| EVENT REPORT 04.10.07 12:00 AM |
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| Auto Show Parties Flaunt More Than Cars |
| The night before the press previews for the New York International Auto Show, car manufacturers unveiled new models at events throughout the city using various ruses to get attendance. |
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| On April 3, the day before the New York International Auto Show opened to the press, five car companies hosted events, hoping to drum up buzz about their newest vehicles. At each party, a car was in the spotlight, but other distractions—like art (Andy Warhol at Mercedes-Benz), photography from ad shoots (for both Porsche and Audi), and games (arcade games and basketball at Volkswagen)—kept the non-car enthusiasts amused. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | | Mood Food’s design for Volkswagen included a lakeside scene created with real plants and water, as well as red-and-white tablecloths on tables and food stations—one of which was a rectangular barbecue grill. Tea lights provided the grill’s purely aesthetic flame. |
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 | | Food for Thought’s menu reflected a sporty, outdoor barbecue feel, with mini sirloin burgers with fontina cheese and red onion jam, Maryland crab burgers with horseradish remoulade, tequila lime-marinated jumbo prawns, and panko-crusted fried mac ’n’ cheese balls. The soundtrack had a serious ’80s bent, with DJ Kid America spinning tunes from Prince, the Cure, and the Smithereens. |
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 | | Volkswagen guests could try their hand at several games of the video and physical variety, including basketball and motorcycle and Jet Ski simulators. |
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 | | Plasma screens behind the bar played vintage Volkswagen ads, as well as scenes from the forthcoming movie The Bourne Ultimatum, which features, of course, a new Volkswagen ripping up the streets of Manhattan. (Guests received DVDs of the first two Bourne movies in the gift bag.) In an additional nostalgic touch, vintage car parts were mounted on the wall in the garage. |
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 | | In a predominantly white, modern setting at Splashlight Studios populated by leather sofas and ottomans, Porsche suspended stylish images of its new car, shot in the very same space just two weeks prior for a special issue of fashion and design magazine Clear. |
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 | | Porsche reps encouraged guests to sit in the cars, a slightly intimidating prospect given that the starting price of a 911 GT3 RS is $123,000. “We overcome that by doing it ourselves,” Porsche’s Lee Newton said. “We lead by example.” (However, the race car pictured here, the 2007 Porsche RS Spyder, was for display purposes only.) |
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 | | Mercedes-Benz attracted a mixed crowd with its gallery-opening-like event at Drive In Studios, featuring 17 original Warhol pieces commissioned during the 1980s. The collection has not been in the country for nearly 20 years; its last display was at the Guggenheim in 1988. |
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 | | At the Mercedes event, Olivier Cheng provided passed hors d’oeuvres as well as two signature cocktails including a citrus martini dubbed the “Silver Streamliner.” |
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 | | In addition to the unveiling of its new S5, Audi displayed photographs from photographer Gabo (apparently the German Annie Leibovitz), entertained guests with a performance from jazz singer and pianist Jamie Cullum, and served food from David Bouley. |
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 | | Up at the Boathouse in Central Park, craftsmen from Bentley showed guests their steering-wheel-making skills. |
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At most of the events, a minimalist setting was the design concept of choice. But the Volkswagen cocktail hour preview event at the Altman Building (dubbed the VW Garage) was decidedly outdoorsy and sporty, complete with picnic tables, an outdoor scene with real plants and a shallow pool to serve as a lake, a fish shack, two enormous faux oak trees, and even real leaves scattered on the floor.
Ironically, for Lee Newton, Porsche’s manager of event marketing and sponsorships, the main challenge at the luxury brand is producing events on budgets dwarfed by those of the competition. “All the other manufacturers can do massive, lavish events, with singers and actors,” he said. “We
work within a hell of a budget. We don’t penny-pinch, we’re just efficient.”
—Mimi O’Connor &
Anna Sekula
Posted 04.10.07
Photos: Matthew Roberts/Courtesy of Volkswagen of America Inc. (lake scene,
garage bar), BizBash (fish shack, Jet Ski, artwork, drinks), Richard Prince (Bentley), Courtesy of Audi, Marion Curtis
for Starpix (Porsche)
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