CUSTOM SUBURBANS TAKE TINSELTOWN BY STORM.

Byline: Jeff Wilson Associated Press 

Goodbye, Range Rover. Goodbye, Humvee. The latest Malibu status symbols are General Motors Corp.'s Suburbans.

In a town almost singularly obsessed with cars and the image they confer on their owners, the boxy Suburban and its 20-inch-shorter cousins, the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon, would seem an odd choice. But the Suburban, the popular chase car in presidential motorcades that's big enough to carry an entire soccer team, has become Hollywood's hottest set of wheels.

Brentwood housewives, Malibu surfers and entertainment moguls have swapped the BMW and Mercedes-Benz for these four-wheel-drive behemoths jammed with creature comfort and performance nimbleness.

``I went from a Ferrari. Now, I drive a Suburban,'' Michael J. Fox, a father of three, told Jay Leno on the ``Tonight'' show.

Who else drives these things? Bruce Willis, Rod Stewart, Janet Jackson, Charlie Sheen, Jennie Garth, John Larroquette, Martha Stewart and Mary Hart. Jim Carrey, with a $20 million paycheck from his latest film ``The Cable Guy,'' just ordered one.

But these aren't your everyday assembly-line products.

Zooming through tony neighborhoods and lining parking lots at trendy watering holes these days are $85,000 Suburbans jammed with goodies: Nintendo games, videocassette players, cellular telephones in front and back, satellite tracking systems to help navigate, burled wood accents and plush leather seats.

Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories, known as the ``Neiman Marcus of the automotive world,'' caters to these whims. No hard-sell salesmen here - many clients use fax machines to order their custom wheels.

With hefty $40,000 price tags from the dealer and a gas-guzzling 12 miles per gallon, the Suburban isn't for the thrifty. But affluent baby boomers with kids love them, and Beverly Hills Motoring transforms mere vehicles into dream machines dripping with luxurious amenities.

In addition to the interior creature comforts, there's a supercharger, custom headers and a special exhaust system to goose performance. Alloy wheels, special tires, flared wheel wells and fancy fog lamps dress up the ride.

Security concerns? Top-of-the-line satellite-based security systems, as well as bulletproofing that meets U.S. Secret Service specifications, can be ordered.

Recent gas prices exceeding $2 a gallon didn't faze BHMA's well-heeled clientele. Twenty-seven gas-thirsty Suburbans, Yukons and Tahoes are being transformed this month alone into peppy living rooms on wheels.

And 60 percent of those buyers are women.

``They are women with families,'' BHMA owner Andy Cohen said. ``This is new in the last three years. Before that, women never drove them because they thought they were a bus. Then they saw how safe and easy to drive they are. You definitely feel more secure riding down Pacific Coast Highway in one.''

Detroit calls them sport utility vehicles; detractors call them urban assault vehicles.

``Everyone knows they're about road warfare, not recreation,'' Miata sportscar driver Jane Birnbaum wrote in Los Angeles magazine.

On any Saturday in Malibu, Corvettes, Mustangs and road-hugging luxury sedans roll along in a canyon of Suburbans, Tahoes, Yukons, Blazers, Explorers, Range Rovers and Pathfinders cruising Pacific Coast Highway.

``People say they need four-wheel drive for a trip to the mountains. In fact, they envision knocking down looters and barreling out of town after the Big One hits, with the kids and a year's worth of supplies from Gelson's crammed in the back,'' Birnbaum wrote.

Cohen laughed off the comment, then offered: ``Well, 95 percent of our sales are four-wheel drive and 95 percent never go into four-wheel drive. They seem to think there might be that one time they will go to Mammoth or Arrowhead and need it.''

No two vehicles are the same. Like a tailor stitching a custom European suit, each vehicle is designed to the customer's specifications. Cost: $50,000 to $85,000.

``Considering the price of an average Range Rover is more than $65,000, I think this is a great deal. And people feel good about being able to buy American again,'' Cohen said.

Cohen's under-the-hood fiddling enhances performance and increases mileage to 18 miles per gallon. The supercharger, headers, exhaust enhancements and suspension give it get-up-and-go.

A Malibu resident himself, Cohen has chirped the tires on his navy blue Suburban on more than one occasion after a meal at Capra's, Malibu's hot new watering hole.

There's a sliding electric moon roof, unique console with refrigerator, 17-speaker surround sound with 600 watts of power, front-and-rear cellular telephones and a fax machine.

``We had one overseas customer who wanted us to match the interior of his Suburban to that of his private jet,'' Cohen said. ``Another customer wanted us to replace his interior with buffalo hide.''