Autobloggreen Takes the BlueTec Bait. But Not Us. Oh Wait…

Thanks to our new feature– What Wrong With This Picture (3WTP)– I am trained in the fine art of anomaly spotting. So when I saw this Autobloggreen (ABG) photo of Emmy Rossum filling-up her Blue Tec Merc with diesel, the cognitive dissonance nearly deafened me. First, check the posture. Emmy’s feet are way too close together for proper pumping. Second, the shoes. Have you ever tried driving an SUV in high heels? (Trust me, it’s not a good idea.) Third, why is she looking at the pump? I highly doubt she’s worried about the price. And if she was worried about nozzle blowback, she’d already be standing away from the vehicle. And then there’s the photog’s reflection. Only professional photogs assume that kind of contorted position, or use such a huge aperture (the camera). And so I read the text, which seemed to indicate that this is some kind of trend: celebs ditching Priora for Mercedes BlueTec diesel SUVs. Which makes no sense whatsoever. “Recently the likes of Naomi Watts, Kyle MacLachlan and Gary Oldman have been turning up driving Mercedes-Benz BlueTec diesels like the ML320 and E320. While these vehicles are not in the same green class as the Toyota, the do offer the other attributes of a Benz with much better fuel efficiency than gasoline-powered alternatives.” Which sounds an awful lot like PR copy to me…

After ABG’s jump, we get the press release, the whole press release and nothing but the whole press release.

“My ML320 BlueTEC has all the power and luxury you’d expect of a Mercedes-Benz, plus the efficiency and low environmental impact of an economy or even hybrid vehicle,” says Emmy Rossum. “BlueTEC really is the best of both worlds.” Also from the world of music, pop superstar Gwen Stefani and her husband, musician Gavin Rossdale, have a BlueTEC parked in their driveway, as does singer Josh Kelley (husband of “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl).”

OK, so the only “mystery:” does either ABG or Mercedes acknowledge the fact that they actually GAVE these (and the other) celebs the vehicles to drive. Are you kidding? Shame on ABG. And shame on us. But at least we can see beyond the crumpet to this little tidbit: “The term ‘BlueTEC’ is derived from the revolutionary AdBlue process that injects a reducing agent in the vehicle’s exhaust line, thereby clearly reducing emissions.” Urea anyone? As in…