Back in August 2007, I talked about how Will Ferrell was the first celebrity given the keys to the BMW Hydrogen 7 for everyday use. This week, two time Academy Award actress Hilary Swank has also been given the keys to the vehicle.
In-between there have been many other celebrities and notables who have driven the hydrogen ICE luxury sedan including Jay Leno, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Pierce Brosnan, Gavin Rossdale, J.J. Abrams, Edward Norton, Melissa Etheridge, Michael Glos and Hans-Gert Pöttering.
Hilary Swank is perhaps best known for her two Oscar Performances of “Million Dollar Baby” and “Boys Don’t Cry.” My personal favorite, however is “Freedom Writer’s” where Swank plays a teacher to inner city kids and helps them experience the world culturally then write about it.
The BMW Hydrogen 7 is a dual fuel vehicle able to run on either gasoline or hydrogen with the press of a button. I had the honor of driving this vehicle for the second time in late August when it finished its last leg of the Hydrogen Road Tour in Los Angeles.
BMW has been able to do something that neither GM nor Honda have been able to do recently, which is sustain interest in their hydrogen cars, keeping the media and public focused on this topic. Since Honda launched its Clarity in the middle of this past summer, it’s been all quiet on the Western front.
Putting Hilary Swank in the Hydrogen 7 is another good move by the BMW marketers. Now, if we can just get Oprah and Obama to drive one that will be the equivalent of hitting back to back home runs.