Vampire to sell

Chicago Business reports...

James Bond has inspired sales of Aston Martins and BMWs with his super-cool onscreen wheels. Now a vampire who drives a Volvo is getting the attention of young drivers.

Since the release of "Twilight" in 2008, teens and young adults have been drawn to the Volvo C30, driven by the character Edward Cullen.

"All these teenagers were going crazy about the C30," says Carmelo Scalzo, general manager of Volvo of Oak Park. "After the movie launched, we saw this spike in C30 sales. We didn't know what had happened until we put two and two together."

Mr. Scalzo helped market the newer XC60, featured in the series' second film, "New Moon" (2009), after Volvo caught on and tied the car to the movie through advertisements and guerrilla marketing.

The XC60, at $32,995, has not seen the same spike in sales as the C30, at $24,600, Mr. Scalzo says.

But for some, just seeing one is enough.

"I have people coming in with their kids who are taking pictures with the cars," say Pat Hubert, general manager of Fields Volvo in Highland Park. "These are younger kids, probably 12 or 13 years old. Their parents say they'll come back when they're older."

Franz Mausser, manager of Barrington Volvo, reports a surge of interest in both models.

"We have seen an increase in interest in both vehicles by the youngest of drivers, teens and twentysomethings, and beyond," Mr. Mausser says. "Young parents also have been engrossed with the plots and story lines of the movie."