Here is the goods straight from a GM press release via routers:
DETROIT, MI (05.03.04) — Hip-hop’s move into mainstream America is music to the ears of auto executives hoping to add “bling bling” to their brands and street credibility to their cars.
Hip-hop’s many references to flashy cars — the “bling bling” that which has become an entry in the dictionary — has made the chrome add-ons and the oversize wheels, or “dubs,” on the vehicles in many rap videos the new must-have accessory.
In February, General Motors Corp. held its first “GM All-Car Showdown” charity event, where rapper Snoop Dogg, basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, and other athletes and Hollywood celebrities drove their customized Cadillacs or Hummers to compete for the crown of “King of Bling.”
AD LOADING...
“They’ll ultimately influence a thousand people by what they wear or what they drive,” said Mike Jackson, GM’s general manager of the western U.S. region. “This whole business is about style and about personality.”
For consumers wanting a car like the stars, GM will offer 20-inch wheels on all of its SUVs within the next three months, hoping to grab a larger slice of the $3.3 billion market for custom wheels.
Ford Motor Co. promises to design its future vehicles with “urban” attitude influenced by hip-hop.
“Let’s face it, the urban market likes chrome,” Design Chief J Mays told Reuters. “Chrome is a traditionally American design element, and we’re applying it pretty liberally to the front of our Fords.”
In case anybody misses the connection, a Lincoln Navigator SUV decked with spinning wheel covers and video game consoles is dubbed “Mr. Hip Hop” in the movie “Johnson Family Vacation” which opened earlier this month. Ford hopes that the Fox Searchlight film, starring comedian Cedric the Entertainer as the father of an aspiring rapper, will boost the image of its Lincoln brand and the Navigator luxury SUV.
“Our intent is for people to watch it and say, ‘You know what? That thing, it looks good,”‘ said Jon Fitzpatrick, general marketing manager of Lincoln Mercury.
