Now, don't get me wrong. The only other (non canonized) Weaver national holiday besides the car show season is the periodic release of the fine fine Fast and Furious films. These cinematic masterpieces are enough to make my life worth living. How they miss out on the best picture nod every time is one of those mysteries that escapes me every time. The problem is that you can't be a "real" car guy and still love these awful movies. Only a true blue riceboy with autozone blow off valves and streetglow neon from port to starboard would have any fun with the shiny expensive parts and terrible one liners. UUUUHHHHH. Anyone else catch the opening weekend numbers?
I will openly fess up to being a closeted (or not so closeted depending on your view of the oem STi wing) riceboy.
One bit that I didn't understand was some of the product placement in the film. It makes sense that to dilute some of the cost you would bring in sponsors. In the first film, it was holley, in the form of Nitrous Oxide systems, or NOS. That running gag has been good for years.
In the second one it was Mitsubishi, with the Eclipse spyder and the Lancer evo. The eclipse was a bit of a strange fit, but the Evo worked well. Year one was involved as well.
With the third one I'm not really sure who did what. That movie was a bit of a mess. Maybe Mitsubishi with the Evo's and Veilside with some kits. Or the popcorn vending company. Han ate alot of that crap. 
Subaru was one of the sponsors involved in this latest film. That by itself doesn't make a lot of sense. The new Impreza is designed to lure more up scale buyers, and it is much more expensive. It is less tuner friendly (I guess that is debatable, but it is certainly not as hard edged as the previous car) And looks much less like a typical "tuner" car. (in case anyone missed it, it is now a WAGON in the STi form. you know, A FREAKING WAGON) ((As in, HI IM PAUL WALKER GOING TO PARTIES WITH LOTS OF MODEL CHICKS HEY WANT TO RIDE IN MY FLY WAGON HEY WORD IT HAS UNDER BODY NEON FLY YO))
Anyway, that isn't even the sponsorship I am the hardest time understanding. Its this one I am trying to wrap my head around.
PERRIN PERFORMANCE purveyors of somewhat overpriced but generally entertaining subaru and other car parts.
(Now, in my ricey honesty, I should fess up to the fact that there are a couple of perrin parts on the impreza. What can i say.)
So, what is the big idea you ask? Subaru, Check. Racing, Check. Aftermarket parks, check. Why is this not a good fit? Well, for starters, this particular Impreza in the movie has about 5 minutes of screen time. They stumble across it in an impound lot and steal it. Also, The intercooler you see in the grill has no endtanks. It is there for visual effect. IT IS NONFUNCTIONAL. The induction system on the car was stock.
Anyway, beyond all that, the way the car was included just felt forced. It didn't seem like much of a return on perrin's or subarus investment on the film.
SO CAR GEEK NITPICKING ASIDE
The first movie is my least favorite of the 4.
In my order of Favorites:
2 fast 2 furious
Because Tyrese and Luda make the movie seem like a giant freaking goofy party. I love it. and Eva Mendes does nothing to harm this film.
Tokyo teriyaki wrap drift
from a technical view it was the most correct. the cars were the focal point, because they didn't bother hiring any real actors. WHY OH WHY DID THEY KILL HAN I LOVED HIM HAAAAANNN NOOOOOOOO
Fast and Furious (2009)
They didn't space the action evenly, the music wasn't there, and the movie took itself too seriously. There was potential here. I wanted to love this one. Maybe next time?
The fast and the furious (2000)
This movie has the best collection of horrible writing, one liners, and bad information of any movie ever made. You could try to make a movie this bad and not succeed. Destined for all time bad greatness.
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