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03/18 THE TEN SPOT

This article is from our archives and has not been updated and integrated with our "new" site yet... Even so, it's still awesome - so keep reading!

Published on Sun, Mar 30, 2003

By: The LACar Editorial Staff

THE TEN SPOT

By JOHN GRAFMAN

Adrian Brodie with swinging '70's Corvette.

GM knows how to throw a party. Erect a monster size tent just down the street from the Kodak Theater within a week of the Academy Awards and invite a few thousand partiers to revel in the seventy fifth anniversary of both the Oscars and General Motors.

If the object was to remind us that GM is American as mom, apple pie and, er...Chevrolet, they did come damn close to achieving their goal. Red carpet, stars, and cars, they pulled out all the stops. This is the second year for the GM Ten, an extravaganza which brought Film, GM design and the fashion runway into one place at one time for the benefit of several charities including the American Breast Cancer Association.

Allison Janney or would you really rather have the Buick?

Among the stars that shined bright that night were Adrian Brodie, Michael Chiklis, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Allison Janney and Jewel to name a few. As the music pumped period songs that complemented the attire of the runway celebrity models, period cars pulled up onto the runway for trip to the far end and then spun around on a turntable and made their way back with the models to the opposite end. GM came to play with some fantastic automobiles such as a super clean '64 GTO and a sweet '57 Chevy Bel Air. Also to show what lies just down the road for the company, several gleaming examples also took their turn down the catwalk. The new Saab 9-3 convertible was on hand and the topless Swede was definitely eye catching. The upcoming GTO from down under also graced the runway. Although it shares few styling cues from the '64 that was on hand, it nonetheless can meet the marketplace with few excuses as to the intent of this Aussie. We will see if the car delivers the goods as purported.

Life under the big top.

A few concepts were thrown in for good measure to show the future of the company such as the Cadillac V-16 and the Pontiac G6 both of which are very expressive representations of their marks.

At the conclusion of the display it seemed GM firmly hit the nail on the head with this promotional, charity event. Up to that moment it was a perfect night under a massive tented pavilion complete with multi level floors and numerous open bars (remember to bring a designated driver) and tasty appetizers. The DJ was playing just the right selections and the light show and projections on the inside of the tent were captivating. In a blink of an eye they had a band up on the stage area ready to continue the good vibes (no pun intended) and that's when things went south in a hurry.

Jennifer Love Hewitt and a Chevy Bel-Air.

You couldn't help but feel embarrassed for GM and the coordinator who picked the band for the event. Evidently they forgot to mention to the band that this was a promotional event for GM and as it turned out a rather nice affair that put the political issues of the day aside for at least one evening. Instead the band N.E.R.D. (no excuse really dumb?) took the opportunity to promote their political views. Not only were they pathetically relying unnecessarily on vulgarity and obnoxiousness in a vain attempt to make a point or gain some notoriety, they insulted many of those who hosted and were honored at the event, and the guests at the affair but also their point of view regarding the war was a real slap in the face for General Motors which is such an important part of our military capabilities. I can't imagine N.E.R.D. will be playing too many GM events in the future and they might keep Michigan completely off their tour schedule if they have any clue at all.

Jewel and GTO.

As hard as everyone worked on making this a memorable evening associating GM with amazing people, cars and fashion, instead we left with a soured taste in our mouth. I got to give the people at the General credit for bring together such an event even in the face of record rainstorms and ferocious winds that didn't seem to let up until just a day or so before show time. The confused band however left us thinking that instead of the night being a ten maybe it was more like a seven and a half.

David Arquette and Hummer concept.

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