Cinematic stunt driving is a profession and worth an automotive documentary in itself. But let's talk specifically about the classic 2011 movie "Drive". This is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) who gets on the wrong side of the white line. The car chase scenes are overwhelming and worth the price of a DVD rental alone. Here's a production promotional clip just about the movie's stunt driving, and the chase sequence...
"EyesOn Design" Show: Worth a trip
By Bob Ashton for EyesOn Design In the Detroit area, there is an amazing array of car shows and cruises. On any given day, enthusiasts can check out the coolest ‘rods, muscle cars and beautifully restored vehicles of nearly every make and model. There is one show, however, that is truly unique in the Detroit area. The annual EyesOn Design automotive design show - which takes place on Father’s Day, June 19 - takes a totally different approach, with the emphasis on the overall design aspect of select invited vehicles. Sure, you’ll see some “trailer queens,” but you may also see an unusual Rambler, a classic Cord, a tiny Micro car, an outrageous Muscle Car and even some tastefully modified Tuners!EyesOn Design, which is a benefit for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, utilizes a VehicleSelection Committee made up of true enthusiasts who specialize in certain genres. For 2011, categories include the Classics, the Independents (think Rambler, Packard etc), the Evolution of the Muscle Car, Exotics including select cars from the collection of Honorary Chairman Ken Lingenfelter, British Sports Cars, Micro Cars and even a variety of vintage motorcycles and scooters. Also featured this year are several categories with a twist. The “Extreme Makeover” class will showcase the major design differences of various cars. You will see a ‘62 Corvette next to a ‘63 Split Window, a ‘57 two-seat Thunderbird next to the much larger ‘58 four-seater and even a 1952 Studebaker next to the ultra modern 1953 version. For fans of the Muscle Car class, a special dealerbuilt Supercars category will be in addition to the “Evolution of the Muscle Car, 1960-1973” class. This special gathering will feature ultra rare and in some cases, outrageous documented muscle machines from Baldwin-Motion, Yenko and Royal Pontiac, to name a few.Another category that is sure to be a hit is “Stock to Rock”. This one will place a stock vehicle right next to a modified Rod or Custom. With cars in this class ranging from 1928-1959, (including an authentic fresh from the barn original 1928 Ford), this area is sure to be a hot spot! As if this isn’t enough to make this show stand apart from the rest, there will also be a special gathering of vintage tractors, called “Design on the Farm” complete with a variety of neat old farm implements.With everything from a tiny Isetta up to a stately Packard Limousine on the grounds of the beautiful Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, what better way to spend quality time with Dad on Fathers Day. Many shows claim to have something for everyone, but in the case of the EyesOn Design show, it is truly an understatement.The Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization in Grosse Pointe Park, MI, devoted to matters pertaining to vision and the eye. The DIO provides support services for the visually impaired through various support groups. The Institute’s research efforts center on two international research congresses; The Eye and The Chip and The Eye and The Auto. For more information on the DIO and the EyesOn Design automotive design exposition car show, please see www.eyesondesigncarshow.com
The Hot Rod Dream Car: '40 Ford
’40 Ford: Evolution • Design • Racing • Hot Rodding
Detroit auutomotive author and journalist Joseph Cabadas has partnered with Motorbooks and The Henry Ford to publish a new book called ’40 Ford: Evolution • Design • Racing • Hot Rodding. It has never-before-published photography from The Henry Ford archives with information about the creation and cultural influence of this iconic vehicle. If you don't know, the ’40 Ford has gained in popularity among today’s classic car nostalgists and hot rodders who remember the models as monsters of the drag strip and as affordable first cars or hot rod platforms of their youth. Two hundred photographs and illustrations from the collections of The Henry Ford and from photographers around the country illustrate the iconic automobile. Joseph P. Cabadas is a longtime automotive reporter and the award-winning author of Motorbooks’ River Rouge: Ford’s Industrial Colossus (2005) and The American Auto Factory (2003). He lives in Dearborn, Michigan. Contact: Nichole Schiele, Senior Marketing Manager Motorbooks (Quayside Publishing Group), nschiele@quaysidepub.com / nschiele@motorbooks.com. 612-344-8161 phone 400 First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55401 www.motorbooks.com
Your Station Website Garage
TV late night talk show host Jay Leno has one, so why can't you? No reason, just do it. Your station needs a virtual garage for viewers/listeners to submit their favorite vehicles (new and classic) and have you host pics of them. It will draw people to your site. You could stage annual car shows and have readers select which twenty cars to bring to the station grounds to have viewers inspect and see. Very interactive and a lot of live shot potential. (click on Jay's photo to go to his garage site) http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/
HOW Cheap?
In this current economic situation, consumers are looking for value, which I interpret as quality at a reasonable price. Why not begin to find out the current "hot" used cars in your market and have several local dealers, some of which could even be advertisers, price these vehicles if they have on their lots. Do this on a weekly basis.
Supplier Curbs Health Care Costs
TI Automotive is large automotive supplier, based in Warren, Michigan, specializing in fluid storage, transfer and delivery systems including brake, fuel and air conditioning applications. The company employees over 20,000 people at 130 facilities in 29 countries on six continents, with 2003 sales over $2.5 billion. At their Global Fluid Carry Systems operation in Warren, an innovative program has just begun to help contain rising health care costs. President Rich Kolpasky tells me that they now offer a "health care boot camp" to train workers how to live healthier lives. The company sets aside one hour a week to enrollees to attend this boot camp, and the company pays for most of the cost. I encourage you to do this story! Contact TI's press person, Laura Oliveto (AutoCom Associates) at 248 647-8621 or loliveto@usautocom.com
Collecting Model Cars
I would like to introduce you to the International Model Car Builders' Museum which is a great story for local TV or radio stations in Utah, or any visiting national print or broadcast organization. The museum honors the wonderful world of the history of the model car hobby. It was established in 1990 and has gathered into one place thousands of items of memorabilia about the hobby of constructing scale miniatures of car. Their Web page (see link below) introduces you to the history of the museum by looking at some parts of the collection. They do a great job in classic car model-promotions. You can also examine some documents and other bits of written memorabilia from the hobby. If you have the time, you can read about some of the most colorful personalities and their models in the history of the model car hobby. There are plenty of photographs, and you will also find out how you can join our efforts. You are in for quite a treat. Contact Mark Gustavson at: 801-523-3683 or email at the site: http://www.themodelcarmuseum.org/
Car Care for Women
Do you think car repair and maintenance is just a man's job? Think again! While car care has typically been thought of as "men's work," the Car Council says women represent 60 percent of automotive service customers in North America, spending more than $300 billion dollars annually on vehicle maintenance, repairs and used vehicles. Good local story here. How are car service and repair centers addressing this marketing opportunity? Do women have special needs that have been unaddressed until recently? How many women will you find in the waiting room of a car dealer's service department?
Costner's Location Vacations
KEVIN COSTNER’S MOVIE LOCATIONS By Bob Giles, NewCarNews.TV
Kevin Costner’s many movies were filmed in North American locations that any traveler would be happy to visit. I recently visited two South Dakota locations relating to Costner and his interests and interviewed Costner when he visited Detroit, home of NewCarNews.TV For Costner, it was an opportunity to show his new movie, "Open Range." More about that later, but let’s begin this "Costner Vacation" with the 1990 movie that won Costner so many Oscars, including best film:
Dances with Wolves In 1990, "Wolves" introduced many moviegoers to the fact that once upon a time in America, fields of tall grasses covered much of what now is called our central prarie lands. The vast fields of tall grass have been plowed under for farmlands. But it doesn’t diminish the beauty of the land. Just drive through any of the beautiful prarie lands in the Dakotas along I-80 or I-90, and be sure to get off the road and take a closer look. Picture these vast horizons filed with grasses as tall as six feet! Now picture vast herds of buffalo stampeding over these plains. Smaller remnants of these large buffalo can still be found. Dances with Wolves’ dramatic buffalo sequences were filmed in Pierre, South Dakota, at the nearby Triple U Standing Butte Ranch. Other South Dakota locations for this movie include Badlands National Park, in the Sage Creek Wilderness Area; Belle Forche, along the Belle Forche River; and Spearfish, where the winter camp sequence was filmed in Spearfish Canyon. Another set, Fort Hays, is located four miles south of Rapid City, South Dakota, on Highway 16. See the headquarters building where Kevin Costner received his orders to "go west." The set is open from May 15 to Sept. 15 and is free to visitors. I also suggest a drive to southwest South Dakota and visit Custer State Park where many other movies have been shot, including "The Last Hunt", "How the West Was Won", and "A Man Called Horse". Its wild beauty and open areas will give you the opportunity to see one of the last large herds of bison that are allowed to graze in these massive parklands.
Visit Kevin Costner’s casino, Midnight Star, in Deadwood, South Dakota. Inside, Costner displays costumes he’s worn during his career, Several of the fabulous pieces from "Dances with Wolves", "Bull Durham", "Waterworld", and, yes, even "The Bill Chill". Have lunch on the second floor under the Detroit Tiger uniform he wore in "For the Love of the Game".
A few miles north of Deadwood is Tatanka: the Story of the Bison, a massive sculpture monument Costner commissioned. The memorial includes 16 life-size castings of bison racing over a cliff to their deaths, chased by three Native Americans on horseback. The sculpture took nine years to produce, and what makes this place so special is that it’s an educational opportunity for the whole family to learn about the lifestyle of the Native Americans who have a teaching encampment at the site.
Moviegoers will recognize the word, tatanka, from "Dances with Wolves," It is the Lakota Sioux word for buffalo. That movie was remarkable for its breakthrough attitude and perspective from the Native American viewpoint and use of subtitled Lakota language. During a recent appearance Costner made in Detroit, I asked him about his leadership role in explaining the story of the Native Americans, and whether he could see an impact on the way the industry treated or portrayed Native Americans.
Said Costner, "Yes, I have done some work in this area, and produced ‘500 Nations.’ But it would be stupid for me to think that I was the leader in teaching the story of our Native Americans. That would be a bad thing. What I try to do in my work is be as authentic as possible. That’s how I am true to every story. It must be authentic. And people respond to that. Being authentic creates an atmosphere that people can relate to. It’s how people look and how they act. It’s real, it’s authentic. The story of the Native Americans should be told with authenticity. I try to do that."
Costner’s newest movie, Open Range, is a study in authenticity. As Costner told me, "There were no women in the scenes shot in the saloon. At that time it was not appropriate for women to be in a saloon. But you did see women in the town cafe. So I had women in the cafe." I have already seen this great new romantic Western, and convinced it will be a classic. More than a fine screenplay and exceptional acting, what will eventually earn Costner awards for this movie is his attention to detail and a demand for authenticity. "Open Range" was shot in southern Alberta, Canada. The scenery is overwhelmingly beautiful, and there are no car chases or clashes with Native Americans.
Let’s fill up the gas tank and take a look at just a few of Costner’s other films and shooting locations:
Field of Dreams If they built it in 1989, will people still come in 2003? You bet! The rural farm that Costner used to shoot this classic baseball movie about "Shoeless Joe" still has the baseball diamond set next to the field of corn. And it’s free! It’s located in northeast Iowa at 28963 Lansing Road, in Dyersville. That's just 25 miles west of Dubuque, Iowa, and approximately 200 miles west of Chicago, Illinois. For more information and hours of operation, phone toll free 1-888-875-8404, or visit this site for more: http://www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com
For the Love of the Game One of Costner’s lesser-known efforts and yet a great baseball story about an aging Detroit Tiger who must decide to end his career. Although other major movies used Tiger Stadium in recent years as a great location, this movie was shot in Yankee Stadium. I suggest the next time you go to New York, rent this movie and then buy a ticket to this ballpark.
Tin Cup Costner plays Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy, a golfer who has become complacent running a West Texas driving range. The first part of the movie was shot in the desert outside Tucson, Arizona. McAvoy soon falls in love with a psychologist (played by Rene Russo), but must compete for her love against a rival golfer in the U.S. Open. These scenes were shot in the Houston, Texas, area at Deerwood and Kingwood courses and not in North Carolina, as the script would have you believe. Both of these courses are open.
Waterworld The futuristic story about a lone traveler, "The Mariner" (Costner), living in a world filled with water, trying to find a piece of dry land. You would have to travel to Hawaii to both get a good look at some of the water, plus stay in four of the locations used in the film. A travel agency has listed the four Hawaiian locations from the movie as places you could vacation, "A Tree House--in the hidden valley of the only land on earth in the last scene of Waterworld. Tropical delight with all the modern conveniences, including kitchen. Small House & Studio--private, in same jungle setting with 1,200-foot waterfall. Property accommodates 20 guests. B&B--world class view. Large studio w/kitchen overlooking the "New Earth." Designer Guest House--on 4.2 acres with stream and ocean view overlooking 20 miles of Waterworld's fabulous "New Earth." 2 bedrooms & studio; sleeps 9." If any of these interest you, contact Celebrity Getaways International at
Bull Durham One of the best-loved baseball movies co-stared Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins. The movie was filmed in Durham, North Carolina, at the Historic Durham Athletic Field, 500 West Corporation Street, (919) 560-4355. Almost all of the baseball scenes were filmed in the park, and the locker room scenes were shot in the tobacco warehouse across the street.
These titles are just a few to begin planning your vacation with Kevin Costner. You can research more yourself on the Internet using a good search engine, such as Yahoo or Google. Costner’s film library touches a broad sweep of the American experience. During the Detroit interview, Costner noticed that I had brought along a small travel brochure about the Tatanka exhibit which he autographed, "Oh, you actually went there! Good for you!" He’s right, it was good for me and anyone else wanting to learn more about our rich, diverse history.
MotorCities Heritage Tours
MotorCities Executive Director Mark Pischea
If you are a U.S. broadcaster working in an industrialized area, most likely you live in one of the twenty-five National Park Service National Heritage Areas. Did you even know they exist? Of interest to automotive reporters is the MotorCities-Automobile National Heritage Area. This area is most of southeastern Michigan, including Detroit, Flint and Lansing. The history of American automobile manufacturing has produced several interesting historic sites from very obvious places like Greenfield Village, the Ford Rouge Plant Tours, The General Motors Building, the Edsel & Elanor Ford House, plus not-so-obvious sites such as the remarkable 1933 Diego Rivera murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts. MotorCities Executive Director Mark Pischea recently explained the purpose and value of the Heritage Area before a meeting of the Automotive Press Association of Detroit. "Rather than retreating from our auto heritage for fear that it exposes us as a ‘rust belt’ state, we must embrace our heritage as what defines us as a people and a region. We should celebrate the contributions we’ve made to the world, and creative genius that still exists here today. Because if you have a passion for cars, or have an interest in history or is you love great stories, this is the only place in the world where you can experience it all." This is a story that is ripe for the taking. The MotorCities-Automobile National Heritage Area has created pamphlets and Website information to help visitors tour touring these historic sites in much the same way you might visit a National Park. This is also a wonderful resource for broadcaster working on an automotive piece that can benefit from a little history. Contact them at www.autoheritage.org or www.ExperienceEverythingAutomotive.com or at (313) 259-3425
Crossover Car Wash Prices
If you take a look at your local car wash posted prices, and you'll find something similar to this, "Car Wash $5.00, Trucks $6.00." In this age of crossover vehicles, what happens when a Chrysler Pacifica pulls up to get clean? Is it a car or a truck? Same with a new Chevy HHR, it's a truck, but it will probably pass for the car price!
TUNER CARS ARE HOT
Tuner cars are hot! Chances are, many of your viewers are tuner car owners. A tuner car is a regular production vehicle that has been modified to look and sound sweet on the street. General Motors and has launched a "Tuner Garage" on its GM.com website. It's currently under construction, so check back later. But you don't have to wait. You could create and produce your own "Tuner Garage" segment on a weekly basis, showing what someone has done to personalize his/her own vehicle. I'm certain that a local dealer in aftermarket parts would be happy to sponsor this segment.
Canadian performance small car builder, Keith Losier, developed this ground breaking, one-of-a-kind ION Quad Coupe. If features one of the first known vertical door kits found on a Saturn, a custom fabricated interior which houses a serious sound system, and 7 LCD monitors creatively placed throughout the vehicle. Featured on the cover of the April/May 2005 issue of Performance Audio and Sound, and winner of the 2004 SEMA GM Compact Design Award, this Saturn continues to gain notoriety.
Promote Kid Car Seat Safety!
Here's an astounding statistic: 4 out of 5 child car seats are used improperly. Please check out the website www.safekids.com for more information. You could help promote safe use of child car seats by using part of your crew van artwork dedicated to a message about child safety!
The safekids.com van
What's HOT in Your Town?
Here are some recent top ten selling vehicles in the USA, as reported by MSN. How does this compare in your community? (Source: automakers sales figures compiled by MSN)
Your station could do weekly features with people who've solved the problem of trying to buy a car on a limited income. Here's a photo of Kate Anderson of Hill City, SD who purchased a 1997 Suzuki Sidekick for her daily drive from home to her job as office manager at the Haney Camp near Mt. Rushmore, SD. As she says, "I bought it because of South Dakota roads. I need four-wheeldrive! It's small and easy to drive but works just as well as a more costly SUV."
Car Kids!
Kids Take Great Car Photos!
Childen love cars, so it's best not to ignore them when doing stories about new vehicles or industry improvements. Get their reaction to make your story a great story. Kids know how to cut through the clutter and will always give you an honest evaluation of any design exteriot or interior design change. Better yet, this is an important bit of any consumer evaluation. Don't forget them!
Are You a "Good Driver"?
What makes a good driver? Each viewer you interview will have a different answer to this question! It?s a good story that can include someone who?s just won a safe driving award compared to someone who?s racked up a long list of tickets. Remember, the person who says, ?I?m a good driver, I have never had a ticket,? may not be a good driver just because he's never been caught! Just ask the cops! Journalists creating a story may want to also visit the "Disaster of the Month Photo Page" featuring unusual car crashes from around the world. (click at left to get a link.) I'll bet many of the drivers of these cars thought they were good drivers!
Grill 'Em on Grilles!
Name This Car!
How well do your viewers know their car grilles? Show viewers a close-up photo of a car grille and see how many correctly identify it. Their could be similar to Jay Leno's "JayWalking" segment on the tonight show.
Create A "Viewer Car Team"
Norm & Harve: A Dream Team!
Why not create a "Viewer Car Team" at your staton to evaluate new cars? You could select members from viewers who requested to be on the team. It would be best to get a good cross section of people with interest in both domestic or foreign vehicles and manufactueres within both these groups. Age differences should also be represented. You could have great fun using them when the auto show comes to town, and on a regular (monthly?) basis.
Have Kids Draw Concept Cars
Kids love cars and have some great ideas about improved car designs. Why not have your station do what the folks at the Chicago Auto Show do each year; ask grade students to draw their very own concept cars. Take a look at this drawing by "Rabecca, grade 6." She drew the "Car of the Furure. It is Eatable. The 2023 Krispy Kreamy Donut (car!)"
"Corvette With Boost" 2005
"Atomic Bomb Car" 2005
Car Problem Solver Segments
In most households, the car is the second biggest investment a family will make. So why not offer your viewers weekly service tips about their cars? Viewers could call or write in questions that you own "Mr. Goodwrench" could answer with a well-produced show and tell segment.
