Celebrity cars

Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Hawkins, Sandra Sully and Ian Thorpe all drive shiny new Audis, Laura Csortan has a Cadillac, Jim Stynes and Matt Shirvington drive Volvos and horse trainer David Hayes has a BMW.

But none of them pays.

It cost Michael Clarke more than $250,000 to slide Lara Bingle into a raunchy new Aston Martin V8 Vantage but car brands are so keen to connect to potential buyers that they are happy to loan cars to A-list celebrities and sports stars.

Most of the cars are high-cost flagship models, from the Audi TT coupe and Q7 four-wheel drive to the Volvo XC90 SUV and the Cadillac CTS which goes on sale in Australia next month.

The list of occupations of the ambassadors is almost as long as the companies involved, including athletes, environmentalists, radio jocks and fashion folk.

Audi runs such a big freebie fleet that rival brands call it the United Nations - because it has so many 'ambassadors' - at an estimated cost of more than $1 million.

The German brand currently has 18 ambassadors on its books, with Collette Dinnigan, Cathy Freeman, Sarah Murdoch, Grant Hackett and George Gregan among its other famous faces.

Volvo has environmentalist David Ireland on its books, as well as Shirvington and footballer Matt Giteau.

"It is another way of raising awareness of the brand. It helps us to break through into areas where we might not otherwise have had a foothold," says Volvo spokesperson Laurissa Mirabelli.

"Our assocation with Matt Giteau and Matt Shirvington takes us into the sporting world, which is a new area.

And she says Volvo has plans to sign more drivers.

"We will be expanding our program into other new areas," Mirabelli says.

At Saab, Sigrid Thornton is a long-term ambassador and chef George Calombaris has also come on board.

Sometimes the celebrity association goes beyond a car, with driver training as part of the package. And many A-listers get a taste for the deal through the Celebrity Race at the Australian Grand Prix, which has been backed in the past by BMW, Mini and Fiat.

Homegrown brands Holden and Ford are part of the program, with the red team backing Deborah Hutton and the Australian netball team and the blue-oval brand taking on cricketers Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey, as well as Stephanie Gilmore.

But BMW has wound back from the days when Felicity Kennett, James Morrison and Ken Done flew its flag.

"People are much more savvy these days. Having ambassadors is less relevant when people are more interested in the value, the technical innovation and whether the brand is something they aspire to own," said BMW Australia spokesman, Toni Andreevski.

"Just because a celebrity drives a car does not make it any more relevant to their purchase."

And Mercedes' best-known brand rep, retired racer Mick Doohan, actually pays for his hot AMG Benzes - although not full retail.

"Mick is more of an enthusiastic customer," said David McCarthy of Mercedes-Benz Australia.

"Certainly, Mick's invovlement with AMG is very beneficiial when you see the reaction when he drives our cars in classic rallies. But, beyond that, we don't see much value.

"It's good to raise the profile, but how do you assess the value? The public is pretty aware."

Another motorsport legend, Sir Jack Brabham, has been getting cars and bikes from Honda for decades, and is now on a team with fashion designer Akira Isogawa, Geoff Cox and Suzie Wilks.

"We get good value for money from our celebrities," said Honda's Mark Higgins.

But Mazda has also wound back and only has Olympian Michael Klim, surfer Serena Brooks and radio personality Andy Lee on its books.

"It's very low-key. Everyone knows it's a commercial relationhip but we don't tend to use our celebrities like other car companies," said Mazda spokesman, Glenn Butler.

CAR COMPANY BRAND AMBASSADORS:

AUDI:

Collette Dinnigan

Jennifer Hawkins

Shannon Bennett

Alisa Camplin

John Eales

Cathy Freeman

Sarah Murdoch

Adam Gilcrist

George Gregan

Grant Hackett

Matt Moran

Zali Steggall

Sandra Sully

Ian Thorpe

Steve Waugh

Todd Woodbridge

BMW:

David Hayes

CADILLAC:

Laura Csortan

FORD:

Andrew Symonds

Matthew Hayden

Michael Hussey

Mitchell Johnson

Stephanie Gilmore

HOLDEN:

Deborah Hutton

Australian netball team

HONDA:

Geoff Cox

Suzie Wilks

Sir Jack Brabham

Akira Isakawa

MAZDA:

Andy Lee

Serena Books

Michael Klim

MERCEDES:

Mick Doohan

SAAB:

Sigrid Thornton

George Calombaris

VOLVO:

Matt Shirvington

David Ireland

Matt Giteau

Jim Stynes