In "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley, what kind of car is mentioned?

In Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer,” the kind of car mentioned is a Cadillac.

The reference appears in the song’s memorable image of a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. The lyric contrasts a symbol associated with the counterculture of the Grateful Dead with an expensive American luxury car, creating a snapshot of changing values and aging ideals. “Deadhead” refers to a fan of the Grateful Dead, not to the vehicle itself.

Henley released the song in 1984 as the first single from his album Building the Perfect Beast. Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers originally developed the musical idea, and Henley later wrote the lyrics and recorded the track. The polished production helped turn its reflective mood into a major mid-1980s hit.

The song is often remembered as a carefree summer anthem, but its subject is more wistful: lost youth, former romance, and the realization that the past cannot be recovered. The Cadillac line captures that tension particularly well, pairing luxury and nostalgia with the song’s uneasy sense of disillusionment.