eBay Find of the Day: future Lexus from Minority Report originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a concept that has endless potential for comic relief, if the recent antics of Tom Cruise and the media scrutiny thereof is any indication. Scientology is presumably making an effort to broaden its appeal by getting involved in NASCAR and sponsoring the Ignite Your Potential racing team. The team's Ford Taurus, driven by Kenton Gray, indicates that the late L. Ron Hubbard himself is the inspiration behind this effort -- the Dianetics logo and replica of the book's cover will adorn the vehicle.

What's next? A team based out of Salt Lake City that encourages multiple drivers for its car? Or maybe a station wagon with a little ichthus on the back... the possibilities are endless.

[Source: InsideLine]

Scientology enters the ranks of NASCAR sponsors originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Jun 2006 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Alright, so we've probably pegged our Tom Cruise quota for the month. That said, who can pass up on a star-laden train of 10 Lamborghinis?

The Italian supercar is set to make a prominent appearance in Mission Impossible 3, what is likely to be one of this summer's highest-profile (and highest grossing) films. And to kick off the film's world premiere at the Adriano Cinema in Rome, Cruise and company rolled up a brace of the angular beauties.

Not exactly a wallflower, Cruise was seen leaping onto one of the Lamborghini's roofs in order to greet the assembled masses.

[Source: CarPages UK]

Mission Impossible 3 premiere turns into Lamborghini Cruise-in originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Apr 2006 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Product placement is a time-honored trend. We're quite sure that Ford is pining for a Bullitt remake, for example, but the war seems to be heating up.

Exhibit A is Mission Impossible:III, where the Detroit News reports that General Motors and Ford had it out over whether Tom Cruise's spymobile would emerge from a plant belonging to the Blue Oval or the General. Ford ultimately won the battle with the Land Rover LR3, but it wasn't why you'd think.  Tom Cruise himself was the one calling the shots, and after a meeting with Bill Ford, evidently he found a kindred spirit... and a common interest in Land Rovers.

On TV, product placement has become huge, from the Chevy Tahoe on The Apprentice to the Mercury Milan finding its way onto the set of The Real World. As TiVo continues to make traditional commercial advertising less value, expect this war to start blazing.

[Source: The Detroit News, photo credit Steven Vaughn]

Product placement war heating up originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Forbes' automotive listmeister Nate Chapnick has been at it again. This time, he's chronicled the top 10 vehicles in 2005's highest-grossing movies. Automobiles enjoyed a good year in Hollywood, from buxom Jessica Simpson's cavorting around in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in the Dukes Of Hazzard redux; to the his-and-hers Cadillac CTS-V and Mercedes-Benz C320 Wagon featured in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. But it wasn't all about more spirited iron... Katie Holmes Tom Cruise helped save the earth with a little help from a workaday Plymouth Voyager in War of the Worlds, and Steve Carell's 40 Year Old Virgin had audiences doubled-over with that drunken PT Cruiser-driving barfly. 

Chapnick and Co. must've popped more than a few bowls of popcorn, as in order to compile the list, it was deemed necessary to screen the 25 top-grossing U.S. films of last year to see which "most effectively integrated the vehicles into the storyline."

[Sources: Forbes and Warner Bros.]

Hollywood's top-grossing automotive starlets of 2005? Glad you asked... originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Mar 2006 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.