>And I'm convinced now that the only reason why Bumblebee was a
>Camaro instead of a Bettle is because Chevy was willing to pay
>for it & VW wasnt. Just like obviously Pontiac was willing to
>cough up some dough to get their Solstice in there as well.

GM put their money into this film, so their cars were used. At least, it was kind of cool how they made Bumblebee start off being the shittiest Camaro ever and then have him become the '09 Camaro. Just think: Knight Rider (though, GM made them stop saying "Pontiac" because dumbasses kept going to dealers asking for the "Knight Rider Car"). It would have been more "Bumblebee" appropriate if Bumblebee was a Chevette that turned into a Aveo, but Aveos ain't really running off the shelves.

VW wouldn't have done it anyway, they have problems with their cars being used for "war-like" functions, due to the company history and ties to Hitler, etc.

When Transformers came out (particularly, their root toys in Japan), they didn't have to worry so much about licensing the actual vehicles and what not; now, that's a real big deal with the IP hounds and whatnot. Not too long ago, they had to modify the hell out of a Transformer toy (that transformed into a Mercedes SUV), to avoid the legal complications (even though the original one had no Mercedes-Benz logos, it was very obvious that it was that car).

Like The Doc has said, it ain't about what they transform into, it's what they're transforming from ....those robots look like garbage.