I would set the film in 1942. Wheeljack is a bitter, jaded detective on the Homicide desk. He drives himself; a Chevrolet Fleetmaster 2DR. His boss is Prowl, a hardass who's always on his case. But Wheeljack doesn't care. He has his own cases to deal with, and a tank that's always running out of whisky. His on and off again relationship with his secretary, Arcee, beautiful but whimsical, never seems to go anywhere, and that's just how he likes it. Oh, and the whole thing is shot in sepia tone AND black and white. At the same time. And he wears a Fedora.
Swap Wheeljack with Nightbeat, insert a suitable Decepticon as a villain and you have yourself a winner.
Grimlock could turn into a chevy surburban like the dreads, and could have his dino mode as a weapons mode, along with an ordinary robot mode.
