General Motors lost $3.2 billion globally in the second quarter. Last year, GM-brand licensed products in the United States sold nearly as much.

Of course, it's licensees and retailers who take much of that, but as cash-strapped auto marketers scour for ways to make profit numbers, revenue from key rings, T-shirts and other licensed goods is regarded as a golden goose that can extend brands and bring in hundreds of millions of dollars at little cost.

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Since 2004 the Chrysler brand, which has 200 licensed products from some 50 licensees, has beefed up its licensing revenue 40 percent, Bockborn said. Jeep now has 600 products and 150 licensees and its licensing revenue has risen by 20 percent in the past two years. Dodge, with 400 products and 100 licensees, saw its royalty revenue jump 20 percent in the period, he said.

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The downside is brand dissatisfaction if kids have a bad experience with the products. Seltzer said his kids were very upset when the battery on their Jeep Ride On died. They "hated Jeep for the three weeks it took to get a new battery" online, he said. "However, now it's running, and they love the brand again."