This study conforms in many ways to the technique of
situated or autoethnography (Denzin 1997; Denzin and Lincoln
1994), in that the ethnographers became fully situated
as members of the group being studied (see Schouten and
McAlexander 1995). With corporate access and support, we
began as naïve, neophyte off-road drivers with rented Jeep
vehicles. By the third year of our involvement, two authors
had acquired Jeep vehicles. As suggested by Stewart (1998),
this research employed prolonged fieldwork in two brand
communities (Jeep and Harley-Davidson), which gave us
the opportunity to experience brand community from multiple
perspectives and observe ways in which ownership experiences
and motives evolved.