When I wrote last week about how Stellantis can rescue its brands, I focused almost entirely on its North American portfolio. In particular, Jeep is an extraordinarily cool and valuable brand that was unfortunately shortchanged under the company’s now-former leadership. Jeep is a global brand and, in particular, had a strong following in China until Stellantis pulled back.
Could a Chinese owner save Jeep and Chrysler? It’s an insane thing to suggest in this political environment, but there’s a curious (if not a bit proactive) logic to BYD taking over the company, and I’m going to tackle that in The Morning Dump today. The Chinese automaker is likely to overtake a bunch of automakers this year in global rankings, so it should have the cash.
All of these issues are ones that a new Stellantis CEO will have to consider. Who might that CEO be? There are lots of good guesses out there at the moment. Either way, we’re already starting to see a new approach from the automaker, which is looking to reintegrate with the larger world.
BYD Will Probably Outsell Ford, Honda, And Nissan
It’s impressive that BYD has gone from a maker of primarily cell phone batteries to an automaker that’ll climb into the same sphere as GM, Ford, Honda, and Stellantis in just about 20 years.
Of course, BYD’s timing couldn’t have been better. Formed in 2003, BYD Auto came around just as China decided it was going to invest heavily in building out an electric car industry. Much in the way that Tesla has a first-mover advantage in the United States, BYD used its early moves to get ahead of what would be literally hundreds of other startup electric car companies in the ensuing decades.
The company, led by an engineer, even attracted investment from Warren Buffet. It used its early lead and engineering prowess to slowly but surely build market share and expertise. With China’s renewed commitment to electrification, BYD sales have exploded over the last few years. A trip to a BYD dealership goes to show just how far BYD has gone to establish itself as one of the most important electric car companies in the world. The other, Tesla, even buys batteries from BYD.
According to Reuters, China’s latest plan to incentivize consumers to trade-in cars (Cash 4 non-clunkers) is likely to boost BYD beyond its own big goals for 2024 and ahead of Ford, Honda, and Nissan in global sales this year:
Aided by robust sales in China, BYD is on course to top its annual sales target of 4 million vehicles, which would put it ahead of Japan’s Honda and Detroit-based Ford for 2024.
The Chinese electric vehicle giant delivered 3.76 million vehicles in the first 11 months this year including 506,804 units sold in November.
Bolstered by strong sales led by a competitive lineup of models with its latest plug-in hybrid technology, BYD gained ground over rivals as China’s car sales grew in November at their fastest from a year earlier since January, thanks to government-subsidised auto trade-ins.
What’s remarkable about this is that BYD is doing all of this without a huge global footprint. BYD sells about 90% of its cars in China, as opposed to its main competitors, all of whom have bigger operations outside their domestic markets.
In the short term, this is fine for BYD, though the automaker is building a plant in Hungary and targeting expansion so that it isn’t wholly reliant on China. Selling Chinese-built cars in America is certainly a no-go for BYD, but what if BYD owned some American brands?
How Jeep Lost China, How BYD Could Save It
There was a fascinating story in last week’s SAI Weekly newsletter relating to how Jeep, once a huge brand in China, suffered after the Stellantis takeover.
FCA had a JV with GAC in China. They had ridden the Jeep brand to some significant success. People were offroading and posting to social, there were Jeep clubs and a community was building around the brand and products. Jeep, as in the US, were building a cult following in China. Jeep owners will know this – In the US anytime you drive past a Jeep Wrangler, the drivers will nod to each other recognizing they each play for the same team. That was happening a bit in China.
Also at this time circa 2020, FCA was shopping around looking for a partner. FCA was doing a serious dance with PSA that took a while to be consummated. That left FCA out in a lurch with the well dry. There wasn’t any real additional investment in the China market and no new products outside the Wrangler 4xe (the hybrid) for several years.
Great Wall Motor decided to pounce. They launched a few new brands and spun off a product that became the Tank brand which was aimed directly at Jeep. It targeted consumers who wanted boxy, rough, rugged and tough products àla Jeep. And Jeep’s share and brand began to erode.
I hadn’t heard much to explain Jeep’s sales decline, which seemed predictable given that almost every other foreign brand of any volume has suffered in China. The fact that the relationship with GAC turned cold quickly isn’t much of a surprise given that’s how most relationships with Stellantis went under the previous leadership:
It was so adversarial in the beginning that GAC refused to change the JV name from FCA / GAC to Stellantis GAC, at least not until they received a firm commitment for investment and new products.
The relationship between Stellantis and GAC ended quite publicly when in a turn of events, Tavares announced that Stellantis would raise their ownership stake in the JV from 50% to 75%, but GAC rejected. Eventually the JV filed for bankruptcy and Stellantis decided that they were going to an asset light / import to China strategy – one that was never going to work, but I guess Tavares had had enough of trying to work with GAC.
Tu Le, the writer of the newsletter, points out that Stellantis instead took over its joint venture with China’s Leapmotor, which is probably a good play for the company. Better, though, would have been a deal that maintained Jeep’s strong presence in China.
Now what? Jeep needs help in China, where it’s losing out to vehicles like the Tank 300, and BYD could likely use foreign brands to get around anti-Chinese EV laws and sentiments. Would a Chinese company like BYD buying Jeep (and Chrysler) be a move that benefits both parties? Perhaps, and it’s not entirely an insane idea.
Jeep is a great brand that deserves a great investment, and its recent attempt at shifting itself into Land Rover territory hasn’t worked yet. While a Chinese parent company for such an American brand is a strange thought to consider, what Jeep needs (and Chrysler, too) is new products and new energy.
While President Trump delivered strong anti-Chinese statements during his first term and most recent campaign, he’s open to foreign companies building in the United States. Would Trump’s friend Elon Musk be open to it? That might be a little bit of a harder sell.
Both BYD and Stellantis have already denied they’d merge after reports emerged that BYD officials were visiting facilities in North America. I do think there could be a future in which Stellantis sells off some of its brands and BYD certainly has the cash.
Do I think it’ll happen? Probably not, but the fact that it’s a possibility is a reflection of the situation all Stellantis brands are facing at the moment.
Who Will Be The New Stellantis CEO?
You probably don’t want to be the Stellantis CEO who loses Jeep, especially if you’re a car person [Ed Note: Stellantis selling Jeep alone doesn’t make sense to me. I can absolutely see Stellantis selling off its weaker brands (Maserati/Alfa Romeo), and I could see Stellantis partnering with someone, but if you’re selling Jeep, you’d have to get rid of Ram and Dodge, too, because I don’t know that any of those can stand alone in the U.S.. At that point, Stellantis has become a tiny European company. I dunno about any of this BYD talk, but something is going to have to change for Stellantis, and soon. -DT]. Perhaps the new CEO of Stellantis shouldn’t be a gearhead. That would disqualify our personal favorite pick: Ralph Gilles.
Mark Phelan, over at the Detroit Free Press has a shortlist, and the list matches up with most of the buzz I’ve heard lately. There’s a mix of ex-FCA folks, including former FCA CFO Richard Palmer, ex-Jeep head Mike Manley, and current Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa. Global market head Olivier Francois would be an interesting choice, as would former Ford C-suiter Joe Hinrichs.
Not mentioned in the article is current Renault CEO Luca de Meo, who makes a lot of sense if Stellantis is going to merge with Renault and maybe drop its North American brands.
Ultimately, I agree with Mark’s belief that the first thing a new CEO has to do is care about North America:
The new boss must convince designers and engineers in Auburn Hills that they’re respected and heard. An office visit isn’t enough. The CEO should rough it at a Jeep Easter safari in Moab, or participate in a long engineering development drive.
The nice thing about having an old boss who loved to play bad cop, you automatically start as the good cop.
Stellantis Rejoins European Car Industry Association
In one of his stranger moves, ex-Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, pictured above, decided to leave Europe’s main car industry organization, the ACEA, over a disagreement over a proposal to delay EU fines for automakers who didn’t meet carbon reduction targets.
Now that Tavares is gone, Stellantis seems content to rejoin the organization, according to an ACEA press release:
“ACEA welcomes the application from Stellantis to rejoin the association. Given Europe’s unprecedented competitiveness crisis and collective need to master the challenges of the green transformation, it is more important than ever to stand united. ACEA members may be competitors on the market, but they all share the same goal: a competitive and sustainable transition to zero-emission mobility, in a Europe that can stand its ground globally. This we will continue working on with full drive and commitment,” stated Luca de Meo, ACEA President and CEO of Renault Group.
Oh, right, I should mention that the President of the ACEA is also the guy who might take the job Tavares once had. Small world!
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
While I am nominally a Houston Texans fan, the Detroit Lions are my favorite NFC team. I should probably adopt a New York football team now that I live here, in the same way I tend to pull for the Mets in the National League. I can’t, though, and New York football teams are too depressing. In honor of the great season the Lions are having here’s a little Bob Seger putting on some “Night Moves.”
The Big Question
Who should buy Jeep? Should Stellantis just keep it?
Photos: Chinese flag sezerozger/depositphotos.com
Chrysler/Jeep sign wolterke/stock.adobe.com
What is the three headed dog doing these days? Can an old dog learn new tricks?
What’s a little bankruptcy between friends, eh? 2008-2010 was a hard time for a lot of companies so I wonder how much blame could be put on Cerebus directly. I’m not business-savvy enough to know.
I only mention Cerebus because a three headed dog would seemingly be a predatory animal. But apparently they bit off more than they could chew the first time around so it’s unlikely to see them again.
With a little research I found the Cerebus lost money or barely broke even on its Chrysler ownership. Getting rid of it was apparently a messy process involving several banks, the US Treasury, Fiat and the United Auto Workers.
Cerebus found it takes more capital than a private investment bank is willing to shell out and there is a fair amount of risk in running an auto company.
Does any singular Stellantis brands have enough to stand on its own in America? I am not convinced Jeep is capable of being a standalone brand quite yet.
For Europe, however, look much rosier. Except Fiat.
Fiat has, what, 4 total cars plus a few vans? (Panda, 600, 500, Tipo)
The French brands seem the best off, here, both being able to hold its own as a brand.
Perhaps it speaks to how bad FCA was before the merger.
As of right now? No. With relatively “little” effort I think Jeep and Dodge could.
First off they have to realize COVID margins are gone and unsustainable even in the short term instead of of chasing the dream.
Jeep *could* if they get off their high horse and realize they’re not gonna close in on LR’s territory in one model generation. Leave the Wagoneer/GW in the lineup, fine, but pricing needs to be desirable until you’ve established that your model is desirable. Invest more in your already existing entry level models and FFS reel the Wrangler back into affordability to get people excited about Jeep again.
Dodge *could* if they consolidated Ram and Chrysler under their umbrella. Invest in another subcompact sedan/crossover platform – or just reskin the Compass. Figure out what you’re replacing the Durango with or reskin a Grand Cherokee. Reskin the Voyager as the Caravan again. That would give them a well rounded lineup in most segments (competitiveness/desirability is a later concern). Entry level subcompact sedan/crossover, compact/small crossover (Hornet), mid-size SUV (Durango/its replacement), large coupe/sedan (Charger variations), family minivan, and a lineup of trucks and commercial vans, (especially if they ever bring back the way-too-late-to-the-party Dakota they’ve been promising). They’d have a long way to go as far as electrification is concerned, but they seem to prioritize today over tomorrow anyway.
Employ a crack marketing team selling to people in the year 2024, not holding on to the past (except for Jeep, those customers you sell the idea that you’re getting back to your roots and trimming the pomp), and load up customer incentives to move metal in the short term. Then invest heavily in the next model generations.
You’re consolidating virtually everything under one roof & one name at that point. Which is kind of what it is now.
Looking over, though, check Citroen’s website. They’ve not only got a full lineup but that they’ve got an electric version of nearly every vehicle on it. Rather impressive they got that far.
It goes to show you how badly off-the-mark FCA is, where they couldn’t even nail a dino-burning vehicle to create a full lineup for themselves.
Stellantis is so badly off the mark it’s not funny. I’m good with Chrysler badge engineering with better materials and become the Lincoln/Caddy/GMC for Dodge. 100%. But I do think Ram should be consolidated back into Dodge. It’s been 15 years and I still hear Rams being called Dodges. Maybe the divorce still works and it can remain CDJR. But the biggest factor is the NA market needs leadership that understands the NA market and is willing & able to invest accordingly.
Or perhaps they just need different investors that understand the concept of sustainability and have foresight farther than the current quarter.
Ram has never been fully accepted as a brand, most people regard it as Dodge, but, even with that, such an expanded Dodge still covers a very tiny sliver of market segments despite being the group’s ostensible mainstream volume brand here, due to a good 15 years straight of under-investment in new models while killing off old ones without replacement
Jeep still has a pretty full range and respectable market share, but, in a world where basically every single brand on the market sells nothing but an entire lineup of SUVs and crossovers, and every one of them is going for a tough, off road image, Jeep is no longer special or unique and can’t be relied upon as a regular money printing machine the way they used to be, when they were THE light truck specialist in town. They have to fight for every sale now, and I don’t think they’ve quite woken up to the new reality. Essentially every automaker gradually turned themselves into Jeep clones
BYD would only be blocked from US anything because Elon is so jealous and upset that they “did it better” than him (because they had no regulations getting in their way).
Maybe Tesla could buy Jeep and then compete with Scout/Hummer with an EV Jeep.
I would say how sad it would be if a Chinese company bought Jeep but Stellantis isn’t exactly Joe USA.
Also a lot of acronym’s in the quotes up there, I got tired of trying to figure them out and just skipped half of it.
Nah, Jeep build quality and reliability is too high for Tesla.
They could say they’re trail rated from the factory though as they could build them on trails behind the factory!
I’m not sure who should buy Jeep, I’d love to see Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Jeep be independent again but not sure who would bankroll that.
I definitely think Jeep should do a small offroader to slot below the Wrangler, think something like the Jimny. I think it would sell well and provide an affordable entry point for a legit off roader from Jeep.
A small off-roader would be cool, but I’d really like to see something similar to the old XJ, or even Liberty. I want a Jeep alternative to the 4Runner, but cheaper, Toyota has had near-Jeep levels of price hikes over the past few year.
There really isn’t a fixed roof, solid rear axle off-roader in the 40-50K range that isn’t the 4Runner. I love the Bronco, but don’t want to deal with a flappy softtop or rattly hardtop.
I don’t even really like my 4Runner all that much, but it’s the only game left in town in this segment.
To start, they dont even need new tooling. Take the wrangler and strip it down. Power windows and locks? Pass. Rubicon parts? Nope. AC? Bye. Alloys? No, steelies only. Colors? Henry ford it.
Market it as a seperate model, the Jeep CJ. As basic as it comes, only options auto or stick, hardtop, and maybe air con. Throw a green paint option too for retro sake. Want anything more? Get a wrangler. Make it for under 30k, and undercut the bronco even more.
Why? Get people in the door. Oh you like this but wish it had XYZ? Well heres the same but a bit more options. Theres no new tooling really needed. It gets some new customers who maybe want something cheaper, simpler, or just convertible 4×4 for less straight outta college. But its a showroom draw that people could buy, and accessorize with the jeep book. Make money, be somebody. Its not longterm, but it gives a little extension. Could even go Ram classic and keep it going whenever the JM comes out.
Sounds good in theory, but in practice you just described the Wrangler Sport.
Steel wheels are a savings, but we’re talking about a few hundred bucks.
Crank windows haven’t saved money in a decade, it’s cheaper to just spec the same electric window regulator for everything. Backup cameras are already mandatory, so you need to have a screen- Might as well have a nice digital infotainment with CarPlay. ADAS will become legislated soon, so forget about vehicles becoming less digital. All that electronic equipment is dirt cheap anyways.
This type of surface-level de-contenting works for fleets buying a dozen F150 XLs at a time- a few grand per unit adds up to a big chunk of money. For your average consumer, it just doesn’t make any sense. There is a reason half of F150s sold are the XLT trim level.
There just isn’t that much fluff to eliminate on the Wrangler Sport without taking away the mechanical features that make it a Wrangler. Making the roof and doors permanent would save money. Moving to a unibody and eliminating the solid axles would also help.
Oh wait, I’ve just described the Cherokee/ Liberty. Which is currently discontinued and missing a replacement, maybe Jeep should get on that?
I keep saying they need to just import the Jimny and give it a jeep face, and make that one of their entry models.
Cheaper option – Mahindra. Just drag out the old tooling for the original Rocor grill and boom, they’re in business.
I have seen one Mahindra ever, but it was quite a bit larger than I was expecting. Its the size of like a CJ5 or so. Bigger than I would make the entry model in my world. The Jimny is still noticeably smaller than the Mahindra I think?
The Roxor is about a foot longer and couple of inches wider. And it is basically a CJ3. Mahindra licensed the design (and trademarks) from Jeep after WW2, and have been making it relatively unchanged ever since.
I thought it was hilarious when FCA sued for trademark infringement, and even more ridiculous that they won. But hey, that’s America.
I think a small Jeep suv like the Jimny could probably share a platform with a low cost Dodge cuv, just different styling and less the fancy off road bits.
That would be the Compass to me. The mini Wrangler needs to be body on frame, etc in my opinion.
They could be bought by a venture cap firm.
Which would be a mess, as we have seen how that turned out the last time.
Reap what you sow, and all that…
Venture cap only serves on purpose. To tear down. They never seek to inject new health for long term viability, they just want money now. So no thanks on that end. But you are right, that is probably who would buy it.
Viewing the Jeep brand through a financial lens has never worked for any of the companies that have owned it. It’s a cultural thing, and you have to cater to that or sell the brand to someone who will. In this case, BYD makes sense financially but not culturally.
This circles back on a prior TMD about what brands Stellantis should keep or not, right?
I do agree with David though, Stellantis selling Jeep sounds illogical unless it’s grossly overvalued by the buyer (like, say, Twitter’s buy value and assessed value years later, percentage-wise).
I can think of one such idiot with that kind of cash…
I would rather Jeep die with some dignity than see it owned by a Chinese company. I’m hardly Mr. Patriot and I don’t have any personal attachment to the brand (if anything I dislike it because of how reckless Wrangler drivers are) but Jeep is as American as apple pie. Better dead than red, I guess? Idk I’m a socialist so I’m probably not the person who’s most qualified to comment on this lol.
I second this. Not worth it to sell one of the most American brands to a non-American owner. I’d rather Jeep die as well.
Um, you know who owns it now right? And who owned it before that? And two owners before that? Oh and who helped AMC right the ship in the early 80’s?
I know I know, not a US company. Part of the tragedy of Jeep, IMHO. Jeep should be a US owned company, period.
The Renault/AMC alliance in the 80’s is how we ended up with AM General.
They have been owned by non-american owners many times already, just Western ones.
And perhaps the source of their downfall.
I hear you, but at this point I no longer give a shit. Jeep has now been owned by a variety of foreign countries, what’s one more? And Chinese ownership doesn’t seem to have hurt Volvo. If a Chinese company has the vision and the cash to make it happen, go for it.
my brother in christ, apple pies are from England
I thought DT was buying Jeep, one rusty bucket at a time.
He’s too busy trying to resurrection Pontiac via the Aztent right now.
I wouldn’t cry if I heard CDJR was spinning off to an independent group again. I’m not sure who should buy it, but its really hard to see how that group of names can’t make money here in the US at least.
Especially if it wasn’t tied to legendary Fiat/Alfa reliability.
Uhh, what about the Bills? They’re a New York team and are firmly atop the AFC East rankings as I’m writing this. Well, not like AFC East is any great shakes right now. They’re competitive with the other teams atop the AFC. Besides, the Bills Mafia needs a downstate branch. Or we’ll turn on the snow machine!
I’d be a Bills fan 7 days of the week before I was a Jets or Giants fan. Those franchises have no idea what they’re doing and it’s definitely not football.
Should Stellantis sell Jeep, they will be truly doomed. They need to bring the price of Jeeps back down to earth, give us a refreshed and quality lower end with smaller vehicles. A new Renegade, Compass and Cherokee would do wonders for sales, as would bringing Wrangler prices back to earth. Stellantis has too many brands and vehicles all on divorced and unrelated platforms, and has done a terrible job of understanding how brand strata works, mixing overly expensive Grand Wagoneers with the Compass. Similarly, the horribly outdated and mediocre Ghibli isn’t doing MC20 sales any favors, nor is Alfa Romeo having two deeply aging models and a terrible new one giving that brand any chance of US Survival.
New Stellantis leadership needs to come in and conduct a very hard, brutally honest rethink of the brand and product portfolio to understand where the value is, and cut what has none. Most importantly, they have to do this with the North American market, which (pictured above) never did. The company and many of its brands can absolutely be saved, but I fear some need a Jaguar-level reboot, albeit with better execution.
I think Ford should make a play for Jeep. After all, they were second only to Willys in Jeep production at one time.
My initial thought as well. Let the Bronco be the expensive SUV and turn the Wrangler back into a CJ9 type, no frills rig.
This if course, will never happen
One might think a Chinese owned Jeep brand would just tank the brand overall. Seems obvious but I doubt the political climate here would allow it either but the incoming ignoramus likes being paid off so I could see it happening. I think I’d rather have a company based here who’s competent at what they do buy them but I don’t really know what that answer would be. I’ve said Caterpillar and John Deere before but they probably wouldn’t want to be in that kind of highly regulated market. I say that without knowing if heavy equipment has the same restrictions and scrutiny. John Deere is kind of scummy at this point anyway. I’d rather not have some egotistical billionaire come in and buy them either but if that’s what could make CDJR American owned again then I guess so be it.
Wow, I could not think of any two better companies to buy Jeep than Cat or JD. Either of them would be a huge win for the brand. Perhaps Polaris as well??
Polaris could then make official Jeep-branded Willys UTVs to compete with the Mahindra Roxor.
Damn, I was gonna say Polaris as well but I thought they were Canadian owned now. They aren’t so yeah throw them in the mix as well. I’ve been quietly clamoring to no one in my basement office that Caterpillar should definitely buy CDJR though.
Anybody else think Jon Lovitz (the real one) would do a better job at heading Stellantis?
Depends, Stellantis is moving away from ICE and Lovitz is definitely more of gas guy, methane, I believe.
This.
He could “lose” the dead weight and non worthy stuff in his divorce from Morgan Fairchild.
TBQ should’ve been “Is Tim K. the best fit for Ram”?
Because it sure sounds like he’s coming back.
Is he really? That’s interesting. Got a link?
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/business/money-report/ex-dodge-ram-boss-tim-kuniskis-returning-to-stellantis/6053199/
Probably a good move on their part.
I also read this same rumor this morning. If true, it causes one to wonder if he really just left because ole Carlos T was tying his hands so he wanted out. Also, they may have offered him really substantial amounts of money.
It’s probably both, honestly.
The only, and I mean only, upside of Jeep being sold to the Chinese is the undefeated Jeep curse presumably bringing down the CCP.
Workin’ on my night cheese …
No? Just me?
I heard you singing, Lemon.
Pupmeow, isn’t there a slanket somewhere you should be filling with your farts?
I really don’t like the idea of selling Jeeps in this rural, very patriotic area. Most of my regular customers just now got over the Fiat thing.
Here in Mexico, we have a rebadged Changan being sold as the Ram 1200, they seem to be doing well, so who knows, maybe a BYD/Jeep isn’t that crazy
I would bet the US government would block (or at least making it very difficult & uncomfortable) Stellantis’ from selling American brands to BYD or other Chinese company. While their products aren’t actually any more “American” than any other US brand; Jeep, Ram, and Dodge definitely do market most heavily towards the whole patriotic, US nationalists, etc schtick than anyone else. On top of that, it would be an easy “I did something” box to check by the Trump administration.
They may be preparing to spin Jeep off, or at least give it a separate dealer network. My local Stellantis dealer recently took over an abandoned Chevy dealership next door and turned it into a massive Jeep-only dealership. The other brands are in the much smaller building next door.
Those Jeep “Studios” were a thing Stellantis came up with a few years ago, back when they had delusions that Jeep would become a truly premium brand, ala Lexus/Acura, and would be a place people could buy their $100,000 Wagoneers without feeling the icky feeling of walking into a Chrysler Mausoleum. We were in the process of building a new store, and wanted to use this design because of the more welcoming storefront and interior look, and Stellantis denied us.
Have you ever been to HopCat in Detroit (it’s on Woodward)? They have a velvet painting of Bob Seger that could either be confused for Jesus or Laszlo Cravensworth.
But uhm, yeah selling Jeep to China will never happen, that would completely alienate their bread and butter customers, regardless of products.
You mean it looks like Jackie Daytona, from Tucsion Arizonia?
Hmmm, don’t remember seeing a toothpick, so it couldn’t have been the regular human bar tender, Jackie Daytona
Chinese car buyers will never buy an American icon (like a Jeep) if there is a suitable copycat from a Chinese automaker. Believe it or not, they’re quite patriotic.
Also, Night Moves is awesome.
Maybe it’s just my age, but I always imagined that several million people owe their very existence (or at least moment of conception) to that song.
There’s a list, isn’t there?
You Shook Me All Night Long is probably on it.
Are you familiar with Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonite”?
It’s probably Alf’s fault, but I can’t take much Bob Seger. I’m sure there are eighty songs I’ve never heard, but the ones I HAVE heard, I’ve heard far too many times and my hand reflexively reaches to change the station.
Except “Hollywood Nights.” I don’t know why but that one gets a pass.