LA's Auto Show Attracts Sharon Stone & Other Sightings

Sharon Stone Intros Lotus Esprit

 

Sharon Stone's sex appeal was pressed into service by sports car maker Lotus of England to lure the media into witnessing the unveiling of its new lineup during the LA Auto Show’s press previews last week.  Stone was an indication that the show wasn't just about the cars, it was an interesting event for industry watchers to see who was there, who wasn't there and who's moved on to other ventures.

 Jaguar Designer, Ian Callum, Louise Roe, Mike O'Driscoll, Managing Director, Jaguar Cars

Lotus wasn’t alone in using glamorous spokes models to turn up the heat on their stands. British actress and TV Presenter, Louise Roe, who hosts E Entertainments, "Perfect Catch" pitched in to help Jaguar, now owned by Indian billionaire Ranan Tata’s, eponymous Tata Motors, which also snapped up another UK icon, Land Rover, when Ford shed its bloated luxury brand offerings.  Roe cheered on the execs as they rolled out a sleek hybrid concept car with an estimated top speed of 205mph.

 

 
Sergio Marchionne, the head of Fiat and post-bailout Chrysler, was the most senior executive to attend.  He upstaged Nissan's intro of the Ellure as a swarm of reporters surrounded him after spying the Fiat head watching the press conference from the edge of Chrysler's adjacent display stand.  His gravitational pull proved to be more alluring than the Ellure's as an increasing number of journos decamped from Nissan's presentation to question him about GM's IPO and it's impact on Chrysler's eventual public offering.

Bob Lutz and Lotus CEO Dany Bahar

One year ago Bob Lutz was the stand-in keynote speaker for GM CEO Fritz Henderson, who'd been fired on the eve of the auto show.  This week, the opening speech was given by the CEO of Volvo, Stefan Jacoby, who's company had been sold to Chinese automaker Geely.  Lutz, the newly named member of the Lotus advisory council, was spied making a brief appearance on the sport car builder's stand tucked away in a small display area between the two large exhibit halls.  He arrived after celebrities Billy Baldwin, Sharon Stone and Paul Stanley from KISS (who one attendee said is the victim of serious cosmetic surgery malpractice) mutely pulled the covers off three different upcoming models from Lotus.  We assumed speaking parts would have been extra.

The honchos from GM missed the official Volt launch, as President Mark Reuss,  CEO Dan Akerson and Tom Stephens, Vice Chair, were in NY waiting to ring the bell for the IPO.  Former Auto Czar Steven Rattner who'd championed GMs bailout, wasn't at either party due to the cloud cast by allegations of a pension fund kickback scheme.  The outgoing NY attorney general and governor elect, Andrew Cuomo, who's seen as a possible Presidential candidate, did send the czar an invitation to appear before him to answer charges he filed yesterday accusing Rattner of doing " whatever it took to get his hands on (State of NY) pension fund money."

You may not bump into Sharon Stone or the Baldwin brothers but the LA Auto Show is a good way to get an up close look at what's going to be starring in auto showrooms next year.