Cars, movies and auto racing go hand-in-hand, and this week in auto news saw cars featured prominently in all three.

• For years, many police stations across the country have been using Fords as their primary cars. The manufacturer recently released new versions of the Taurus and Explorer to help meet the unique needs of police forces and Ford is ready to debut them in a very unique way. The new vehicles are going to be the pace cars at the upcomign Ford Championship Weekend races at the Homestead Miami Speedway.

Although this is not the first time that Ford has used its products as the pace cars for an auto racing event, it is the first time that their police vehicles have been involved. It's no wonder why they chose now given the impressive design of the new Explorer and Taurus.

"Both of the Police Interceptor vehicles provide the highest level of safety, performance, durability, driver convenience and comfort, and we’re excited to be able to show off these new vehicles to the millions of fans on site and watching on national television," said Lisa Teed the brand manager for Ford Police Interceptors.

• Car chases play a big role most action movies, and with the next installment of the Mission Impossible series on the way, fans are getting an early glimpse of what they can expect. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol is set for release on December 21 and will feature an impressive line of BMWs.

Though several of the manufacturer's products will be featured in the film, one of the most prominent will be the futuristic BMW Vision EfficientDynamics, a concept car for a pair of upcoming models.

"The film allows us a wonderful opportunity to showcase not only BMW’s vision for future vehicles but to highlight some of the newest and most popular cars in our current fleet," Trudy Hardy, the manager of Marketing Communications and Consumer Events at BMW of North America.

• Although BMW will feature prominently in the Tom Cruise movie, it is not the only impressive car to be highlighted at the theaters in the coming weeks. In the upcoming movie Tower Heist, Steve McQueen's famous Ferrari 250 GT Lusso will be making an appearance, according to USA Today.

While some people might recognize the classic car, they may notice that it has been changed from its original chestnut brown color to a bright red.

"It just didn't look good brown," Ratner told the publication. "So for the purpose of the movie, we made Steve McQueen's car red."