Every automaker is constantly approached to supply movie productions with a never-ending stream of vehicles. Sometimes these vehicles play a pivotal role in the development of the plot or main character, and sometimes they're needed to provide dramatic re-creations of mayhem and destruction. Automakers, however, are sometimes left in the dark as to the true value their cars and trucks have to the production.
A good example of how an automaker can make this relationship work to its advantage can be seen in the recent spate of Marvel movies, specifically "The Avengers" and all the Acura cars in many scenes. Likewise, the "Transformers" series highlighted several current and past General Motors vehicles.
Toyota, which typically doesn't get involved in many blockbuster productions, has also had its fair share of product placements in popular movies. In honor of the 30th anniversary of "Back to the Future," here's our top five Toyota vehicles that have made a big splash in some big movies.
Toyota SR5 in "Back to the Future"
This franchise was pretty big in its day, but when Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) opens the garage door in the timeline of his dreams, he's met by a clean 4×4 Toyota SR5 pickup that's fully dressed in the best off-road accessories of the day: a bed-mounted light bar with a full set of KC lights, custom bumpers, a shiny black paint job, and cool rims and tires. A generation saw the downsized Toyota pickup as the incarnation of cool. Check out the new 30th Anniversary Edition too.
Toyota Tundra in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"
Toyota dove head-first into the world of mega-blockbusters in 2003 with the third installment of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Terminator" movie series, creating a special T3 Edition (first-gen) Tundra that included the TRD performance package and special badging inside and out. More than 600 were sold in the U.S. and about 200 in Canada.
Toyota 2000GT in "You Only Live Twice"
You know you have something special when one of your vehicles is used in a James Bond movie; that's what a little company (at least it was little in 1967) like Toyota must have thought when the 2000GT sport coupe convertible was slated to be the world's most famous spy's main mode of transportation.
Toyota Supra Turbo in "The Fast and the Furious"
How many cars have beat a Ferrari racing through Malibu, Calif., along the famous Pacific Coast Highway? This particular orange Super Turbo was in the first of many "Furious" movies to identify and highlight how, with just a few "special" modifications, you can turn any import car into a supercar.
Toyota Hilux pizza delivery truck in "Toy Story"
Although an animated movie series, it's worth noting that in every one of the "Toy Story" movies, there is a Toyota pizza delivery vehicle. In fact, we're told this same Hilux will make an appearance in "Toy Story 4," coming in 2018.
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