D'OH BOY! CHEVROLET CRAFTS LIFE-SIZE ORLANDO FROM PLAY-DOH

By automobilemag.com - It seems Chevrolet's European marketing team enjoys a clever marketing ploy. To help promote the company's new Orlando MPV across the pond, the team commissioned a life-size replica crafted from Play-Doh, and parked it on a London street this morning.

Why Play-Doh? According to Chevy, it recently surveyed over 1000 British adults about their favorite childhood toys (don't ask us why). The winnter, it seems, was Play-Doh, with 19 percent of the vote. Lego blocks finished a close second, with 17 percent of the total.

Personally, we're a little saddened by the fact that Matchbox vehicles - which even originated in England - apparently failed to make the top ten results (as did Corgi and Dinky Toys, for that matter). Scalextric slot cars, however, did wind up in 8th place, with five percent of the vote.

How Much 'Doh Was Used? By Chevrolet's calculation, the Doh-based Orlando was built from 1.5 metric tons - or 3307.5 pounds - of the modeling material.

Seriously, How Much 'Doh? 3307.5 pounds, which is almost two-and-a-half times the Orlando's payload. Remarkably, an actual Orlando built with the gasoline 1.8-liter I-4 and a six-speed manual transmission weighs only 369 pounds more than this replica.

How Was It Built? A team of eight labored for roughly two weeks to build the dough-based replica. Unless the eighth member was squeezed - and we do mean squeezed - in, we're betting they werent' transported to the work site in the seven-passenger Orlando.

How Much Dough Does It Cost? Chevy isn't talking any MSRP figures, but we crunched a few numbers to see just how much an Orland-Doh could run you, barring the cost of labor.

Assuming you don't mind a rainbow-colored model, Play-Doh's value party pack, which includes 60 one-ounce jars of the material, will run you roughly $14.99. Seeing as the model was made from a whopping 52,920 ounces of Play-Doh, the task could be accomplished with roughly 882 cases. Buy from Hasbro's online store, and you could be spending nearly $13,221 - taxes and destination charges excluded, of course.

That's roughly half the price of an actual Orlando LS 1.8 in the UK, although one could feasibly approach Hasbro for a bulk discount, or attempt to make a similar modeling material from scratch.

How Long Will It Last? That's anyone's guess, but we'd estimate the answer to be far short of the 3-year warranty affixed to a real Orlando. In fact, given Play-Doh's water-soluble nature and the light rains currently hitting London, the sculpture may not have much of a future if left exposed to the elements.