During the second and third verses, a call and response effect is created between Ric Ocasek's vocals and Easton's lead guitar fills.

After the third chorus, the band vamps over a B power chord, creating a feeling similar to the verses, as a new solo gradually emerges.

During this solo, keyboardist Greg Hawkes alternates between high-pitched triads of A major and B major, while the rhythm guitars and bass remain on B. Ocasek's rhythm guitar part is strummed with the accents primarily on the off-beat eighth notes, a technique heard earlier on the album, in "Good Times Roll", another song centering on the chords B, A, and G. After the second solo, there is one last iteration of the chorus, and the song ends abruptly, segueing into "Bye Bye Love".

[2] AllMusic reviewer Donald A. Guarisco said, "What might seem like a tongue-in-cheek pop tune (on paper) becomes a thumping fusion of new wave and hard rock in the studio to the one-two punch of a clever arrangement and a slick production job by Roy Thomas Baker.

[4] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as the Cars' 5th greatest song, particularly praising its harmonies, its chorus and Elliot Easton's guitar riffs.