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Sunday, January 15, 2006

Toyota on 24

A few minutes into the much-anticipated season launching episode of 24, the season's protagonist Jack Bauer is shown driving a Toyota Tundra pickup truck. In Texas*. Where he is hiding under a false name, working at an oil field.

Toyota must have paid Texas-sized money for that product placement. (Everyone knows that Texas oilmen drive battered VW microbuses).

And the people who ride elevators up to the tops of highrise glass office towers in Auburn Hills, Dearborn, and Detroit when they go to work--they should be slapping their foreheads. They really dropped the ball on this one.

*OK, I admit, I was not paying very close attention. He could not have been in Texas and flown to LA in such a short time--he must have been within about a 150 mile radius of LA, which would put him no farther than San Diego to the South, Bakersfield to the North. Toyota still got a product placement coup.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nah, to a Texan it just shows how phony Howlywood is (well, other than the left-wing islands of Dallas and Austin.)

Big Ford Fan said...

I read recently that 40% of Ford's F-series trucks are sold in Texas, so if I wanted to "hide" in Texas, I guess that's what I would buy.

I wonder what percentage of the Texas market Toyota has? Even here in New York, Toyota trucks are the exception to the rule. Ford and Dodge trucks are the most visible, while Chevy/GMC are there, if not noticable.

Do you remember when TV shows used all one brand? Quinn Martin I think, was the producer of many detective shows, where you saw nothing but Ford. And even shows like My Three Sons (Pontiac) and Bewitched (Chevy) used only one brand. Even Mr Ed (Studebaker??) used one brand for everyone.

I think the first foreign car I remember being heavily featured in a TV show was Mawell Smart's Tiger and then Kharman Ghia. That and Harry O's bug eye Sprite.

I better stop, I think I lost the point here

Anonymous said...

Keep in mind that Toyota will be building trucks in Texas soon (San Antonio area plant under construction) - so Toyota will be making more Trucks in Texas than Ford or Chrysler/Dodge does. GM's got their arlington plant. You can bet that Toyota will be trumpeting the 'made in Texas' just like Chevy does periodically.

Anonymous said...

I'm not so sure Jack was hiding in Texas. You can't get a helo from west Texas to LA in half an hour. Bakersfield maybe.

Unknown said...

You're right, he probably wasn't in Texas. For some reason, I associated the oil field with Texas--but I don't think any explicit mention of Texas was made.

Anonymous said...

Much as I hate to jump to assumptive conclusions, is it possible that your political/professional biases are clouding your objective "reporting". Did you similarly applaud Ford's product placement the prior season, or are you enjoying a little "schadenfraude", kicking Ford while they're down?

Unknown said...

I am not reporting, and I am not unbiased. My political (moderate conservative) and professional biases color everything I write. This blog is, after all, merely my opinion.

I am not kicking Ford because they're down, I am kicking Ford (and GM, and Dodge) because sometimes they do things I think are stupid. I am kicking them hoping that they get up, because if they don't, a lot of people around me (and probably me also) will lose their jobs. It's "tough love".

Anonymous said...

As you've already been corrected, I'll just add that I saw a line on the screen that said "Mojave, Calif." wher he was actually staying while working at the oil fields. Mojave is approx. 40 miles north of Lancaster / Palmdale on Hwy 14. '24' was using Fords last year. I wonder if Toyota gave them a better deal. If so, look for the NEW Tundra on TV in a few months.

sonicfrog said...

Track the name plate abductions during the X-Files 9 season run. In the first episode, Mulder and Scully were driving a Ford Taurus. Somewhere along the line they ended up in Oldsmobiles. Aliens have apparently abducted the Taurus, and more amazingly, the WHOLE PRODUCT LINE of Oldsmobiles. I wonder what truth is so dangerous to humanity that would prompt the Aliens / Government to make these cars disappear??? Mulder, Scully; where are you when we need you most?