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BMW M5 going viral the right way

18 August, 2017

 


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The early 2000s were a simpler time. The internet was in its infancy which meant videos and ads didn’t have the avenues to go viral that they do these days. There are now billions of people making stupid people famous. We then make them rich(er?) by buying the products they promote online, thereby creating an endless cycle of shit.

Way back when, companies had to think about how they’d sell their products, and in doing so, they created some simply brilliant ads. And BMW got it right with these gems.

This BMW M5 ad must rate as one of the best car ads of all time. Perfect in its simplicity, we reckon.

Along with this, BMW made several short films for their 2001/02 model line up. Not just any student short films, mind you. They engaged the likes of action man John Woo, Ang Lee, Neill Blomkamp and Marilyn Manson (errr?) to direct character based films featuring the cars and some big Hollywood names like Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo and Forest Whittaker.

The best of the bunch was directed by Guy Richie and starring his wife at the time, Madonna, entitled The Star. The star of the show really though, is Clive Owen driving the M5 like it should be. Even though Madonna is a dreadful actor, this is still worth a few minutes of your time.

 


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The other Q car

12 August, 2026

Say the word ‘bond’ to anyone in the street and around 80 per cent straight away think of pop culture’s least-secret secret agent. The other 20 per cent may think of the wad of cash required to secure a flat or hire equipment that one gets back providing the fixtures and fittings stay much as they were.
However, mention ‘bond’ in specialist classic car circles and people will spin a very different yarn. If you dig deep enough, you will find an eccentric British carmaker that, throughout its 23 years in business, spawned some quirky and charming little cars.
The company was founded by Paul Sharp in 1922 under the name of Sharp’s Commercials Limited. However, the company did not start producing cars until 1948. The first car to carry the Bond name was the Bond Minicar. A three-wheeled, soft-top, two-cylinder eco car, the Minicar was a big hit at the time as the desire for an economical urban runabout that didn’t attract four-wheel car tax was strong in post-war Britain. All in all, 34,285 Minicars were produced over 26 years in a variety of variants.

Lunch with Bill Leckie: An Imp’s tale

6 August, 2026

Seeking limelight is part of Bill Leckie’s DNA, but when I asked him if anyone had written about his career and the cars he created, he didn’t think so. Even so, I was delighted when he agreed to sit down with me over a pie and coffee to reminisce. I started by asking how it is that someone who is so fanatical about F1 only ever raced saloon cars? Well, we’ll get to that, but where did things start? “I went to Cornwall Park Primary School and then to Remuera Intermediate where I became good mates with Geoff Perry, son of the legendary motorcycle racing legend Len.” Geoff Perry was 23 and on the edge of stardom when he was killed in a mystery air disaster over the Pacific in 1973. “We used to race around his backyard on a cutdown motorbike. It was friendly competition that I suppose helped hone our racing instincts. There was never much between us and so, by 11 or 12, I had a definite leaning towards speed.”