According to The Wall Street Journal, General Motors will be ceasing production of the GMC Topkick by the end of July. Unable to find a buyer for their medium-duty trucks, General Motors decided to end production on the GMC Topkick and Chevrolet Kodiak in its effort to streamline its operations. The end of the GMC Topkick presents an issue for future Transformers movies beyond Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, as Ironhide’s vehicle mode is the Topkick. Will Ironhide simply choose another vehicle mode or will the people responsible for the movie just elect to keep him out of future movies? With the second movie only about to hit theatres, we may not know the answer to that for quite awhile.
-Superion-
Maybe Ironhide will scan a Ford F350 in TF3.
Nutcrusher
Okay. Here's the thing. If the producers want Ironhide to be in the next movie, they'll buy like 4 Topkicks now, especially when they're cheap.
The police do it all the time. When the police car model changes and they prefer the one they're using, they buy a whole bunch of them for the coming years, for after the production ends. The same thing will happen with the Transformers.
Spyro
If they have Ironhide scan a new vehicle mode in TF3 & auction off the trucks they used for Ironhide in the first 2 films, I'm getting one.
Skylock
Great! Now he can be a van!
Boulder
Yes you are misunderstanding it, but don't feel bad, so did the majority of the people posting in this thread.
There are plenty of Topkicks available. Finding Topkicks is not the issue. Yes, they've been released. You don't see many because they haven't sold many, hence why the line is being discontinued. (Twenty years ago, the UAW would fight tooth and nail to fight closing a line just because no one was buying the vehicles.)
Now folks, follow along:
In order to finance the movie and pay for the all those nifty explosions, Bay had to find more money for the film and them meant finding an additional sponsor. Ford will provide vehicles at no cost or in exchange for promotional time (as they do with "American Idol" and "24"), but will not pay for the product placement. Of the remaining companies, GM offered the most money and with the best options in vehicles. That is why the Autobots (with the exception of Prime) are GM vehicles. Still with me? Good.
As part of this deal, GM uses the movie as advertising. (It's called "Product Placement") It doesn't make good business sense to pay to advertise products that you aren't producing so there is no reason for GM to want to pay to advertise a Hummer or Topkick in the next film. (That may be the first time "business sense" and "GM" have been used in the same sentence.) It's the same reason that Ironhide isn't a '79 pickup. (I know Bumblebee starts as an older Camaro, but he didn't stay that way.) That is why Ironhide's alt mode is likely to change in future films. It's a sponsorship issue, not a supply issue and not a legal issue.
The Airforce isn't selling F-22s to the public (yet) so it doesn't matter to them what vehicles they show. For them, it's more about the image of the military (towards PR and recruiting efforts). Google: symbiotic relationship.
1987olds442
Ironhide's new alt mode…
1987olds442
It's not unexpected that they are discontinuing the Topkick and Kodiak. But they are pretty cool to see in person. I've actually seen a Ironhide edition going down the interstate before which was pretty cool.
Personally I don't see a problem of still using the Topkicks they have for future movies. But it wouldn't be too bad if they just had him scan a newer lifted GMC. Yeah they are not as big as the TopKick, but it would be cool to get a new Ironhide toy with the same body style as my GMC
Optimus1986
Eh, Ironhide isn't going to lose his alt. mode because of this. If they can dig up old fifties cars that look perfect and new, or a '69 Camaro for TF1, they can hold on to a modern Topkick.
Dran0n
I think Ironhide will be fine, unless GM wants Micheal to not use the Topkick.
My03Tundra
Yeah, kill your "weapons specialist" and heavy gunner of the Autobots. Not a good move, considering how COOL Ironhide is to begin with.
Starscreamer95
So either Bay and Co will get him to rescan off screen in between ROTF and TF3, or they'll kill him between ROTF and TF3, or in the opening of TF3.
I'm sure he'll be killed… because that's just the "Bay Way".
My03Tundra
This is not really a surprise when, considering, the truck market has taken an ass-whooping in sales. I'm sure hardly ANY Topkick models have gone out of the door no matter how many movies Hasbro has, and will, make with one in it. There is only so much you can do to "advertise" a $40,000 plus truck (as equipped like Ironhide) and have it sell successfully.
The best bet would be to have Ironhide rescan as say, a crew cab diesel GMC Sierra 2500 with a 4WD lift (in black) with a few accessories like stack diesel exhaust, monster front bumper and other "gadgets." It would make sense for GM AND Hasbro as both would benefit in the sense that, hey, we have a NEW toy with a new transformation and he's got a new feature!
I'd honestly LIKE to see that for all but Optimus Prime (just give him a new paint job, use the RotF toy). Some of the remaining four original figures are getting long in the tooth – so to speak – with their vehicles. It would make SENSE to scan a new mode once you'd been had, so you can redisguise yourself. Plus, for Hasbro, they could make money selling the toys.
tehKOREANdude
ok, hold on. I don't understand why just because they're ceasing the manufacturing of the vehicle doesn't mean they can't use the 3 or 5 they've been using since the filming of the 1st movie. am i misunderstanding some sort of legal issue or…?
Shizuka
Can't they just keep the vehicle in storage and bring him out for the next movie?
TCJJ
Well, I don't get it. They will stop producing them but… this has already been produced. It's not like they're going to scrap all of the current ones they have manufactured. So why can't the team continue leasing it for Transformers? I know it's more of an agreement than a lease, but they could even just lease it for TF3. Stupid… And anyway, they could always give him less screen time and CG him in, like they have apparently done with Barricade in ROTF.
Scourgatron
It's mostly a commercial truck. I see them all of the time.
moreprimeland
DITTO!
Ironhide can go back to being a van or another truck, he's still one bad bot to deal with no matter his vehicle mode.
kajobaldisimo
no big deal.
IMHO, in the end, its really the bots that i care more about. hell, ironhide can have a red mini-van for his alt mode in the 3rd movie and i won't even notice
Number1sikko
Thats true. Hopefully that's what happens. Even if its just enough to do Transformers 3 and then change his alt mode.
jazzimusprime27
Um… just because the vehicle's being canceled does not mean they're gonna kill Ironhide off or have him scan a new form. Can't he just keep the same vehicle mode? I mean this guy> has enough money to buy a several Topkicks before the it stops production.