Movies
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To chase down criminals in a new carbon-constrained era, Agent 007 will need a new kind of Q Ship. But he won't stray far from the royal stable. Introducing the latest, kinder, gentler, reportedly less misogynistic Bond: James Bond, and his new all-electric Aston Martin RapideE, which will appear in the new movie with the working title "Shatterhand," likely to be released next year. Actor Daniel Craig, who returns as Bond, may be the first person outside Aston Martin to have a crack at driving the new RapideE. After a string of six other Aston Martins in his films through the years, Bond is...
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What Is It With Electric Cars And Star Wars Stormtroopers Anyway?There it was, in one corner of the Fiat display at last week's Los Angeles Auto Show: an odd black-and-white Fiat 500e electric car. On closer inspection, it proved to be the custom-painted "Fiat 500e Stormtrooper" ... though it's not clear that would have been obvious at first glance. Why this...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Mirai, Electric DeLorean Highlight Back To The Future Movie Anniversary
The 30th anniversary of 'Back to the Future' features some unusual car-related events.
Stephen Edelstein -
Will Hollywood Abandon Tesla Model S For BMW i3 Electric Car?
Electric cars can be confusing enough to neophytes--a car that you plug in at night just like a phone ?!?!?--but when you add in social status signifiers, it can all get quite complicated indeed. Which is how we end up with a Hollywood Reporter piece that asking whether celebrities may abandon...
John Voelcker -
Does George Clooney Really Hate Tesla Electric Cars?
There it was, on the always-factual pages of the New York Post: George Clooney hates Teslas. On Monday, the tabloid published an article focusing on Clooney's comment at the very end of a recent Esquire interview that he'd been "on the side of the road a while" in his Tesla Roadster. Clooney owned...
John Voelcker -
'Iron Man' To Drive All-Electric Audi R8 e-Tron, Again
There's a popular rumor going around that Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Tony Stark, the man behind the mask in Iron Man, is based on Tesla founder Elon Musk. In fact, Musk himself made a cameo in an early scene in Iron Man 2, and a Tesla Roadster appeared in Stark's garage in the first film...
Antony Ingram -
James Bond, Agent 007, has now been driving his Aston Martin DB5 sports cars since 1964. With the new film, Skyfall, opening tomorrow, we thought we'd propose some new motor cars for Commander Bond. He's ventured into many other vehicles, including airplanes, submarines, and newer Aston Martins, but his roadgoing cars have all burned gasoline. Now, with growing concern over global carbon emissions and a wave of newer, greener cars hitting the market, we thought 007 might want to branch out a bit. We'd be comfortable seeing Bond climb out of any of these five green cars. Whether it's in front...
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Fisker Karma Boosts Hollywood Image With Cameo In Thriller
Some might say that luxury carmaker Fisker's story is a bit of a thriller itself. Whether tales of fires and frozen loans will measure up to the new Harrison Ford thriller Paranoia is a different matter, but Fisker's range-extended luxury sedan makes a cameo appearance in the film. According to USA...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla's Elon Musk, GM's Bob Lutz To Appear On 'Charlie Rose' Tonight
They're both featured in Revenge of the Electric Car, the documentary that's now in limited release across the country, so it makes sense they'd be doing media together. The pair of auto-industry stars is Bob Lutz, former product czar at General Motors and still a part-time behind-the-scenes...
John Voelcker -
Elon Musk, Bob Lutz On Red Carpet At 'Revenge of Electric Car' Premiere
Every movie has to have a premiere, and every premiere has to have a red carpet. When the red carpet is on a Manhattan sidewalk, with plenty of passers-by stopping to gawk, and many of the celebs are arriving in electric cars, things get a little more complicated. Still, last night's premiere of...
John Voelcker -
'Who Killed The Electric Car?' Sequel Premieres Tonight (Video)
It's taken as gospel by many of the people who have seen it since its 2006 release, and there's no denying its influence. "Who Killed the Electric?" seemingly stung General Motors enough that the company unveiled the Chevrolet Volt concept in 2007 and then, startled by its popularity, decided to...
John Voelcker -
Curiouser and Curiouser: Tesla's 'Gay' Electric Car Connection
Oh, what a tangled web we weave in the insular little world of electric car advocates. Take the news earlier today that Universal Pictures has agreed to a request from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation that it pull a trailer for a new Vince Vaughan movie in which the B-list star...
John Voelcker -
The news came via a Facebook status from another automotive journalist: "Interesting. Phrase 'Electric cars are gay' pulled from Ron Howard movie." To which we could only respond, huh? [UPDATE: Turns out that there's even a Tesla angle too.] Turns out the upcoming movie The Dilemma, starring Vince Vaughan and released by Universal Pictures, used that phrase as the opener in the trailer now airing on television and in movie theatres. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and others, including CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, complained about usage of the term "gay" as...
