Articles by Rebeccah Elley

Does the film do justice to American writer Jack Kerouac’s cult tale of an epic road trip? Many will argue not. However, car lovers won’t be disappointed by the classic 1940/50s cars on display. And the attractive cast is easy on the eye too. But it gives the movie a slick coat of Hollywood gloss that sits at odds with its source. Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical tale follows hopeful writer Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) on his road trip across America with mischievous friend Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) and his 16-year-old “chick” wife Marylou (Kristen Stewart). Dean is a womaniser – and more naked than clothed in the film – indulging in constant sexual escapades on both sides of the fence. Dean divorces the sexy Marylou for more stable student Camille (Kirsten Dunst), but continues an on/off again relationship with Marylou. Sal idolises Dean, observing him intently and eventually gains the courage to map out his own tangent journey. At the end of the movie, we are left with Sal as a successful writer inspired by his spontaneous travels, while Dean is dumped in a state of disillusionment, his lifestyle a blockade to his future.  The film depicts the essence of the beat generation – youth searching for truth in literature, jazz music, drugs and alternative sexuality. The beautiful landscape captured through the window of a car is no surprise from cinematographer Eric Gautier – who also worked on Into the Wild and A Christmas Tale. A younger audience may connect with the good-looking cast, especially Twilight franchise’s Kristen Stewart as Marylou. However, those looking for a faithful rendition of Kerouac's generation-defining novel will find the glossy Hollywood cast and formulaic dialogue a letdown. Our advice: forget the meaning – or any search for it – and watch for the car fun. The Sydney Film Festival runs from the 6-17 June 2012.  

L for what? We never really find out but fans of the Greek Weird Wave will love it. However the vast majority of moviegoers will find the film an unrewarding watch, lacking in plot and character development.Released at the Sydney Film Festival this week, the film follows 40-year-old professional honey driver Man (Aris Servetalis). During the day Man picks up honey and delivers it to a 50-year-old narcoleptic man.On several occasions Man meets his estranged wife in a car park and takes his two children for a spin in his car, whilst listening to an awkward rendition of Moonlight Sonata. It’s a pity that the film doesn’t delve deeper into his relationship with his family, as there is much to explore.Instead, the plot shifts gears after Man’s job as a honey courier is usurped by another driver. Man joins a biker gang to find a sense of purpose. The bikers hate motorists and to prove some sort of loyalty Man smashes his own car, in a slow torturous way.Near the end of the 87 minute film - yes we were counting - Man repeatedly has conversations with his dead best-friend who was mistaken for a bear and shot dead a year ago. We’re guessing this is a link back to the honey. And the film ends without conclusion, with Man singing a song about the sea.There may be a few devotees of the difficult art cinema, who will find a deeper meaning in the flat plot and the lifeless characters in L. But for the rest of us, we’ll stick to a classic car chase. The Sydney Film Festival runs from the 6-17 June 2012. 

A whacky honey courier and a film version of the famed Beat Generation On the Road are the stars.The first revved up movie to grab some popcorn and put your feet up to is L. The movie is directed by Babis Makridis who doesn’t shy away from the weird and dark side of humour.The dry comedy follows a Greek 40-year-old driver called Man (played by Aris Servetalis). And just like most of us Man’s car is his life, Man even lives in it. In the day Man is a honey driver for a 50-year-old narcoleptic man. When Man loses his job he turns to a motorcycle gang for a sense of purpose...let’s just say a bit of blood follows. A sharp turn away from L is the spontaneous American road trip movie On the Road. Heard this plot before? Young Sal Paradise (Sam Riley), an aspiring New York writer, meets handsomely youthful ex-con Dean Moriarty and his wife the sexy/promiscuous Marylou (AKA Kristen Stewart from Twilight) and they embark on a road-trip to discover themselves.They drink, smoke weed, have sex and of course drive. The movie is an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s acclaimed cult classic novel On the Road. Both movies importantly focus on cars, but we’ll be waiting on Margaret and David for final verdict. The Sydney Film Festival runs from the 6-17 June 2012. 

Bright Lights plates can add some colour front and back. The new range of number plates was launched this week, with some help from grafitti artists to lend even more colour to the idea. The street artists spray-painted their own personalised number plate inspiration, combining all colours of the spray can palette. But the Bright Lights range is a simpler approach with seven bright colours – each on a black background; moulin rouge (red to us), midnight jazz (AKA purple), blue lagoon, hot flamingo, venetian green, casino sunrise and gold rush. Bright Lights “marks the beginning of a new era in personalised number plates and we are delighted to be able to offer such a vibrant range to NSW drivers,” myPlates CEO Daryl Head says. “The evolution of personalised number plates in NSW has transformed the way drivers express themselves on the road. We look forward to offering NSW drivers many more opportunities to express themselves in the coming months.” The new plates are available now, so if you fancy a splash of flamboyancy, go for it.  We just pray for no green plates on yellow cars, or vice versa.  

Latest research reveals 77 per cent of prospective buyers can recall a Ford ad, and 72 per cent a Holden ad.The two brands top the latest Roy Morgan Automotive Currency research, which identifies car buying intentions over the next four years. Roy Morgan Research industry communications director Norman Morris says Ford, Holden and Toyota “remain the most recalled brands, although Toyota has declined by 5% points over the last 2 years.”This week Toyota also lost its MVP crown falling back to second place in the ‘world's most valuable’ car brand rankings. The research indicates that Japanese brand ad recall has dropped due to forced cuts in spending for advertising and marketing.Morris says, “with many of the Japanese manufacturers forced to cut their ad spend as a result of the March 2011 Tsunami & earthquake, it’s not surprising to see that ad recall for the Japanese brands is down across the board.”Korean brands performed well in the study, with Hyundai maintaining a solid 59 per cent and Kia rising to 49 per cent. Volkswagen has been the major mover, jumping from 40 per cent in 2010 to 50 per cent in 2012, with 300,000 more people recalling a Volkswagen ad in this period. This pushes Volkswagen up from spot 11, to a tied 9 with Nissan.Morris says with so many “automotive brands available to choose from, multiple new or face lifted models hitting the market each month and budgets tightening – memorable, targeted communication is increasingly vital.” The research suggests that if an automotive brand is spending millions of dollars on media, but is unable to improve their ad recall figure amongst their target audience; their message is being “lost.” The study of 5657 people was conducted by Roy Morgan Research, focussing on the 12 largest automotive brands sold in Australia.

Skoda takes a dig at all the focus on the communication tools in this advertisement for what they say is the ultimate device: the car. It stars pop songstress Anastacia, who features as … well, an in-car feature. She responds to the driver’s audio setting changes, delivering everything from her tracks What Can We Do and Deeper Love to yodelling, opera voice, country singing and rapping. The commercial was created for Skoda’s Citigo small car, which is heavily based on the Volkswagen Up and is Skoda’s first three-door car.  

Here’s your chance to get a sneak peak at the design of Holden cars before they make their grand entrance on motor show floors.And it seems the Holden Design Series is also a bit of a recruitment strategy to entice the interest of soon to be uni grads. One particularly chuffed Holden employer, creative Frank Rudolph says, “the training is a real building block to my overall career development.”Well polished car design series or the ultimate job advertisement? It’s your call. 

The system is designed to make parking easier by reducing blinds spots and giving extra angles on the area around the vehicle. The Around View Monitor uses four individual cameras to display images of the vehicle. Nissan says a birds-eye view makes parallel parking easier, while the front and rear views confirm the position of the vehicle and information on sonars at each corner is also shown on the monitor to show proximity to hazards. “By displaying the rear view and front-side view simultaneously, the driver can easily confirm the two most worrisome areas; the rear and front assist side of the vehicle,” Nissan said. Nissan prides itself on being able to introduce the latest technological and safety innovations into the volume market and Around View Monitor is the latest example of this,” Nissan Australia CEO Bill Peffer said. Video demonstration: Around View Monitor

The mayhem of the ultimate American sport – monster truck racing sees one “daredevil,” take off fast only to fail and crash into a water main. Good work buddy.  

The curvy sports car has picked up its third Sports Car of the Year Award from UK’s Diesel magazine. It seems good things come in three and the Peugeot has ticked the right boxes - economical, practical and a real eye turner. DieselCar editor Ian Robertson cited the RCZ’s “road-hugging stance, curvy shape and swoopy grooved … an instant head-swiveller. Performance defines a sports car, while styling delivers the wow factor. The RCZ has both in spades.” A key cue of the ‘wow’ he refers to is the Peugeot RCZ’s  signature double-bubble roof and rear windscreen set off by aluminium roof arches. The award was given to the diesel variant, which carries a 120kW/340Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, that claims economy of 5.3-litres/100km.  Peugeot global product manager is understandably chuffed at having to make room for one more title on the RCZ’s trophy shelf. “The RCZ turns heads wherever it goes, as does our awards cabinet which is bristling with accolades demonstrating its appeal,” Blundell says. Other awards it’s nabbed include: