I do understand Marketing 101 but why is it that those NOT IN NEED get the good stuff at no or very little cost?
Honda hopes Hollywood glitz shines up fuel cell car
TAKANEZAWA, Japan -- Honda Motor Co. is hoping a little Hollywood star power will add sparkle to its new fuel cell vehicle and make the FCX Clarity the greenest car on the red carpet.
Actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Harris, as well as film producer Ron Yerxa, are among the first five customers tapped to lease the garnet red no-emissions sedan.
While the car is rich with public-relations opportunities, it is still largely experimental. Honda expects to lease only about a half dozen in the United States this year, and about 200 in both the United States and Japan over the next three years.
The first car rolled off the line here today and will hit the streets of southern California next month. Yerxa, known for his work on "Cold Mountain," will get the first delivery through Honda of Santa Monica, one of three dealerships chosen to handle the leasing.
Keenly aware of the image coup scored by Toyota when celebrities rolled up to the Oscars in the fuel-efficient Prius hybird, Honda intentionally chose stars among its first Clarity customers.
"We wanted a few celebrities because at this time it's important to spread the message," said Stephen Ellis, Honda's manager of fuel cell marketing, here at a press event.
Yerxa and Harris were flown out to Honda's New Model Center north of Tokyo to attend a line off ceremony attended by President Takeo Fukui. But also on hand was Jon Spallino of Redondo Beach, Calif., a purported example of the hoi polloi lining up for the car.
"I'm going to take it to places to show it off," said Harris, whose roles included the bride-turned-terrorist in the television spy drama "24," "That's what it's all about."..............
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../62741773/1176
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...923001566/1065
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