Land Rover, Acura aim to entice Gen X men

NEW YORK Want to get your vehicle noticed by male Gen Xers? Justput buxom video game heroine Lara Croft behind the wheel.

That's what Land Rover is doing this summer when its priceyDefender sport-ute gets a role in the much-anticipated movie versionof the video game "Tomb Raider," starring Angelina Jolie as Croft.

The "Tomb Raider" Defender, which made its U.S. debut lastThursday at the New York International Auto Show, is just one of manyattempts by automakers to attract young up-and-comers to theirbrands.

Case in point: the new 2002 Acura RSX coupe, also unveiledThursday and scheduled to go on sale in July. The RSX, which replacesthe Integra, "will attract a whole new generation of buyers" toAcura, said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of Acura.

The target buyer is 27 years old, with a college diploma and anannual income of $60,000, he said. With the RSX, priced from $20,000to $25,000, Acura now has a "stairstep" lineup, Colliver said. Youngcustomers can start out in the RSX and move up to larger, moreexpensive Acuras.

Although the Land Rover Defender's price tag is well above theRSX, the premium small sport-ute is under $30,000. Land Rover willbring it to the United States before year's end. With the Defender,Land Rover expects almost to double its annual sales in 2002.

Still, automakers are not forgetting older generations. Infinition Thursday unveiled its 2002 Infiniti I35, a car it hopes willattract the same affluent 40-somethings who buy the car it replaces,the I30. The I35 luxury sedan goes on sale in October.

At the same time, Infiniti is eyeing a younger crowd. Next spring,it will introduce a new production car based on its recent XVLconcept sedan. Infiniti is touting XVL, with its 3.0-liter V-6engine, as a performance car at an attainable price.

"I feel pretty strongly about what we've got in the pipeline,"said Mark McNabb, vice president and general manager of the Infinitidivision.

In other unveilings: Subaru pulled the wrapping off its six-cylinder Outback sedan, complementing the Outback wagon. Kia debutedits 2002 Sedona, the South Korean automaker's first foray into theminivan segment. Aston Martin, the luxury Ford Motor Co. division,showed a new flagship model, the Vanquish. The premier $228,000vehicle packs a V-12, 460-horsepower engine and no gear shifter.