"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
16 September 2007Yeah, you too, Land RoverJeep's new slogan — "Have fun out there" — is innocuous enough, unless you're a member of the Mothers Anti-Fun International Association, in which case you quit reading this a couple of dozen words ago. But Jeep's not above getting in your face either, as witness a current print ad which says "They invented 'SUV' because they can't call them Jeep," which goes like this:
Jeep is a registered trademark. Good thing. No telling what kind of jacked-up station wagons they'd be trying to pass off as Jeep vehicles otherwise. Because sometime around the mid-80s, a craze took off. The era of the SUV was born. Fact is, we had them beat by a few decades. As soon as the mighty little Jeep vehicle came back from World War II, people discovered how much fun a utility vehicle could be.
There's a splendid little TV spot that illustrates the History of Fun and Jeep's role therein. And here's the kicker from the magazine ad:
When heading straight out into the unknown, it's good to know you're going there in a vehicle that's been heading down that muddy road from the beginning. That's Jeep 4X4. And that's a heritage no "SUV" can ever stake claim to.
Unfortunately for Jeep, neither can its price-leader Compass, a rebadged Dodge Caliber that is utterly lacking in Jeep DNA. I can appreciate the desire to expand the brand, but if that's a Jeep, then so is a Toyota Matrix. Posted at 7:11 PM to Driver's SeatToyota Matrix. ...in which you can't eat soup, I take it? Posted by: McGehee at 11:36 AM on 17 September 2007My daughter, who used to own one of these, would disagree, but then she'd see to it that there was a spoon. Posted by: CGHill at 12:00 PM on 17 September 2007"Mothers Anti-Fun International Association" The MAFIA doesn't want you driving a Jeep? Posted by: Mister Snitch! at 11:28 PM on 17 September 2007 |