TRAPPED in that limbo-land that can be found on sofas everywhere late at night, floating between should-have-gone-to-bed-an-hour-ago and now-I'm-too-tired-to-move-so-I-may-as-well-stay-here, I found myself watching the old war movie Kelly's Heroes, writes William Scholes.
It features Clint Eastwood, Kojak, Jack Bauer's father and a bunch of other Hollywood stars as American soldiers in Second World War France.
Clint gets wind of a hoard of Nazi gold just asking to be stolen by an enterprising GI, though the only snag is it's behind enemy lines.
Undeterred, he rounds up his gang and off they go in an assortment of M4 Sherman tanks and, naturally, some Jeeps.
I fell asleep before the end, but I'm pretty sure they got away with the loot.
Anyway, I was reminded of all this by news that Jeep has added the inevitable hybrid to its Northern Ireland line-up.
It's of the plug-in variety and is available on the Renegade family SUV model.
It debuts a new naming-type for Jeep, too - this 4x4 is known as a '4xe' in the company's parlance.
The Jeep system uses a 1.3-litre petrol engine and a 11.4kWh battery linked to a 59bhp electric motor located at the rear axle. A second, smaller motor, sits on the front axle. The battery back is under the back seats.
Driven on the battery alone, Jeeps says the Renegade 4xe can go as far as 26 miles. Clint and his Kelly's Heroes crew might have found that ability to drive noiselessly handy when trying to dodge the Germans...
Driven on the battery alone, Jeeps says the 4xe can go as far as 26 miles. Clint and his crew might have found that ability to drive noiselessly handy when trying to dodge the Germans...
As with any plug-in hybrid, the battery can be recharged while driving or by hooking up to a charging point. The driver can choose from a variety of different drive modes, too.
The petrol engine is offered in 128bhp or 178bhp flavours, netting a total of 187bhp or 237bhp once the electric assistance is factored in.
Torque is healthy too - petrol contributes 199lb.ft and the electric motor 184lb.ft.
The Renegade 4xe uses a six-speed automatic gearbox and, because this is a Jeep, it has four-wheel-drive. The company says the car is "first and foremost, an authentic Jeep".
The car is offered in three trims - Longitude (from £32,600), Limited (£34,500) and Trailhawk (£36,500).
CO2 emissions are said to be less than 50g/km, with fuel consumption of up to 134mpg.
The "up to" is the key thing here - unless your driving is always under electric power, you're unlikely to get very close to that figure.
Other plug-ins have lower emissions, and therefore lower tax bills for benefit in kind-sensitive company users, but the Jeep counters with its off-road ability and distinctiveness. Private Kelly would approve, I think.
