Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2010

Photo by DESIREA CAMACHO

Subaru recently released its new four-seat mini-car, the Lucra, but most of the media attention at the Shinjuku launch was on the two tarento present—Imalu, 20, and Ellie Toyota, 21. The catchy tune heard in the TV commercial for the car is sung by Imalu, while Toyota (no relation to that other unmentionable carmaker) appears in the ad as a mermaid. Imalu said she liked the spaciousness of the Lucra. “I have a small body, so I can do many things in it,” she said.