Classic car accessories come along once in a generation: the pine-tree air freshener, the fluffy dice, and, most recently, the nodding dog. All naff, useless and dangerous in equal parts. Germans may be a nation of car lovers but they could hardly be classified as arbiters of taste. Yet they've realised the nodding dog ain't nothin' but a hound dog.
The latest must-have for German cars is a 20-centimetre-high, Elvis-like doll fitted with Viva Las Vegas-era rhinestone jumpsuit, shades and authentic gyrating hips. The doll featured in a television commercial for German car-maker Audi, hanging above the dashboard of an Elvis impersonator's car. As the car jerks along, the Elvis toy gets "all shook up" and swivels its hips suggestively, to the delight of the driver. When the car breaks down, the Elvis impersonator thumbs a lift from an Audi driver and brings the doll with him. He sticks it above the dashboard of the Audi, but the figure - foiled by Audi's new smooth, automatic transmission system - doesn't gyrate.
The transmission system was the feature Audi wanted to highlight in the advertisements and soon after the spots started running, the phone started ringing. But instead of getting calls about the car, Audi was inundated with questions about the toy.
"Naturally we didn't expect it; it was a big surprise," said Audi spokesman Joachim Cordshagen.
Since the first broadcasts a few months ago, demand for "Wackel Elvis" ("Rocking Elvis") has grown to the point where Audi has started selling the ornaments for 16.50 deutschmarks (£6.60) each. It has set up a telephone hotline to take orders and has limited customers to 10 dolls each. By last week, the company had received 150,000 orders for the toy, and expects orders to top 200,000. A shipment of 2,000 toys delivered to an Audi shop sold out in 90 minutes.
"This doll has reached cult status," said Mr Cordshagen.
Mindful of legal action from the lawsuit-happy Presley estate, Audi stresses that the ornament isn't supposed to be Elvis, but only representative of the "rock 'n' roll times".
Not everyone is happy with the King's surprise comeback. The toy's runaway success upset the launch of a doll modelled on German folk singer Heino. "I've sold more records in Germany than Elvis; that doll is no competition for me," said an annoyed Heino, whose hits include The Mountain of Temptation and White, Deaf Woman.
Also annoyed is ADAC, the German equivalent of the AA. In cars across Germany a new generation is being mesmerised by Elvis the Pelvis. But suspicious minds in ADAC are sure the King's gyrating hips will mesmerise drivers across the autobahnen into oncoming traffic.
