HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo.
The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Chevrolet Looks Back, and Comes Up Short. Chevrolet marketing operatives are pulling out all the stops to wrap the brand in our nation's 250th Anniversary. First, they brought back "See the USA in Your Chevrolet" (first used in the '50s with Dinah Shore) earlier this year, collaborating with country music artist Brooke Lee. That campaign also marked Chevrolet’s third time placing a vehicle on top of Castleton Tower in Moab, UT. This summer, the brand reintroduced “Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet” from the '60s as a social media campaign. Those two forays were only marginally effective in the real world, although I'm sure Chevy marketing operatives will insist otherwise. But trust me, when I say "marginally effective," I'm being kind.
And now, Chevrolet has reintroduced “Heartbeat of America,” one of its classic advertising campaigns from the 1980s and '90s. This time, the concept is reimagined with music from The Red Clay Strays, a rock band from Mobile, Alabama. The campaign's more modern creative approach is said to be reminiscent of the original version, but that flat-out isn't true. It's jammed with copy points - Chevy marketing operatives just can't help themselves, apparently – and even though the song incorporates authentic heartbeat sounds of Americans across the country in Texas, Detroit and Kansas, it comes off as a glorified Tier 2 commercial.
“‘Heartbeat of America’ has always celebrated Chevrolet’s connection to the people and communities that shape this country,” said Steve Majoros, chief marketing officer of Global Chevrolet. “Chevrolet owners have always been the people that show up, the DIYers, the helpful neighbors – the true heartbeat in their communities. This campaign honors our customers.”
That classic marketing speak is all well and good, but the campaign is decidedly lackluster and ordinary. It's devoid of the exuberant swagger and the emotional wallop of the original campaign. I's not even close, in fact. But I guess that is to be expected in this era of group hugs, apologies and rampant mediocrity. Watch the video here. -PMD
Editor's Note: Not everything needs to be reimagined, repurposed or reintroduced, but that seems to pass for fresh and creative in many areas of culture these days. As for Chevrolet's new spin on "Heartbeat of America" - Peter nails it. It is lackluster, devoid of any emotional connection and eminently forgettable. And P.S., we don't need the voiceover regaling us with account-guy product points throughout. That wouldn't fix what's wrong with this spot, but it would be a start. -WG
Editor-in-Chief's Note: According to Reuters, Slate Auto, the EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, is pricing its all-electric subcompact pickup at $24,950 — a figure the company says can help it take on larger, more established rivals. The suburban Detroit-based startup held an event last Wednesday in Los Angeles to offer journalists and assorted Internet hangers-on rides in a preproduction prototype it said was close to the final version. The bare-bones two-seater offers 205 miles of range and up to 2,000 pounds of towing capacity. Slate is pitching a customizable, low-cost pickup as an alternative to increasingly expensive pickups and SUVs testing whether affordability can broaden the appeal of electric vehicles, Reuters continued. My thoughts? Let's see where this endeavor is one year from right now. It all sounds good right at the moment in terms of addressing affordability, but I refuse to get on the Slate frenzy train. As we like to say around here, it's a giant "We'll See"until further notice. -PMD
Editor-in-Chief's Note: This week, our video features the "10 Best Can-Am Moments" at Goodwood. Watch it here. -PMD
The AE Song of the Week:
Somebody's gonna hurt someone
Before the night is through
Somebody's gonna come undone
There's nothin' we can do
Everybody wants to touch somebody
If it takes all night
Everybody wants to take a little chance
Make it come out right
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Lord, I know
Some people like to stay out late
Some folks can't hold out that long
But nobody wants to go home now
There's too much goin' on
This night is gonna last forever
Last all, last all summer long
Some time before the sun comes up
The radio is gonna play that song
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Lord, I know
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
The moon's shinin' bright
So turn out the light, and we'll get it right
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Heartache, baby
Somebody's gonna hurt someone (Somebody)
Before the night is through
Somebody's gonna come undone
There's nothin' we can do
(Everybody) Everybody wants to touch somebody
If it takes all night
Everybody wants to take a little chance
To make it come out right
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
There's gonna be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Let's go
We can beat around the bushes
We can get down to the bone
We can leave it in the parkin' lot
But either way, there's gonna be a
Heartache tonight, a heartache tonight, I know
(Lord, I know)
There'll be a heartache tonight
A heartache tonight, I know
Break my heart, baby
*Don Henley and Glenn Frey wrote this with Bob Seger, Joe Walsh and J.D. Souther. When Frey was a 19-year-old in Detroit, Seger took him under his wing and got his music career started. Souther, who is sometimes considered an "Unofficial Eagle," was the first person Frey met when he moved to Los Angeles in the late-'60s. When we spoke with J.D. Souther, he told us how this song started: "Glenn Frey and I had been listening to Sam Cooke records at my house. So, we were just walking around clapping our hands and snapping fingers and singing the verses to those songs. The melody sounds very much like those Sam Cooke shuffles. There's not much to it. I mean, it's really just two long verses. But it felt really good."
"Heartache Tonight" by Eagles from the album "The Long Run" (1979).* Written by Glenn Frey, Bob Seger, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and J.D. Souther. Watch the Eagles perform it live here.
*Don Henley and Glenn Frey wrote this with Bob Seger, Joe Walsh and J.D. Souther. When Frey was a 19-year-old in Detroit, Seger took him under his wing and got his music career started. Souther, who is sometimes considered an "Unofficial Eagle," was the first person Frey met when he moved to Los Angeles in the late-'60s. When we spoke with J.D. Souther, he told us how this song started: "Glenn Frey and I had been listening to Sam Cooke records at my house. So, we were just walking around clapping our hands and snapping fingers and singing the verses to those songs. The melody sounds very much like those Sam Cooke shuffles. There's not much to it. I mean, it's really just two long verses. But it felt really good."
Bob Seger's contribution to this song was the chorus (he also played bass on the record). Souther told us what happened: "We didn't get to a chorus that we liked within the first few days, and I think Glenn was on the phone with Seger, and he said, 'I wanna run something by you,' and sang it to him, and Seger just came right in with the chorus, just sang it and it was so good. Glen called me and said, 'Is four writers okay on this?' And I said, 'Sure, if it's good.' And he said, 'Yeah, it's great. Seger just sang this to me,' and he sang it to me and I said, 'That's fantastic.'"
According to Seger, he was in the room with Glenn Frey when he came up with the chorus. He told Entertainment Weekly: "Glenn had the verse: 'Somebody's gonna hurt someone before the night is through.' We hadn't been sitting down for more than five minutes and I just blurted out, 'There's gonna be a heartache tonight!' His eyes lit up huge."
According to Seger, he was in the room with Glenn Frey when he came up with the chorus. He told Entertainment Weekly: "Glenn had the verse: 'Somebody's gonna hurt someone before the night is through.' We hadn't been sitting down for more than five minutes and I just blurted out, 'There's gonna be a heartache tonight!' His eyes lit up huge."
The Long Run was the Eagles' last studio album until they re-formed in 1994. There was a lot of tension in the band, and a lot of pressure to make the album perfect. As a result, they spent 3 1/2 years working on the album, which was the follow-up to Hotel California. Frey later explained to Rolling Stone that he learned from the experience: "All one needs to do was listen to early Stones records to realize that all this striving for perfection is totally unnecessary."
This song won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group. Bob Seger played this at a memorial service for Glenn Frey in 2016. "He was always a positive force in my life," Seger said. Many fans clamored for Bob Seger to record and tour with his own version of "Heartache Tonight," but he's unlikely ever to do so. (Seger is now retired from performing.) "I don't want to face a lifetime of singing that onstage," Seger explained to USA Today. "It's hard to sing! It's at the highest end of my range, really blasting it. Glenn sang the crap out of that." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG