Forget action figures and trademarked, logo-emblazoned Slurpee cups: The summer blockbuster -- which we all know is all about pushing product, not plot -- has gone up-market.
Spit-shined (or artfully flayed with mud), the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GTS is ready for its close-up. According to Cars.com's Braking News (our choice for pun-iest industry newsletter), moviegoers are enamored with the heavy metal they're seeing on screen, as evidenced by searches on Cars.com for vehicles like the Spyder, which starred in 2 Fast, 2 Furious.
Other high-priced Hollywood tchotchkes include the Jeep Wrangler and Cadillac CTS, which gave driving performances in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and The Matrix Reloaded. Kewpie doll-cute Mini Coopers charmed their way into American hearts and garages after the release of The Italian Job (those seeking Mini info spiked 23.9%). And when Terminator 3 hit screens a few months ago, searches for the Toyota Tundra at Cars.com increased 9.1%.
Rise of the machines, indeed.
Should you wish to spirit yourself in style to the more highbrow fall movie fare, consider Toyota's Tundra T3 Special Edition, featuring T3 badging, fog lamps, and 17-inch magnesium-toned alloy wheels. Or for your daughter's Sweet 16, how about the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider Limited Edition with certain Mopar accessories, whatever that means.
Our hats go off to Marvel (NYSE:MVL), however, which lets others -- for example, Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) -- build the merchandise for tie-ins while it rakes in the royalties. Both are David Gardner top picks in Motley Fool Stock Advisor.
Before your buy a starstruck set of wheels, see our car-buying advice and take Cars.com's Incentives Comparison Calculator for a test drive to see whether rebates (ranging right now from $500 to $5,000) or no-interest financing make the most sense for you.
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