the cop was writing the ticket, and I was writing the lyrics. I took a pencil and paper, God's truth, and it was verbatim. I said, 'I don't care, you could write me up for 125, post my face, I can't drive 55.' They'd just changed the law everywhere and I had a hard enough time at 65 or 70. So I went to my house in Lake Placid, pulled out a guitar and a little tape recorder and wrote that song on the spot. That's inspiration," Hagar says, breaking out in laughter.

Hagar worries about the auto industry. "They're in really bad trouble, and I hope it's not like with the dinosaurs -- that's going to be extinct someday -- because I love cars," he says. "With the economy and gas prices, people just aren't as car-oriented as the heyday of the musclecars. What a great era that was, you know, completely ecologically incorrect. I'm the first one to say I'll be driving electric cars some day, I'm sure, with all my cars in a warehouse where I just go look at them like museum pieces. Unfortunately, it's heading that way."

Car he learned to drive in
Growing up in California, Hagar learned to drive on a friend's automatic 1962 Chevrolet Impala around the streets of Fontana -- years before the California Speedway was built there.

First car bought

A long way from his supercars now, Hagar was around 16 when he paid $200 for his first car, a 1951 Chevy Deluxe that barely ran. "Believe it or not," he laughs, "it was a stickshift and it was a piece of crap. It was all I could afford. A friend of mine had it for sale, and I bought it from him for no money down."

Hagar still can't believe he had that car, which lasted only about four months. "It was really a bad car. We used to push it to start it. First gear had a chipped tooth, so you had to get out of first immediately, you'd just start off in first and it would 'click click click click,' then you'd have to shift." Hagar makes a humming noise, "It was horrible."

First brand-new car
Hagar's first new car was a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle. "Black with red interior, and I drove that thing till it fell apart. I had it for so long I can't even tell you."

Hagar points out he had the original, but bought one of the reissued Beetles out of nostalgia. "I kept it for only a couple months and gave it to somebody because it was too silly. I just bought it because it was exactly like the one I first owned, because that was the first new car I ever bought."

Favorite road trip
Around 1970, Hagar went out to New York to start a band. When it broke up, he drove back west, through Route 66. Seeing the country like that was a memorable experience. "I drove a little Chevy Nova van from Rochester to Los Angeles with my buddy -- my guitar and an amp in the back. Being in a rock band, I don't do buses, I always fly. So I've never gone around the country on a bus. Riding in the back of a bus is not my idea of a good time - for 14 hours rolling across the highway. If I'm going to drive, I'll get in a car and drive it myself." Hagar says that cross-country trip may not have been his favorite, but it certainly was a real "trip."

Hagar's favorite drive is California's Highway 1, which he considers the greatest road in America. "It gives you every single sensation you could possibly have on a highway - you've got hills, you've got curves, you've got straightaways, and you've got gorgeous beauty and different terrain. You've got the ocean; you get to go through so many great towns. I've done that in every car I've ever owned."

The fastest he's ever gone in a car was in his 512 Boxer going 180 mph on that road. "I went flat-out in that car on Highway 1 - speedometer peaked, it was awesome, 7200 rpm and going 180 miles an hour." Asked if he ever got a ticket for that, he replies laughing, "How can you can get a ticket at that speed? The cop sees you and goes 'Ah, forget it. '"

Cabo Wabo Tequila
Hagar got his name, the "Red Rocker," from his 1970s anthem, "Red," and his fans are called "Redheads." He's not just that laid-back rocker dude; he's also a successful entrepreneur who created a whole industry around the Cabo lifestyle, with his Cantina restaurants and Cabo Wabo Tequila. Started in 1996, this past January, Gruppo Compari took over 80 percent of Cabo Wabo Tequila for $80 million. Hagar said he's still very much involved with his partners.

"The reason I sold that stake wasn't because I was looking to sell my company. I love Cabo Wabo; it's one of my prized possessions of something I've done in my life. I'm so proud of that brand and everything it stands for. But I needed help - worldwide distribution is not easy for a guy like me. I'm still a musician, a singer, and I'd rather spend more time with my music than trying to promote my tequila worldwide."

Hagar also recently started Cabo Wabo Radio, with broadcasts from his Cabo Cantina online and on terrestrial radio.

This fall Hagar starts a new band with the temporary codename "Chickenfoot." He's joined by Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joe Satriani, and another Van Halen alum, Michael Anthony.

"Everyone goes, 'That's a horrible name; and I say, 'It's not the name of the band, we just call it that," Hagar contends. "We're writing together. We just want to do a record and do some shows. I don't know how far it's going to go, but it's a side project for all of us. It's awesome, one of the greatest bands I've ever even considered being in."

Van Halen's recent tour
Hagar applauded the reunion of original lead singer David Lee Roth and Van Halen on their recent tour. "For the fans, they did the right thing by getting together with Davey. The fans have been wanting to see that. They just should've done it right with Michael Anthony, but that's none of my business. I'm not in the band anymore, I don't really care what they do; but I'm happy for the fans that they finally did that reunion."

It's kind of you to offer that sentiment to Roth, I note. "I'm a kind guy, what do I have to be unhappy about?," he replies. You seem like the kind of guy people just want to hang out with at the Cantina. "That's right, that's right, on the beach. I'm good on the beach," Hagar muses.