Volvo and Vampires a Natural Fit in The Twilight Saga: New Moon

IRVINE, California — It turns out that Edward Cullen, the vampire hero in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, fits the description of a perfect Volvo owner, according to the Swedish automaker. That's why when the Twilight sequel debuts on November 20, Cullen — who is played by the actor Robert Pattinson — will be behind the wheel of a Savile Grey XC60 tricked out with a sporty body kit.

"The brand DNA matched to [Cullen's] character couldn't be more right," explained Linda Gangeri, Volvo Cars of North America manager of national advertising in a Thursday interview with Inside Line.

"His character is a nurturer and he has to be understated, because he's living in a human world and is in love with a human. At the same time, he wants something that is good-looking and fast.

"The fans are fanatical. They are saying, 'That's not the car in the book.' He drove a [Volvo] S60R in the original book, Twilight. But that car is out of production. So we moved to the newest car in our lineup."

The vampire will be driving what is in effect an XC60R, although Volvo Cars of North America does not have that vehicle in the lineup at this point. But it may. The company's car configurator has been swamped with people putting together their personal XC60s in advance of the movie's premiere in Los Angeles on Monday. Gangeri says completed configurations on the XC60 have gone up 50 percent in recent weeks, something she attributes to the vehicle's movie placement. The company is scrambling to find out how many potential buyers are trying to match Cullen's car.

What Volvo does know is that the placement of its cars in the Twilight movies is helping it to take a big bite out of the female car-buying audience. Gangeri said fans of Twilight are "90 percent female, ranging in age from 10 and up.

"The placement has exposed us to a wider audience," she said. "If Edward drives a Volvo, Volvo is cool. We've seen so many posts in social media saying, 'I have to buy a Volvo.' This has the propensity to be bigger than Harry Potter. Everybody is talking about it. It's an unbelievable fan base."

Gangeri said Volvo did not pay to place its products in the Twilight movies. The XC60 used in New Moon is also being used during the filming of Eclipse, the next movie in the series, which is due out next summer.

Other vehicles, including a Porsche and a BMW, will be seen in New Moon, according to Gangeri. But they play minor automotive roles. "One sister [of Edward Cullen's] drives a BMW in New Moon, and there is a Porsche that one of the Cullens stole to save Edward," she said. "But the only car pushed in the movie is the Volvo."

Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight books, gave her brother the task of pairing up each character in the book with an automobile, Gangeri explained, following extensive talks with the author in September. "The brother is a car nut and saw Volvo as a natural fit," she said. "As a nurturer, [Cullen] wants something that is safe and will take care of his love." In the first movie, the vampire hero drove a Volvo C30 provided by the automaker. Gangeri has become something of a vampire expert throughout this whole process, carefully pointing out that the Cullen family "are vegetarian vampires — they eat animals, not people."

Volvo's online game pegged to the movie, whatdrivesedward.com, will continue running until November 23. Gangeri said 241,000 people have registered at the global site in the U.S. alone.

Movie fans may remember that Volvo often steps out of what seems to be its comfort zone when it comes to product placement. The automaker promoted its Volvo XC90 in a treasure hunt linked to Pirates of the Caribbean in 2007.

When asked what type of cars the villains in New Moon will be driving, Gangeri had this response: "Bad vampires don't drive. The werewolves don't drive, either."

Inside Line says: Volvo draws the line at optional wooden stakes and caskets for the XC60, but it had to be tempting, given the success of this product placement. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent