Digital Content Producer reports that The National Alliance of Women In Film (WIF) and GM are launching Traction, an "innovative and unique online magazine by and for women in the entertainment industry." Despite The General's sponsorship and the automotive double entendre, Traction has no automotive-related content. So why is GM involved? We're thinking product placement. After the Transformers movie featured four GM products (including the new… wait for it… wait for it… here it comes… Camaro), it seems GM has a hard-on for Hollywood. While Transformers' GM-heavy content has drawn fire for overkill, Product Placement News says the movie's director is unrepentent: "There are products in everything in everyday life. Do people think there shouldn't be brand names or something?" asks Michael Bay. "Everything is branded. I hate commercials when they take logos off of stuff. It's not real life."
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On related news, it seems VW is not happy with its current branding deals with I belive, united Artists. The reskinned Touareg appeared in the latest Bourne movie, but gets its butt kicked by a Police-Duty Impala, and the front is so mangled you can hardly recognize the car.
Oh, and the cute CIA agent drives a Golf for 5 seconds…
It’s cheaper than being the sponsor of the US Olympics team, GM appears to be leaving that to Toyota.
Speculation time: so what if Toyota outbid GM for Transformers 2? Bay would be laughing all the way to the bank, of course.
Ironhide -> rumored Tundra HD
Ratchet -> FJ Cruiser or New Sequoia
Jazz -> Lexus LF-A
Bumblebee -> AE86 replacement
The reskinned Touareg appeared in the latest Bourne movie, but gets its butt kicked by a Police-Duty Impala, and the front is so mangled you can hardly recognize the car.
Yes, but if you notice, it’s the only car that’s not damaged in the first 5 seconds. All the other cars in the multitude of chases in that movie get bent up real quick, but that one gets chased through about 1/2 of new york before it even gets a scratch on it. It seemed so fake to me, that I guessed that VW was a sponsor before I read that VW was a sponsor.
It also appears that the driver of the Touareg is dead or is going to die, though he does not, even though he appears to have suffered serious injury, with the blood and all. I didn’t think it looked very positive at all.
Plus, there is now way an Impala could take that many direct hits to other vehicles and still be drivable, it was just a little over the top for me.
Starlight…if you saw the movie you’d know that one of those characters won’t be back (don’t want to spoil it for anyone who still wants to see it but hasn’t).
Hey!The police Impala beats up a high end VW I gotta check this out.
I doubt they used a real police optioned Impala big$.
I,ve actually had the privledge of road testing one.
It could catch and eat anything from VW.
Life does imitate art eh?
An Impala that could catch anything from VW? I'm thinking of a couple VW's right off the top of my head that could roast the V8 powered FWD Impala.
Such as the Golf V12 :-D
Let’s be honest, New York cops do not rely on the might of the Impala to catch criminals. More simply, how fast can you actually go in NYC, and how long before more cops show up?
Orian Well if you decide you want take on police optioned Impala with your VW its at your own risk. The domestics are working real hard to match Honda and Toyota in reliability and percived quality. There is no doubt about it they set the bar. Look up VW reports as far as reliability,recalls and general quality goes. VW should of stuck with the original bug and the Station bus,cause thats about the last time they made a vehicle worth buying.
I just wonder why the VW’s airbags didn’t deploy. And Bourne walking away from that crash was hard to believe.
The GM product placement in Transformers was cheesy but so was the rest of the movie. I don’t see how it could fit in to a more serious film.
GM is already a bank, why shouldn’t they be a magazine publisher? Maybe they should open up a chain of Mexican restaurants too. They need some outlet for any competent executives who might accidentally wind up at the Ren Center.
GM’s product placement totally ruined Transformers for me and furthermore…no wait, that movie was terrible anyway.
Never mind.
Transformers was good fun. Just try to ignore the idiotic story and enjoy the F/X.
I thought it was a pretty good advertisement for the new Camaro, actually. The car looked pretty damn good, especially with Megan Fox in it. (Never has the name Fox been more appropriate.)
Mikey,
I’m not talking about reliability. I’m talking performance.
You do realize that VW owns all of the following, right?
VW
Audi
Lamborghini
Bugatti
I do believe the R32 (VW) will outperform an Impala with relative ease.
Another notable VW from the early 90’s…the Corrado VR6. Beat the 5.0 Mustangs of the day stock vs. stock.
VW’s Phaeton boasted a 444hp W12 engine (2006 model year).
Their current 3.6l V6 produces 280 HP naturally aspirated (in the Passat – closest competitor to the Impala). You have to step up to the 5.7l V8 in the Impala go get close to that (303 hp). Not to mention the VW 6 speed auto or manual vs. the Chevy’s 4 speed auto only.
There’s more than just reliability to look at.