Cars in Television

[DGS49]

Like most of the people who would be interested in this thread, I notice the cars that are driven in the TV shows I watch.

It seems that in some cases the Manufacturers are getting a lot of promotion for their cars (I assume they pay for it in some way), and in other shows, the cars are not emphasized and in at least one case, the car is disguised.

NCIS and NCIS LA are huge promoters of Mopar, prominently featuring a Dodge Challenger R/T and Jethro’s Charger, but also giving good exposure to a Cadillac SRX. The Good Wife often features Alicia driving a nice, loaded Buick LaCrosse.

Oddly, Intelligence shows the main couple driving around in what appears to be a Ford Explorer, but the nameplates are concealed or obliterated, so you can’t really tell what it is. Why on earth would they not be using a recognizable car and getting the promotional revenue? And why would Ford not want its vehicle featured prominently?

Anyone else see promotion of a particular vehicle on their favorite shows?

 

[Pogo]

Not sure to what extent it's done today but it was a long tradition that the studio set would get its vehicles furnished by a car company, and thereby get the visibility they wanted. You could read it in the credits at the end: "Automobiles furnished by ... Chyrsler Corporation" (or whoever). Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon always had a Plymouth squad car. Andy Griffith always had a Ford.

And if the script called for a decrepit junker, they'd bring in something from their competition.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Adam-12 used the same type of car that the CHP had...usually Dodge Polaras and AMC Matadors. They did make one mistake, though: the Polaras they used had black steering wheels. CHP cars had WHITE steering wheels, and in that era, they were larger-diameter. (The Polaras had no power steering.)

Bullitt was sponsored by Ford...McQueen had the Mustang, the mayor's limo was a Lincoln, the police cars were Galaxies, the taxi was a Fairlane. The bad guys were supposed to be in a Fairlane instead of a Charger, but they realized it wouldn't hold up to the chase.

 

[Pogo]

Adam-12 used the same type of car that the CHP had...usually Dodge Polaras and AMC Matadors. They did make one mistake, though: the Polaras they used had black steering wheels. CHP cars had WHITE steering wheels, and in that era, they were larger-diameter. (The Polaras had no power steering.)

Bullitt was sponsored by Ford...McQueen had the Mustang, the mayor's limo was a Lincoln, the police cars were Galaxies, the taxi was a Fairlane. The bad guys were supposed to be in a Fairlane instead of a Charger, but they realized it wouldn't hold up to the chase.

I think the close-up of guys driving from the windshield perspective is probably shot in a whole different prop than the actual car, which would be used for a field shot. That would by why the steering wheel doesn't match. All they need is a seat with the top of a dashboard and a road scene projected on the back window; you don't need an actual car to do that. The road scene with the car viewed from the side would be shot in a separate time and place.

Plymouth actually used an oval steering wheel around '61 IIRC. I don't remember if that would have shown up in windshield scenes of Car 54 Where Are You. If they did I suspect it would have been Chrysler insisting on the prop matching their product.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Chrysler used the oval steering wheel to at least 1964.

 

[clarinemcCully]

I have seen some shows promoting the Renault and Nissan cars and maybe the shows have been sponsored by these brands so they have to promote them.
renault occasion

 

[Vigilante]

Anyone remember the TV show called LIFE and the Buick Turbo coupe?

 

[S.J.]

Adam-12 used the same type of car that the CHP had...usually Dodge Polaras and AMC Matadors. They did make one mistake, though: the Polaras they used had black steering wheels. CHP cars had WHITE steering wheels, and in that era, they were larger-diameter. (The Polaras had no power steering.)

Bullitt was sponsored by Ford...McQueen had the Mustang, the mayor's limo was a Lincoln, the police cars were Galaxies, the taxi was a Fairlane. The bad guys were supposed to be in a Fairlane instead of a Charger, but they realized it wouldn't hold up to the chase.

I thought in Adam 12 it was a Plymouth Belvedere or a Satellite.

 

[Abishai100]

We know that nifty white Ferrari made popular in "Miami Vice" (1984-1990) and the slick black Trans Am made popular in "Knight Rider" (1982-1986).

These media images of cars promote the auto market, to be sure. When you translate that impact to the big screen (Hollywood), you get more and more consumers interested in daring vehicles such as the Arnold's Hummer or Marty's DeLorean.

I guess it was the drive-in movie theater and the fast food drive-thru window that connected cars to lifestyle zing, and TV soon followed.

Hey, you can't deny the American fun of the Oscar Mayer 'wienermobile' or those ruggedness-concept caveman cars in "The Flintstones" (1960-1966).







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