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We've seen some expensive car commercials over the years. There was that Michael Bay spot with Chevys like the Camaro and the SSR zipping up highways and city streets and parking in the back of a moving truck. We've seen big stars, like the one with Jean-Claude Van Damme performing his signature splits between a pair of Volvo big rigs, moving in reverse, to the tune of Enya's Only Time. But one TV commercial has held the record for the most expensive of all time for nearly 15 years.
If you're a Detroiter, you already know what we're talking about: Born in Fire, or Imported from Detroit, a recession-era Super Bowl spot for the Chrysler 200.
The following is based on research into the pricing of Super Bowl ad space as well as the Chrysler 200 itself, and the production of the commercial in question. Any opinions or conclusions offered thereupon are those of the author unless otherwise attributed.
What Does A Car Commercial With A Movie-Sized Budget Look Like?
If you've never seen the commercial before, you may be surprised to find that it's remarkably subdued in its presentation. You won't see any wild stunt work here, nobody's hopping over ramps or power-sliding into the back of a U-Haul. They don't even have any trained dogs pretending to drive the car. We're mostly seeing B-roll style footage from around the city of Detroit, with a slow, gradual reveal of the mystery car at the center of the ad, the then-new Chrysler 200, and the mystery driver behind the wheel, none other than Detroit's own Eminem.
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After a minute and a half of this, accompanied by a narrator giving the Motor City a much-needed pep talk, the ad closes on the Purple Rose Theater Chorus singing their part in an orchestral arrangement of Eminem's Lose Yourself at the Fox Theater, with Eminem delivering the commercial's closing tagline.
The ad's relative simplicity contradicts its extravagant budget, even when you consider the presence of Eminem, the licensing fees for Lose Yourself, and the fact that it was directed by none other than David Fincher, the mastermind behind Se7en, Zodiac, and Fight Club, and a veteran of BMW's short film ad campaigns. But, consider the running time. The ad goes for a full two minutes.
Was This Actually The Most Expensive Car Commercial Of All Time?
If you're producing a Super Bowl commercial, a two-minute spot feels like a way to make a very, very expensive statement. At Super Bowl 45, a thirty-second spot would cost an advertiser a whopping $3.1 million. Quadruple that, and you're looking at a $12.4 million budget before you even add in production costs. Without knowing exactly how much Eminem, Fincher, the Purple Theater Chorus, and narrator Kevin Yon were paid, we can't give an exact estimate on what this commercial cost Chrysler, but we can at least say that $12.4 million is the most conservative possible estimate.
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One factoid that complicates this commercial's status as the most expensive car ad of all time: Chrysler ran another two-minute spot in 2012, this time paying NBC $3.5 million per 30-second slot. This meant that the new ad, Halftime in America, starring Clint Eastwood, would have cost $14 million just to air.
But here's the thing: we couldn't tell you what car Halftime in America was meant to advertise. It aired during an election year, and feels more like a campaign ad for President Obama's second term than it does for the SUVs that feature in the background of a single, fleeting shot of a factory. So this one doesn't exactly qualify as a car commercial in our book, so it's disqualified from the running, no matter which ad had the bigger production budget.
Did The Ad Work?
In truth, 2011 was a decent year for the Chrysler 200. The automaker sold 255 of these cars to early adopters in 2010, and then 87,099 in the US in 2011. No matter how you want to look at it, that's pretty dang far from what you'd call a disappointing launch, and the car would go on to sell in the six figures every year until 2016, when Chrysler was starting to phase the car out.
What the ad did not quite do was save Chrysler. Detroit was hit hard by the late-2000s recession, and, after discontinuing most of its models in 2009, Chrysler was looking for a comeback with the new lineup and a big ad spot to herald its return. By the end of 2011, Fiat had bought up the US Treasury's shares in the brand, and Chrysler has been foreign-owned, under the FCA US, LLC, and later Stellantis, brand ever since.
Detroit Loved The Ad
Scan the comments on the video we posted, and you'll find plenty of glowing reviews from the Motor City public. The commercial really meant something to residents of the toughest city in the country. One comment reads "I'm not ashamed to admit that I teared up a bit. It was one of those moments where I was so incredibly proud to be from Detroit."
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Chrysler clearly saw the impact the ad had, as it's since produced at least one commercial using an eerie AI approximation of the narrator's iconic voice. We'll leave it to you to determine whether or not you find that in good taste, but we know that American drivers have mixed feelings about all this algorithmic intelligence stuff, with most drivers not even wanting AI input on what car to buy.
Elsewhere, people were torn over the ad. Some appreciated the commercial's pro-Detroit, buy-American sentiments, while others chastised the recently bailed-out Chrysler for spending taxpayer money on what they regarded as a big, showy puff piece. You can't please everyone.
Was The Chrysler 200 Worth All This Hubbub?
For what it's worth, we were fans of Chrysler's convertible luxury sedan. The car was either on-par with, or better than, pretty much anything in its category at the same price back in the early 2010s. The car started out at 173 horsepower, or for $26,240 you could get bumped to 283 hp courtesy of a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 in the 200 S.
2011 Chrysler 200 Performance Specs
Engine
Horsepower
Torque
Drivetrain
Transmission
Fuel Economy (combined)
Base MSRP
We had strong praise for the 200's solid interior fixtures, quiet cabin, and intuitive layout, all major improvements over the outgoing Sebring. It really did feel the part of a more premium car, especially with the upgraded upholstery and six-speaker audio offered in the Touring trim, or the heated leather seats and Boston Acoustics sound system found in the Limited.
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The car may feel a bit dated in 2025, with its CD player-based sound system, and Bluetooth only being available in the higher trims. But, in 2011, the car represented Chrysler taking a step into the modern day, away from the dated vehicles with which it had been associated, leading into the bailout era. Kelley Blue Book has a base sedan selling for $4,463 as of June 2025, with an S convertible going for $6,722. We'd say these are fair prices if you can find one with low mileage.
Sources: Chrysler, USA Today, Kelley Blue Book.