Jeep, Harley-Davidson, Bentley, Ferrari. They’re all fabled names in transportation that have found innovative ways to stay conversationally prominent in ways that don’t always directly involved their vehicles. Harley sells a lifestyle, not just a brand of motorcycle, with a galaxy of boutique extras that let you make you, and your bike, all your owns. For its ongoing centenary, Bentley has grandly applied its logo to all manner of luxury niceties. Jeep arguably stands squarely with Harley-Davidson as the first domestic vehicle manufacturer to truly grasp all this branding and personalization effectively, offering Wranglers, and more, with an array of option and accessory packages that’s far too broad to enumerate here. But as at Harley, the lifestyle and its trappings go beyond the vehicle itself. Here’s a boundary-stretching but still hugely impressive example.
If you’re into history on any level, this just has to blow you away. Stellantis, specifically through Jeep, is partnering with Wallace Detroit Guitars to offer a line of licensed, Jeep-branded custom electric guitars that are – and get this – hand-crafted from old-growth wood recovered from historic Detroit buildings, specifically the long-abandoned and heartbreakingly deteriorated former Packard assembly plant. Each copy of the Deluxe Jeep Guitar, as it’s called, also features a Jeep-logo Humbucker pickup and a hand-applied oil finish, which not only incorporates Jeep logos but also a topographic map of Detroit on the backside of the guitar body. This is a serious instrument for serious musicians although its price, $2,900, is far from out of line for a custom axe like this one.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 