Detroit Made: Bob Seger's Love of the Automobile Has Remained a Lifelong Affair
 That Bob Seger likes cars comes as no surprise. After all, he is a "Travelin' Man," as he declares in his 1975 hit, one of many Seger tunes that references automobiles and the various experiences enjoyed in them—from driving to making love.
But it's clear that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's passion runs deeper than just having some hot rods to show off. Standing in a spacious barn, located on the wooded compound in Detroit's northern suburbs where he does most of his songwriting, Seger lifts the hood of his rare green 1971 Ford Mustang Mach I to reveal its 429 cubic-inch V8 big-block racing engine. "That's a bad boy right there," he exclaims, standing in the post-Christmas chill, a Detroit Red Wings jacket over his T-shirt. "She'll do all the work."
Despite his enthusiasm for cars, Seger, now 69, admits he isn't much for collecting any more. "I love trucks and I love jeeps and I love cars," he says. (You can add motorcycles and guitars to the list, too.) "But every car I own, I love to drive. If I don't love driving them, I don't keep them. It's a pragmatic approach."
That's confirmed by Kip Sheward, the Detroit racer turned high-end car dealer, who helps Seger, and many other celebrities, with acquisitions and car care. Occasionally, Sheward will join the rocker at the nearby Waterford Hills Road Racing track to let his cars run full throttle. "What separates Bob from what I call 'cool' collectors is that he buys what he likes, not what's trendy," Sheward says. "Bob's not a trendy guy. He just loves the romance of driving a car. He's a stick-shift guy. He just likes to get in there, let it out, and enjoy the ride."
Seger was born and bred in Michigan, and a love of the road is in his DNA. That passion has crept into his music, in songs like "Makin' Thunderbirds," "Roll Me Away," and "Turn the Page," and in his cover of John Hiatt's "Detroit Made" and the title track of Seger's latest album, Ride Out. And let's not forget the reference to the backseat of a '60 Chevy in his 1976 smash "Night Moves," or the fact that his song "Like a Rock" was used in Chevy truck commercials for more than 10 years.
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