See, this is the kind of stuff I just don't notice at all. I've seen the first two seasons of Burn Notice relatively recently, and not once did I ever realise they were doing that. Probably because I don't know the first thing about cars.

Well, people pay to watch a movie about Barbie and Transformers, so how much product placement do you want?

If you want to use a real brand, you're beholden to the owners of that brand regarding how their product may be used, what they want it associated with, how much and in what way it should be focused on, and so on. Using real-world brands can lend greater verisimilitude to a work, but it can also lessen the creators' freedom.
Also, depending on the product's owning company and what they think of the film, game, etc., that someone wants to use that product in, the company may well want money for their product to be able to be shown (assuming they're okay with it being used in that project at all), rather than offering money for it being "advertised" therein.

LOL this topic reminds of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYqSUJq3vqo

Anyways, most product placements I've seen are background stuff that I easily overlook.

I don't know much about cars myself; I wouldn't say such knowledge has anything to do with this.
When, during a car chase (or some other car-based action) sequence, the narrator's talking about how, for such-and-such maneuver, you need certain handling and braking characteristics, or so much power, or whatever, and the camera then does some close-up shots on the very front of the car, with the manufacturer badge front-and-center (and maybe sometimes the rear as well, where the model name usually lives), it's kind of hard to escape the conclusion that that was some "promotional consideration" being transacted. (I'm pretty sure this, legally, has to be disclosed somewhere in the credits as well, though--by this era of TV--the closing credits zipped by so fast--and I usually pay so little attention after the extended cast credits--that I probably mostly missed any such disclosures. Of course, I watched the show a fair bit when it first aired on USA Network, and any auto sponsorship was probably made even more obvious by the fact that the same car brand(s) had ads during the commercial breaks as well. :) )

Congratulations. You pulled a sentence out of content and found something obvious. And you know how to use the bold and italic tag. I am so proud of you.

...And Air Jordans, and the "Flamin' Hot" Cheetos flavor....

Yes, but mainly because I'm a filthy communist who shops at Aldi in the first place and the presence of brands tends to turn media properties into not only a galling corporate cheer leading session, but a ticking time bomb.

Oh, I'd like to watch this show on streaming, but I can't because they made the mistake of featuring a discontinued bag of crisps on screen, and one of the joyless marketers rejected the proposal because they don't want to confuse customers.

Another example: JJ Abrams Lensflare Trek movies have a baffling Nokia reference at the start, which begs a few questions about the future, and shows a credible lack of writing acumen from the whole production crew:
If we're to assume that the Kevinverse follows a loose timeline similar to the Prime universe, then World War III occurred. There shouldn't be a Nokia to exist. Either as a result of the war, the passage of time between <now> and the 2200s, or the folding of the communications into the global communications network, as the UFP and Starfleet were both well established by the time.

And you're very likely right. It's just that I'm so oblivious to those manufacturer badges they're literally meaningless to me so the product placement slips by me. At least my obliviousness about this is what I usually attribute it to, but maybe, like I said, I'm just not observant enough to notice the connection you mentioned.

Product placement where it seems natural and isn't trying to be blatant is just fine. If pizza was ordered for a party or event and it happens to be Pizza Hut, who cares? And if you have a scene in a bar, seeing Budweisers may be totally normal to be drunk. (Beginning of Home Alone, and i think Cutting edge)

Now for anything unnatural in it's presentation, yeah obfuscating it is fine (Mythbusters testing a beer bottle breaking myth and slapped paper over the beers hiding the brand). I don't want to start seeing crappy 'all the furniture is covered because it's product placement' BS with what they'd call copyright infringement.

Then there's blatent over the top. I remember hearing how Tony Hawk's Skater pro game on PS2 had ad placements EVERYWHERE, like 10x the normal. That kind of thing will make me not only not buy the game, but not look at any of those products in said game either.

Few years ago a Game Jam with Angry Joe was going on, apparently they were trying to make sure everyone had a Mt Dew at all times, and rules and stuff for the name facing certain directions to the camera, so much it was apparently totally annoying. On top of that they had a director who was specialized in reality TV BS trying to start drama and fights between teams of programmers, who were having none of it and they just cancelled the whole event.

Product placement can even be part of the narrative in some cases. Example if you're doing a homeless encampment, they wouldn't be using name brands like Campbell; And instead has Dollar Tree 'Saver's Choice' or whatnot brand, though it shouldn't be the main focus.

Everything is made by someone.

Bodger sells out

It is almost everywhere. Even when you pay for ad-free subscription it pervades.

Have a look at the link below for Scorceses Taxi Driver and the sheer amount of product placement.

https://productplacementblog.com/tag/taxi-driver-1976/

Try watching it again. it's just shameless adds.

Modern cinema is just as bad.

Watching netflix recently I see they are pushing Ray Bans.

Prostituting cinema? Probably.

Feels dirty when it halts a film completely. "The Postman" is a good example. They literally stop the film and introduce a guy as a name of a car. Look at a car dealership. Then ok, the film starts again. Even if you dislike the film for other reasons, if you stop a film so abruptly, it kills it in advertising.

A lot less than "Mark Walberg guzzling Bud-Light mid-fight" and little more than "cars that aren't robots have branded grills".

I always notice product placement and almost always groan when I see it (especially when characters comment on how great the product is!)...

... but...

... I will forever remember the pinnacle of product placement...

... an episode of Dawson's Creek where the entire episode took place inside a Best Buy. Amazing.