GLITTERATI FLOCK TO SUBURBAN : GM BEHEMOTH NOW RIDE OF CHOICE AMONG CELEBRITIES.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 box·y adj. box·i·er, box·i·est Resembling a box, especially in simplicity or rectangularity. box  i·ness n. 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 BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. 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 burl n. 1. A knot, lump, or slub in yarn or cloth. 2. a. A large rounded outgrowth on the trunk or branch of a tree. b. The wood cut from such an outgrowth, often used decoratively as a veneer. 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 salesman 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 Noun 1. miles per gallon - the distance traveled in a vehicle powered by one gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel unit, unit of measurement - any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange; "the dollar is the United States unit of , 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 supercharger Air compressor or blower used in piston-type internal-combustion engines to increase the amount of air drawn into the cylinders by the movement of the pistons during each intake stroke. , custom headers and special exhaust 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 hikes 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 BHMA Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association BHMA British Herbal Medicine Association (Bournemouth, UK) BHMA Bald-Headed Men of America BHMA British Holistic Medical Association (UK) owner Andy Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. 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 Pacific Coast Highway may refer to:
Detroit calls them sport utility vehicles This page lists sports utility vehicles currently in production (as of April 2007), as well as past models. The list includes crossover SUVs, Mini SUVs, Compact SUVs and other similar vehicles. ; detractors call them urban assault vehicles. ``Everyone knows they're about road warfare, not recreation,'' Miata sports car driver Jane Birnbaum wrote in Los Angeles magazine. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Andy Cohen, president of Beverly Hills Motoring Acce ssories, shows off some of the options available on the Chevy Suburban vehicle. Associated Press |
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