The Cars truly hated one legendary rock band they toured with

The Cars were iconic of their own accord, of course. The band would eventually make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but more importantly, they have kept a devoted following for more than 40 years. Ric Ocasek and his bandmates also had strong opinions abut a few things.

Ocasek knew about what he spoke. He was not only a solid musician and good songwriter, but he knew how a song should sound to be good as well. He produced records for a ton of great musical artists besides just writing snappy tunes for the Cars and for himself. When he said he didn't like a band, he probably had a good reason.

According to the website Classic Rock, Ocasek did not care for one iconic rock band in particular. That group was Styx. The reason why Ocasek didn't like Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, and friends was because Ocasek felt Styx was getting a bit jealous of the attention being paid to the Cars when the groups toured together soon after the Cars began to get popular.

Ric Ocasek said the Cars really hated Styx

Ocasek said, "We opened for about anybody in the beginning; we opened for bands that we really hated, like Styx. Most of those bands would go watch us on the side of the stage to see what the f**k was going on. And it seemed that the people were relating to us and not relating to them. So they got a little pissed."

That is from the late Ocasek's perspective, obviously. DeYoung recently said he had no idea how Ocasek truly felt. He seemed to think the bands got along well together. DeYoung also said he had not heard or read the interview with Ocasek until recently when a friend who works in radio sent Ocasek's interview to him.

DeYoung posted a response to what Ocasek said on Facebook which read, in part, "Really didn’t know they hated us but that’s not unusual for new bands who are trying to take the mantel from the reigning chart toppers. However the nonsense about us being pissed about our fans relating to them more than us was the real knee slapper. The Cars opened for us on some West Coast dates on the Paradise Tour and if memory serves at the Forum in L.A. That year we sold out six shows between the Forum and the Los Angeles Sports Arena. We were as big as it gets."

What kind of response from DeYoung would anyone expect otherwise, though? He is defending his former band, Styx, and does not want to color his past in any other way other than to think Styx was beloved by fans and a high-charting success. The truth is, both the Cars and Styx were successful. Making great songs is all their fans care about anyway.

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