ATLANTA – AutoTrader.com noted substantial increases in searches for the vehicle models featured in the third installment of the movie series "The Fast and The Furious" with the opening of "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" over the June 16-18 weekend. Starring models, including the Mazda RX-7, Mazda RX-8, and Nissan 350Z, are now in high demand on AutoTrader.com.
The combined listings received nearly 15-percent more than the average amount of views over the June 17-18 time period and generated subsequent views for similar models. The previous two movies, as well as other popular movies featuring specific cars, have produced similar affects on AutoTrader.com – showing the strength of the culture and bond between moviegoers and automotive consumers.
In 2001, the Toyota Supra was not even in the top 50 among most searched vehicles in AutoTrader.com's inventory. Following the opening weekend of the original "The Fast and The Furious" movie, which highlighted the Supra, the vehicle rocketed to the fifth most popularly searched model.
"Whenever a new movie, television show, DVD, or video game is released, if a vehicle is featured, AutoTrader.com sees an impact," said Shawn Tucker, content manager for AutoTrader.com. "We're tracking models featured in recent media and entertainment, and expect the impact to be similar for these latest automotive stars."
The phenomenon is not limited to "The Fast and The Furious" series. Page views of the Land Rover LR3, featured in "Mission Impossible III," increased by more than 10 percent in the month of May, following the May 5, 2006 opening.
