Eddie Bauer's greatest achievement didn't hang in a closet. It sat in the driveway.

"No, that's not a misprint. You can have your flannels and your fleeces. For me, Eddie Bauer was at its best on the open road thanks to its partnership with the Ford Explorer. I realize you might think this is a goof, but I'm dead serious when I tell you the Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition had a vice grip on suburban life of the mid-90s and early 2000s. Leather seats! Wood trim! Power features! A two-tone paint job! And the pièce de résistance: the Eddie Bauer signature on the back."

"But as someone who was there, the Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer just felt different. Translation for the Gen Zers: It had rizz. (I didn't personally own one, which is also another example of why this car was indeed cool.) These days, that concept might sound foreign. In a world where humans are doing less of the actual driving - subscribe to our newsletter, Driverless, for more on that - cars feel more like a tool than an extension of your personality."

"When I asked my younger colleagues - Grace Lett and Amanda Yen - about what a comparable automotive partnership would look like in 2026, I got blank stares. "I don't really think about driving," one said. I guess that makes sense considering youngsters aren't even bothering to get their driver's licenses. The swagger of a Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition didn't come cheap - a 1991 Ford Explorer two-door XL SUV cost $14,926 while the E"

Eddie Bauer partnered with Ford to create the Explorer Eddie Bauer edition that became an iconic, personality-driven SUV in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. The special edition added leather seats, wood trim, power features, two-tone paint and the Eddie Bauer signature, positioning it as a premium trim that resonated with suburban buyers. Eddie Bauer's business is on life support even as the brand's automotive achievement endures in memory. Modern trends toward autonomous vehicles and declining driver interest among younger generations are turning cars into functional tools rather than extensions of identity, reducing the resonance of similar brand tie-ins.

Read at Business Insider