L.A. movie premieres are always crawling with celebrities and
other notables, but some premieres have featured important cast
members, who are not given top billing: cars.
Running through Jan. 12 in the L.A. Convention Center is the
Greater L.A. Auto Show, featuring over 1,000 vehicles, with 24 cars
making their world or North American debuts.
Cars have evolved beyond being mere utilitarian objects to
status symbols and benchmarks of power and virility.
Everyone has a dream car, whether it be a Porsche, Ferrari or
that nifty talking car from “Knight Rider,” and car
makers have capitalized by incorporating fantasy cars into the
fantasy world of film. Sonny from Miami Vice was known for driving
the Ferrari Daytona 365/GT4 Spyder, Herbie the Love Bug was known
for, well, being a Volkswagen Bug and James Bond was known for all
of the stellar Aston Martins. These TV shows and movies make a
desirable car even more desirable, even if it is just a VW Bug.
The featured display at this year’s auto show exhibits the
revered James Bond cars complete with the famous Bond
modifications, alongside screens showing clips from the films. From
the current Bond film “Die Another Day,” on display is
the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, the green Jaguar XKR Roadster, and
Jinx’ 007 Ford Thunderbird. The notorious Aston Martin DB 5
which first appeared in 1965’s “Goldfinger,” then
later in “Thunderball,” “Golden Eye” and
“Tomorrow Never Dies” is also on exhibit along with the
Aston Martin V8 Saloon.
While cars have been an intrinsic part of James Bond’s
too-cool persona since the early Bond days, other car companies
have caught on to the idea and are marketing their vehicles through
blockbuster films.
The car in the “X-Men” sequel, “X-2,” is
making its premiere at the L.A. Auto Show. The Mazda RX-8 X-Men
Car, based on the production model 2004 Mazda RX-8 comes with
interior trimmed in silver and black and features a Renesis 13B
water-cooled engine with an X-shaped grille.
Director of “X-2″ Bryan Singer (“The Usual
Suspects”) worked closely with Mazda, and even modified his
original script, in order to create this fantasy car appropriate
for comic-book superheros to drive.
“When we were shooting on location in Vancouver, a little
kid came up to me and was checking out the car,” Singer said
at a recent press conference. “Then he said to me, “˜But
you know what would be really cool? If it was, like, a real
car.’ And I said, “˜Well, it, like,
is.'”
The car is still just a glorified version of any car you would
see on the streets, yet Mazda is hopeful that the star-studded cast
and X-Men association will bolster this seemingly pedestrian car to
superhero-sized sales.
Mitsubishi is introducing its 2003 rally-inspired Lancer
Evolution at the auto show. The car will be featured in the movie
“The Fast and the Furious 2″ to market it to the
younger generation.
“We’re targeting a young, hip customer base with
style, edge and affordability,” said Pierre Gagnon, chairman
chief executive officer of Mitsubishi North America.
While the price, listed just below $30,000, may be distancing to
the empty-walleted youth, Mitsubishi’s Lancer TV commercials,
featuring hip 20-somethings grooving along the freeway, show how
determined the company is to promote this car to young people.
Mitsubishi went as far as commissioning Tyrese, the 25-year-old
model/actor/singer and co-star of “The Fast and the Furious
2.” to help promote the Lancer and was at the media debut
Jan. 3 to speak about the car.
“This car is my baby. It’s definitely one of the
cars I’d take a girl out to the movies in,” Tyrese
said, putting on his best spokesmodel grin.
While not every company can afford to get the stars themselves
to promote their vehicles, some are opting for other forms of
entertainment media to reach the public.
The 2004 Pontiac GTO, which is debuting at the auto show, is
offering an exclusive preview on the “XXX” Special
Edition DVD, since Vin Diesel as Xander Cage is shown driving a
1967 Pontiac GTO in the film. The only association the new GTO
vehicle has with the movie is that it has paid to be in it.
Toyota is also introducing its new lower-end subdivision Scion
at the event, using not movies, but music, art and print media to
promote the car.
“We found that music is the glue that bonds Gen Y
together,” said James Farley, vice president of Scion, at a
Jan. 2 press conference. “Whether it’s hip-hop, trance,
techno, or lounge, they love music.”
Scion has teamed up with URB magazine to feature various DJs and
even a graffiti artist to promote its new brand throughout the
show. Scion has also used URB to help create its own magazine
featuring entertainment and lifestyle stories for Gen Y with
features about hip DJs, fashion trends and artists, which all, of
course, draw attention back to marketing its prized vehicles.
While cars have been used to take us to the movies and other
events, this week at the L.A. auto show, movies and entertainment
take us to the cars.
The Greater L.A. Auto Show is at the L.A. Convention Center
through Jan. 12. Visit www.laautoshow.com for more info.