When shows get burned by branding

So Alias is coming back for one last hurrah. It was a great show that never jumped the shark so much as hopped around it. One of the things that took the show in that direction early on was due to its success.

It was cool when Sidney and Will drove neat old trucks (an old 4Runner and Bronco, respectively) that seemed like what their characters would drive. Then they arranged a product placement deal with Ford. Suddenly, supercool, globe-trotting spy Sidney Bristow went from driving a cool old 4Runner to a...Ford Focus? I know they can be cool and tricked out. My point is, no one would go from an old 4Runner to a new Focus. Doesn't seem natural for the character. Which, of course, it wasn't.