Autoblog

Our friends over at Hemmings who follow the auction scene like crack-addled chipmunks came across the mobile bane of the Batman franchise. The Batman Forever iteration of the Batmobile is one of the worst ever devised. Universally panned along with the film in which it appeared, it was forced to do sit-com work after it was retired, appearing on The Drew Carey Show (some say the Batmobile's appearance on the show was when it officially jumped the shark). The car was recently up for auction with no reserve and sold for $297,000, less than half its estimated worth. Aside from being an abomination and afront to Bruce Wayne groupies everywhere, the car sold so low because it came with many conditions set by Warner Bros. and DC Comics, including one barring the owner from driving the car in view of the public! This car's a runner too, with a small-block Chevy V8 that can whisk it away from laughing crowds at super hero speeds. But its new owner will apparently never get the chance to be laughed at in public, because doing so would mean driving the car in public, and that would violate the contract he (or she) signed. On second thought, perhaps Warner Bros. and DC Comics was doing this guy a favor.

Check out the Batmobile's appearance on The Drew Carey Show after the jump.

[Source: Hemmings]

The Fantastic Four will be counting on Hemi power in their fight against evil this June 15th. That's right, the crime-fighting quartet will be battling the Silver Surfer on movie screens around the globe with a 550 MPH Dodge with some serious Hemi horsepower. Chrysler designer Trevor Creed helped out with the design of the super duper supercar, and you can see Dodge emblems on the seat-backs and front grille. The crazy cool Fantastic Four mobile will also be able to reach 30,000 feet and split into three sections. We looked around, and there is no SRT badging anywhere to be found, but there's a rumor that Stow-N-Go seating is standard. In an unusual twist, the "Fantasticar" is rumored to be on eBay, with Dr. Doom as the highest bidder.

We'd read an article recently in the Detroit News that stated that Chrysler needed a home run vehicle to pull the company through their latest rough patch. We think this will do just fine. We just hope they get rid of the gold paint job in time for production.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Pontiac is breaking new ground with product placement next month with "Rush City," a DC Comics production heavily funded by General Motors in an attempt to hock its Pontiac brand to men in their 20s and 30s. The six-issue series will debut on July 19.

The Pontiac Solstice a chick car? Not when a New York action hero tricks out his GXP with guns and other superhero gear. "Rush City" is about an ordinary guy -- good job as a firefighter, fantastic fiancee with a daughter who's crazy about her soon-to-be stepdad, and a Pontiac Solstice GXP. Then he loses it all, except the car of course. After losing his job, his fiancee and her daughter die in a fire. It's so traumatic for him that he has nothing else to do but become a superhero.

General Motors isn't the only one going after comic book product placement -- DaimlerChrysler and Nike are going there too. 

[Source: Detroit Free Press]