Jeep: More patriotic than Baseball.

With the current state of affairs in our country following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, I found myself thinking about America and what it means to be an American. Which of course got me thinking about the Fourth of July because there is nothing more American than Baseball and the Fourth of July right? Wrong.

1963 Jeep Wagoneer

In 2013 a New York based firm, Brand Keys, conducted a survey of 4,500 consumers on what brands were the most American to them. Each item was scored on a scale of 0 to 100 representing the emotional engagement to each brand. Surprising, or maybe not, depending on how you look at it, Jeep took the number one spot with a score of 98%. Jeep beat out such brands as Coca-Cola (#3 with 97%), Levi Strauss and Disney (tied with 95%), and even Harley Davidson who was surprisingly low on the list at number 13 with 89%.

As a matter of fact Jeep was one of only two auto manufacturers on the list, Ford being the other at 16th. Chevrolet didn't even make it on the list despite their heavy patriotic marketing that they have done in the past. Other surprisingly low brands on the list were Budweiser at 14 with 88%, Smith & Wesson at 18 with 85%, and John Deere at 20 with 82%.

1940 Willys Quad

Whether you are a long time owner of that beat up old XJ or a brand new owner who just purchased your first KL one thing is certain, you love your Jeep. You know that no matter what your conditions are, your Jeep will get you to wherever it is you are going. It is dependable, tough, and capable. Even if you are in the traditionalist camp and feel that FCA has tarnished the brand with the new Cherokee (KL) and the Renegade (BU), you cannot deny that underneath it all it is still at least a cousin to the Jeeps of old. It may only be a distant relative, twice removed on your mother's side of the family, but they still get invited to the family reunion each year. No matter how much animosity you hold towards those cousins, you still end up having a good time. That to me is what it means to drive a Jeep. You are part of a family. Part of something bigger than just yourself. It doesn't matter if you are born and raised in America like the CJ's and XJ's, or an immigrant finding a home here like the KL's and BU's. You have a home here in America, and underneath it all beats the heart of an American.

That is what it means to be a Jeep owner, and that is what it means to be an American.

Here is the top ten from the list:

1. Jeep - 98%
2. Hershey's - 97%
3. Coca-Cola - 97%
4. Levi Strauss - 95%
5. Walt Disney - 95%
6. Colgate - 94% (really?)
7. Zippo - 93%
8. Wrigley's - 92%
9. Ralph Lauren - 91%
10. John Deere - 91%

So there you have it. Jeep is more patriotic than Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and everything else from 'Murica.