----- Forwarded by Jay Laifman/Attorney/Legal/CF/CCI on 06/26/2002 01:34
PM -----
"Jones, Terril" <Terril.Jones@latimes.com>
06/26/2002 01:34 PM
To: "Mark Burkley" <mark@ciansystems.com>, piperbill@tubbs.cc,
Jay_Laifman@countrywide.com, series25@optonline.net
cc:
Subject: RE: James Bond cars
Messieurs Burkley, Tubbs, Laifman and Series25,
Thank you for your emails today regarding James Bond's first movie
car, and I plead: busted. I should have known better, since I've seen
every Bond film except "Casino Royale." The error did not come from Ford
or Aston Martin, but from us. I can only say in response to this goof is
that it occurred due to an unfortunate confluence of events, including the
LATimes email system not delivering me the edited version of the story
Monday night and yesterday's sudden news conference by Ford about Crown
Victoria police cruisers that pulled me out of the office. I had in fact
sent the following message to the story's editor after finally getting a
copy of it, though by that time it was too late to change anything:
"The only question I would raise, and it's probably not worth pulling
out of CCI, is re Aston Martin, *the exotic marque that actor Sean Connery
drove at the outset of the long-running James Bond movie franchise*. He
drove the DB5 in Goldfinger, but there were two Bond movies before that
(Dr. No 1962 and From Russia With Love '63), and I don't know what he
drove in those. Astons have been in 4 or 5 bond films, tho not always the
featured car."
So while my instinct was correct that it may be an issue, I was
obviously way off base that it was "not worth" pulling out of the editing
system into which it had been sent, so please accept my apologies. It also
proves to me once again that there are always sharp-eyed readers who know
more than I do about everything.
I also could have avoided the mistake if I could have found the press
kit that BMW put out a couple of years ago regarding the then-new Z8
roadster, featured as I'm sure you know in -- and I hope I've got the
right movie here (I'd check before I would put it in print) -- "The World
is Not Enough." The press kit listed every Bond car (as well as Bond girl,
Bond song, co-star etc) from the movies and was a gold mine for any Bond
fan.
Incidentally, I was told by a (British) spokesman for Aston Martin a
couple of years ago that the DB5 featured in Goldfinger was actually a DB4
made up to look like a DB5. I forget the reason; either the DB5 wasn't
available yet, or it was because of the modifications they had to do to
give the ejector seat, etc.
Thanks again for your critiques; I welcome comments and criticisms
anytime. :-)
Best regards,
Terril Y. Jones
LA Times / Detroit
PS to Jay: Your photos are great, thanks for sharing them. And, you said
there were *two* incorrect comments -- I guess I should ask: what was the
other one?
-----------
Get your facts straight before putting your foot in your mouth!
James Bond drove a black,1962 Series II Sunbeam Alpine in Dr. No, at the
outset of the series of james Bond movies, correct this and restore your
limited credibility.
Very nice article. However, not to nit-pick, I believe Mr Bond started in
a Sunbeam as his first car in Dr No . The Sunbeams are quite the British
orphans and often overlooked. If you
are inclined, an article about them would be nice, as they are a great
marque with quite a history that is relatively unknown to anyone under 40.
Thanks.
Kind regards,
MD Burkley
You've undoubtedly already heard from several, but a small correction to your
"Starring Rolls" story is in order. James Bond's first movie car was a Sunbeam
Alpine, in the movie "Dr. No". The Aston Martin came later. It's surprising
that Ford Motor Company wouldn't tell you that since it was a Ford engine that
powered the offshoo of the Alpine, the Sunbeam Tiger.
Anyway, nice story besides the small gaff.
Thanks!
Bill Tubbs
Carmichael, California
I was just reading your article in today's L.A. Times about the cars in
the movies. There were two incorrect comments about James Bond's first car in
the movies. It was not an Aston Martin. It was a Sunbeam Alpine in the first
movie, Dr. No. I see that the source of your information was Cristina Bruzzi,
Marketing Manager for Ford and Aston Martin. I would assume that such a
prestigious institution as Aston Martin would not want to be embarrassed by
making any such incorrect comments to the public in their marketing. So,
perhaps you should consider forwarding this messag on to Ms. Bruzzi to prevent
any further incorrect statements. In case you have not seen many, I have
attached a picture of my Sunbeam
and some of James Bond's, taken straight from Dr. No (so the quality is a
little fuzzy). Also, check out this great web site about Sunbeam Alpines:
http://www.sunbeamalpine.org
All the best. Keep up the great work.
Jay
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