[2] Music critic Clinton Heylin has suggested that it may have begun as a continuation of that song, as "Stolen Car" originally used similar language to explain the marriage failure: "We got married and promised never to part/Then I feel a victim to a hungry heart.
"[2] "Stolen Car," along with a few other songs on The River including the title track and "Wreck on the Highway", mark a new direction in Bruce Springsteen's songwriting.
"[6] Bruce Springsteen himself has noted that "Stolen Car" is one of the songs reflecting a shift in his songwriting style, linking The River to Nebraska.
[7] He has also stated that the protagonist was the character whose progress he would be following on the Tunnel of Love album, and that he served as the archetype for the male role in future songs Springsteen wrote about men and women.
[4] Springsteen would also develop themes from "Stolen Car" on other future songs, including "State Trooper" and "Highway Patrolman" from his 1982 Nebraska album and "Downbound Train" from his 1984 Born in the U.S.A.
[9] In 2015, Springsteen stated that he regards "Stolen Car," "Point Blank," "Independence Day" and the title track as being "the heart and soul" of The River album.
[10] "Stolen Car" and another song from The River, "Drive All Night", played a key role in setting the tone of the 1997 film Cop Land.