Volvo is betting big on selling the XC60, its new, small crossover, by placing it in the latest installment of the para-normal romance teen vampire saga and mega-buck hit “Twilight.”

Can Volvo's small crossover carry all the angst of a teen vampire movie?

Forget, for the moment, that a significant portion of those who follow the sexless and Mormon Church approved tale are neither old enough to drive and mostly don’t buy $37,000 vehicles. The overall gloom factor is weird enough.

Worst economy in decades, two wars, a society so polarized it makes the Nixon years look genteel, and the soon-to-be Chinese-owned automaker goes with a campaign that’s a cross between Bulwer-Lytton and “Dark Shadows.”

Leaked by one of the Twilight faithful, the XC60 trailer was to be shown in dealers, not a known hangout for teen fans of para-normal romance.

Running at cross purposes to the Gothic, undead sales pitch is a safety blurb: “… there’s keeping what’s most important to you safe.” It appears eight seconds after the lead female character—who is not an immortal vampire—launches over the handle bars of a motorcycle sans helmet. Volvo for Life? How about Volvo for Afterlife?

Marketing automobiles carries a lot more difficulty and risk than selling toothpaste or even vampire movies, but was this the only über-cool fall film Volvo’s marketing department could team up with? We’re not suggesting “High School Musical” but something a bit brighter might be a better match for the crossover.

Volvo likely figured that because it put the C30 into the first movie a year ago, they might as well be in for a penny, in for pound. Still, for “The Car That Stops Itself” the marketing people should have stopped themselves.