A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Hot Wheels Display

I was happy to discover recently that Target has temporarily put all their single pack Hot Wheels cars on sale for 79 cents. That's an 18 cent savings over their regular price, which is a pretty decent discount, especially considering that I was beginning to think Hot Wheels single packs were something that never went on sale. While it isn't enough of a discount to convince me to buy models that I've never found all that appealing, it is enough to make me reconsider cars that fell just shy of making my cut for one reason or another. Case in point: the Ford Mustang Funny Car (as pictured above). I don't particularly like funny cars. The reason for this goes way back to my days of racing toy cars with my brother. While at the store one day in 1978, I spotted the Army Funny Car, and it was love at first sight. I didn't bother to read the name of the car. I wouldn't have known what a funny car was even if I had.

Once home, I took it out of it's package and discovered that the body was loose. What the...? I showed it to my brother who quickly announced, "Oh! That's a funny car!"
"Yeah, I know. The body's loose..."
"No, no. It's a Funny Car. The outside is just a shell, and inside is the real car. It's a dragster."

Great. I had bought it based on what it looked like on the outside, only to discover that it was just a hollow shell -- a good lesson for life in general, but not for someone who only cared about what kind of numbers a car could put up on the track. A car needed to be solid in it's construction to roll well and negotiate curves and loops with any real speed. The Army Funny Car never did very well on any of those fronts and was, as a result, a fairly big disappointment to me. But now that I'm a collector, I had to admit, this Mustang Funny Car has style. Even the dragster within is an eye pleasing combination of gold atop an unpainted metal base. For 79 cents, heck, why not?

All That Glitters

Today I'll write another post about the old cars I had as a child -- this time about the Hot Wheels "Golden Machines" 6 pack, which was released in 1979 (thank you, Hot Wheels Wiki). I can't say for certain now, but I believe this was something I received as a gift, and as I recall, I was reasonably happy to get it. I say reasonably only because I seem to remember being a little disappointed with the golden metalic coloring. Don't get me wrong. Ordinarily, I was convinced that anything gold in color must be special in some way. Of course I also believed the bigger the box, the better the present, so there you go. In this case, though, I do remember thinking that the cars would have been more visually appealing with colorful paint. After all, the 80's were about to begin. Gaudy was beautiful. Of all the cars included in the set, it was the Corvette that interested me the most. I suppose that goes without saying. Who doesn't stand up and pay attention when they see a Corvette Stingray? So it was with great anticipation that I tried out my new cars in races against my brother's cars. The Hot Bird was a nightmare. It's slender frame would bounce from one side of the track to the other after going around curves, slowing down it's track time considerably. To this day, that model annoys me, and I cringe when I see similar castings. The Jaguar did better, but as a luxury sedan, it was never all that memorable. The Spoiler Sport... well... It was a van. The Race Bait 308 was super-cool looking, but it just did okay on the track. It wasn't burning it up or anything. This brings us to the Corvette, which turned out to be the biggest piece of @&#! I ever owned. Seriously. Even the van could beat it. That sucker just would not roll. I don't know if it was a problem with the model in general or just the particular car that was in my set. All I know is that it taught me a valuable lesson. Just because a car looks fast doesn't mean it is. Which car, you are probably asking, was the fastest of the six? The Datsun Z Whiz. Yes, you read that right. I couldn't believe it either. Maybe it was based on a Datsun sports car of some sort, but the only Datsuns I was aware of were anything but fast. They were family cars, for crying out loud. Ah well. All things being equal, the Stingray would have smoked it, but such is life in the world of Hot Wheels.

Super Find

When I attended the September 18, 2010 Kmart Hot Wheels Collectors' event, I was naturally hoping to come away with a coveted "Super" Treasure Hunt car. As it turned out, I had to content myself with the standard Treasure Hunt -- a lime green '69 Ford Mustang. Considering that not every box contained a Treasure Hunt car, I was thankful just to get one. The ironic part is that in my pre-event excitement the day before, I had stumbled quite unexpectedly across a Super of a different model -- the Shelby Cobra "Daytona" Coupe. I had visited nearly every store within a 30 mile radius that carried Hot Wheels -- Walmarts, Targets, Kmarts, Toys 'R Us, Dollar Generals, Big Lots, Walgreens, you name it -- but there were still a few places which I hadn't visited or was unaware of. The day before the Collectors' Event, I decided to visit a nearby Kroger grocery that, for whatever reason, I had never found the time to case out. They had a nice selection of cars there, but nothing I needed, so I decided to drive to a nearby Walmart in case they had received any new shipments. That's when I spotted a Scott's grocery store to which I had somehow managed to remain oblivious despite all the times I had driven past it. I was running late but decided that there was no time like the present to check it out. They had a large bin of Hot Wheels too, so I began methodically taking the cars out and stacking them up on the floor. I'm sure the employees of these stores must think I'm nuts, watching me empty their bins and then carefully rearranging the cars I decide not to buy. Hey, I used to work in a store, so I can't help it if like to leave displays neater than when I arrived. As I searched, I came across a car I didn't recognize -- the orange Shelby Cobra. In all my Hot Wheels research, I hadn't even bothered to memorize the Treasure Hunt cars, but I knew all the others, so this one immediately stood out. It was the standard version, but a Treasure Hunt all the same. Before my discovery even had time to sink in, I looked down at the next handful I had grabbed from the bin and discovered the same car, but in what appeared to be copper-colored paint. Except the illustration on the package was exactly the same as for the orange one. "Oh... my... God," I thought, "It's a Super." Super Treasure Hunt cars have spectraflame paint, of course, so this was apparantly as close to orange as they could make it. And they are about as rare as hens' teeth, or so I hear. There I was, on the day before the Collectors' Event, holding a Super. I wound up purchasing both the regular and Super versions just to illustrate the differences between the two. But the best part was knowing that no matter what happened at Kmart the next morning, I had already been as fortunate as any Hot Wheels collector can hope to be.

Mystery Mystery

Immediately after the Kmart Hot Wheels Collectors' Event on September 18, 2010, I drove to a nearby Meijer store to pick up a few sale items. And yes, I checked their Hot Wheels display. Again. Granted, it was hard to work up the enthusiasm to do so after coming off the high of going through freshly shipped boxes with all kinds of new and exclusive cars in them, but there are still a few 2010 cars I'm looking for, and you never know what you'll find. As it turned out, I got incredibly lucky. They hadn't received any new shipments, but I just happened to spot a Ford Mustang Fastback that had escaped previous detection. It was hanging in the wrong aisle all by itself, which is just one more reason to glance around the rest of the toy department when you've finished going through the main display. I also bought a "Mystery" car which turned out to be a mystery in itself. I had seen the car in question on the rack during my last visit to the store but had decided not to get it. I didn't recognize it from the peephole view but knew it wasn't any of the models I was missing. Upon seeing it this time, I thought, "What the heck," and bought it anyway. It turned out to be a "Sooo Fast" as pictured above. The thing is that this model has never been a Mystery car, not to mention that the purple/pale purple version was a 2008 release. So how did it get in a 2010 Mystery car package? The way I figure it, there are only two possibilities. Someone at the factory deliberately put this car in with the others to be packaged or (more likely) someone bought a 2010 Mystery Car, took it out of the box, inserted an older car from their collection, re-glued the package, and returned it. In retrospect, the package did tear open a little too easily. Of course, the latter explaination would make more sense if the car were dusty, scratched or showed signs of wear. But it doesn't. It's clean, rolls well, and any flaws in the paint aren't serious enough to make me think they definitely aren't factory. And then, of course, I have to wonder what the person's motivation was for returning a perfectly good car. To get their dollar back? Sure, in this economy hanging on to every dollar is important, but why suddenly decide to part with a car that was willingly purchased two years before and has nothing wrong with it? It doesn't make a lot of sense, but there it is. However I came by it, I've welcomed the car to my collection -- the only true mystery in my Mystery fleet.

Organized Confusion

On Saturday, September 18, 2010, I attended my very first Kmart Hot Wheels Collectors' Event. Not many things could inspire me to drag my perpetually late self out of bed after only two hours of sleep with enough time to make a 9am start, but this was one of them. I was fairly anxious, wondering what to expect, though I had read about a previous year's event online. It all sounded simple enough, but I was worried that a lot of people would show up before me. If that was the case, I might not get the opportunity to experience the ultimate thrill -- going through an unopened case of Hot Wheels direct from the manufacturer. The information I read had suggested getting to the store fifteen minutes early, just to be sure. As I approached the store, I looked at the clock in my car and frowned. 8:50. Geesh, I'd be late to my own funeral. Then I saw them -- more cars in Kmart's parking lot than I had seen in years. Trying to remain optimistic, I told myself that most of them were probably just there to shop in the other departments. Before the store had actually opened. Because they had to work later in the day. On a Saturday. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Since it wasn't 9am yet, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to wait for the doors to open or what, but as it turned out, a couple walked in directly ahead of me. I followed them back to the toy department where a crowd had already gathered. It was then that I noticed things weren't going to be quite like the account I had read. Five large boxes were stacked up behind two long tables, and a woman who had clearly done all of this before was standing beside them handing out raffle tickets. So there was to be a drawing. There was still hope. I glanced briefly at a rule sheet that was provided specifically for novices like myself after overhearing someone else reading from it aloud. Each person whose name was drawn would be allowed exclusive access for five minutes to one of the small cartons contained within the larger ones and would be permitted to select -- without any outside guidance -- no more than five vehicles from it. Then the remaining content of the boxes would be dumped into bins. Once all the cartons had been rummaged through, it would be open season on the bins. But first there was to be a drawing for five 2010 Hot Wheels posters. "Wow," I thought, "Wouldn't it be perfect if I won one of those?" And sure enough, I did. Mine was the first name called. I suppose it helped that the woman who selected the winners just grabbed a handful of tickets off the top. This was getting off to a great start. Except for one thing. I soon realized that when they drew my name, they buried the stub upon returning it to the pile. Wonderful. I was happy about getting the poster, but I didn't want it at the expense of missing out on the cartons. And many of the other people were there in pairs, so they were effectively getting two shots at them. Things were beginning to look pretty bleak. At least I got a ticket. One couple arrived a few minutes after 9am and was turned away.

As I cleared a spot beside some clearance water toys to sit down and wait, I noticed that there was only one young boy participating. This was partly because only adult collectors would be crazy enough to drag themselves downtown this early on a Saturday morning. There's hardcore, and then there's hardcore. But I also noticed that the boy didn't have the same focus that his counterparts had. "Ooooooo! Cool!" he'd coo over the most mundane of vehicles before taking a lengthy pause to admire it and show it off to his mother, who was standing nearby. Then he'd look at the next car in the box and repeat the process. At least he was easy to please.

Finally it came down to the last round of cartons. They were bringing them out in groups of eight, and there were seven rounds for a grand total of 56. I was the 55th name drawn. Happy once more, I quickly laid claim to a box. It didn't matter when my name was drawn, so long as it was drawn. Each carton had an equal chance of containing the cars I wanted. My only concern was getting through the whole box and making up my mind on five cars before time was up. I'm not exactly known for making fast decisions. Fortunately, I've had some practice going through Hot Wheels displays. I began pulling out cars at a glance and setting them aside. No time to compare paint. I had work to do. That part went well enough. Only at the very end when I realized that everyone else was finished and I had a pile of eight cars did I begin to panic. Which ones to put back? Some of the keepers were obvious -- the lime green "Treasure Hunts" '69 Ford Mustang, the 2011 new release of a '69 Ford Torino Talladega, and a black and orange "Kmart Exclusive" Olds 442. Beyond that, my brain froze up. I wound up grabbing the 24/Seven and Circle Tracker, probably because they were the most colorful, and threw the rest back in the box. Fortunately, I chose well. A large number of the cars I had given up were still available in the bins afterwards, but unfortunately, I forgot one of them -- the black Porche 911 GT2. I did see it in the bins, but it didn't register at the time. Meanwhile, I couldn't figure out why I only had seven cars selected instead of the eight I remembered. I suppose it was a wonder I didn't get confused earlier, as tired as I was. I wound up grabbing a 2009 leftover model I had previously spotted in their existing display and heading to the checkout, free poster in tow. All in all, it was a really great time. I even had a good laugh when the crowd let out a collective gasp upon seeing an employee attempt to crush one of the empty cardboard boxes. Apparently to collectors, even the cartons in which the Hot Wheels are shipped to the store are sacred. Like I said, hardcore.

Vindication

Saw this image on eBay tonight, courtesy of someone selling a vintage Hot Wheels Mercedes Benz C-111 still in the package. The seller probably included this particular shot to show the date on the package, but what I immediately noticed was the warning not to oil the wheels and axles of the cars. The full message reads: "DO NOT OIL WHEELS AND AXLES! They are permanently lubricated. Ordinary oils will harm them." So I was right all those years ago to tell my brother I wanted no part of his plan to oil the wheels of his cars to make them roll faster. At the time, I was afraid it might be harmful to them in the long run, and now it appears that I was correct. Knowing that my concerns were valid, and that I did the right thing to protect my cars is of some consolation.

Nissan Fetish

Apparently I like Nissans. A lot. I currently own 4 Hot Wheels Nissan GT-Rs and I'm not sure how it happened. Actually, that's not true. I know exactly how it happened. It all started when I was scouting the toy section of a local Big Lots for cars. That's when I spotted a white Nissan GT-R. Initially I wasn't thrilled with the white color, but the more I looked at it, the more I began to feel that it was actually quite striking. The details stood out better than they would have on most other colors, and I did once decide that if I ever owned a sports car, I'd want one in white. So, fearing that I might not find another GT-R elsewhere, I bought it. Then I drove to a nearby Kmart where I immediately came across one in red, my favorite color. D'oh! But I resisted the urge to buy that one. I didn't need two. When I returned home, I researched the available colors online and quickly determined that my earlier decision had been the correct one. The car looked better in white. The only color that I liked even better was silver, and what were the chances of finding one of those?

So naturally a few weeks later, I happened across a silver one at a Walmart. Double d'oh! And of course I had no choice but to buy it since I had already determined that I liked that color better.

Not long after that I found one in black which I wouldn't have purchased except for the fact that it was a 2010 release and the others had been 2009 cars. My rules (as constantly changing as they are) allow me to purchase the same casting, even if I don't like the color as much, so long as it is from a different year. Well heck. Now I had three of them. I might as well go ahead and buy the red one too, providing they still had it the next time I was in Kmart. And of course they did. Now the only color I don't have the Nissan GT-R in is the burnt orange "Speed Machines" version. If I ever catch myself glancing at one of those, I'll be sure to listen to that inner voice saying, "Don't even think about it."

What Is "Real"?

As I stated in an earlier post, I never had any intention of buying every single Hot Wheels car in every single color combination produced, so I decided to focus primarily on "real" cars and concept vehicles. But what is real? One of the first cars I purchased was the Mitsubishi Double Shotz in lime green just because I thought it looked like a car that would kill on the track. It has Mitsubishi attatched to its name, so it has to be real, right? Only after the fact did I discover that the Designers' Challenge contest it won was, in fact, a Hot Wheels contest in which designers from various car companies competed to create a new casting. So does this make the Double Shotz (and other models that debuted as a result of that contest) real just because it was designed by a real car company? Of course Hot Wheels has employed many designers who previously worked for actual car companies too, and some of their original designs borrow heavily from real cars.

For example, I bought a red Scorcher as soon as I read it was based on a Nissan concept car. As near as I can tell, the concept car being referred to was the GT-R R35, a seriously cool vehicle.

Okay, so maybe they made a few alterations. Does that make it any less real? Okay, new rule: Hot Wheels designs inpired by real cars are okay, but ones that are completely made up aren't. This is where it starts to get really confusing.

The Twin Mill is one of Hot Wheels most beloved castings. It's been in production off and on since the beginning and was Hot Wheels first original design. People loved it so much that they eventually made a real one.

Life imitates art. Everything works on it, and I understand it has some wicked track times. Does this make it real? Of course it does. But was it any less real when it was still just a Hot Wheels original design? Hence the reason I finally broke down and purchased a purple Torque Twister.

I liked this casting from the moment I saw it. I could tell it rolled well within the confines of it's clear plastic prison, plus I found its appearance extremely appealing. Yet I kept putting it back because it was neither real nor outrageous enough to warrant purchase. So what is real? The bottom line is that in a world in which truth is often stranger than fiction, it is impossible to say.

Story of a Champion

Before I go any further, I suppose I should take a moment to memorialize my beloved Mercedes Benz C-111, a.k.a. "Janet Guthrie". She was purchased in a gift shop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum -- an auspicious start for any car. It's been so long since I've seen her that my memories are hazy at best. Until I looked through the Hot Wheels databse, I couldn't even have told you exactly what kind of car she was. Thinking back, I had the vague impression that she had been red, but with other colors too -- blue and white and at least one other color. And I remembered stars. As for her casting, I knew she had a narrow nose, doors that opened and a low, wide body that was built for speed. I figured I would know her when I saw her. That much was true. What I had trouble remembering were the minor details. Was she a Red Line? Was her base black or chrome, metal or plastic? As best I can recall, she had a chrome base. That would make her a Red Line. And I think it was plastic since I'm pretty sure I didn't get her until 1976. I did name her after Janet Guthrie, the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500, but Guthrie didn't actually appear in the race until 1977. That being said, I may not have started calling my Janet by that name until after the fact. As I recall, my brother had purchased a couple of Formula One style cars that same day which he called "Bobby Unser" and "A.J. Foyt". I started calling my car Janet as a response to that, but it may not have been until after I discovered that Janet was faster than my brother's cars -- all of his cars. Those were the glory days. When Janet rolled down that track, she was a thing of beauty. Nothing could touch her. She handled every turn, every loop, every straightaway with expert precision. My brother would act like it didn't bother him that my Janet won every race, but I saw how hopeful he looked with every new car he bought. Many came and went, but none could do better than second place. As time wore on, I could tell my Janet wasn't quite the car she had been when she was new. Her doors rattled as she came down the track and her "flying colors" looked maybe a little less bright. But like any great champion, she continued to win. She always won. Until my brother came up with an idea that finally brought about her downfall. He, being seven years older than me, decided to start applying oil to the tires of his cars. In all fairness, he offered to do the same for my cars, but I viewed this as tampering with the vehicles and wanted no part of it. I was too young to understand that it was probably good for the cars even beyond the immediate benefit of making them go faster. So I watched anxiously as he greased up his cars' tires and set up the track. And I danced and sang "Nya, nya, nya" louder than ever before when my Janet still won. But my brother wasn't deterred. He applied more oil the next time we raced, and finally... sadly... my Janet couldn't keep up. Afterwards, I remember picking her up somberly and carrying her away, probably into retirement. I don't recall racing cars with my brother beyond that moment. By that time, he was of the age where he was losing interest in it anyway. And now, I have no idea what happened to my beloved Janet. I can't imagine that I wouldn't have had enough sense to save her, even if my mom had decided to garage sale all my other cars. But in a thoughtless teenage moment, I might have waved my hand and said, "Whatever." And so now I have very little hope of ever seeing her again. I can only hope that if someone else got her, that they loved her as I did. And that they let her race. She was good at that.

Touching the Past

Took advantage of the Labor Day holiday to have a more thorough look around the little library in which my brother spent much of his time for many years. It's an odd sort of place, with a psychedelic poster on the inside of the door, stacks of LP record albums, and shelves overflowing with every sort of odd or unusual nick-nack imaginable, from shark jaws to bongo drums. This was where my brother practically lived for the longest time. This was where he kept his toy cars. And this was where they would still be, according to him, if they were still around. As I scanned the room, endeavoring to see through the blanket of dust, I began to lose heart. Even here, in this time capsule from the distant past, I could see that many of the things I remembered were missing. The stand where my brother had kept his cars was long since gone. Despite the dust, it was clear that efforts had begun to reclaim to the room from antiquity. I was about to give up, when I saw it -- a plastic baggie stuffed with what appeared to be toy cars. It was a small bag which couldn't possibly hold all the cars he had owned, but it was, at least, some of them. I grabbed it with reverent excitement.

As I emptied the bag's contents, what should be the first car to grab my attention but the bright yellow 1978 Packin' Pacer. It's funny because in reminiscing about my brother's "fleet", the Pacer was always the one I remembered most vividly. As a child, I never understood what it was that inspired him to buy it. He seemed excited to get it, and I suppose that's all that mattered, but it didn't look particularly fast or cool to me. To this day, I grit my teeth when the only color in which I can find a given Hot Wheels car is yellow. Yet in spite of all these things (or perhaps because of them), it was still the car that stood out best in my memory. And there it was again, in the palm of my hand. Needless to say, I promptly dropped it. D'oh! Also in the bag was one of the even older cars with which my brother played, but it turned out to be a Johnny Lightning, not an early Hot Wheels. Moments later, as I showed off my discovery, I learned that the same was true of my other brother's beloved purple Mako Shark, which he still keeps carefully stashed away in a closet. This would explain why I could never find an image in the Hot Wheels database that made me want to shout, "That's it! We had that one!" (with the exception of the yellow monstrosity known as Open Fire). Still, even an old Johnny Lightening has increased significantly in value. So naturally I proceeded to drop that one as well. D’oh- d'oh!!!!! As it turned out the Pacer was the only Hot Wheels car in the bag. And yet I was immeasurably happy to see it. I could almost forgive it's being yellow. Almost.

Take My Breath Away

Someone cue up the "Top Gun" soundtrack. I'm in love. With the Bugatti Veyron. And now, thanks to Hot Wheels, I can say that I own not one, but two Veyrons. Well, sort of. The funny thing is that I had never heard of this car before buying the standard blue and silver version. I bought it and then did the research to find out what kind of car it was supposed to be. Sure, it's all well and good to say that it's by far the fastest production car you can buy with a top speed of 253 mph. As impressive as those facts are, they are still just words on a page. I had to see the real version of this car in action. So I looked up the following YouTube clip from the British television show "Top Gear".



Oh. My. God. If I ever win the lottery, I know what I'm buying. As it is, I bought my second Hot Wheels Veyron tonight. The black and white Speed Machines version with superior detailing. How could I resist?

All together now. "Take my breath away, my love. Take my breath away..."

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to go Back in the Hot Wheels Aisle

I was quite pleased with myself when I first came across the 2010 Sharkruiser. It was a casting I had been hoping to find, and it was the only one our local Toys R' Us had. If there had been five or six of them hanging on the store's overflowing, too-close-together racks, I would have been far less enthused. But finding just one buried in the very back of a box display always leaves me feeling particularly pleased with myself. Since it was never my intention to buy every single car in every single color variation offered, I had decided to focus on models that had actually been built as either production, racing, or concept cars, but as someone who loves the fantasy genre, I can be dazzled by the surreal and far-fetched as well. When I saw this "creature" car's picture posted online, I decided almost immediately that I wanted one (assuming I could find it). But after adding it to my collection, a thought occurred. The reason I have a soft spot for sharks is my brother -- the same brother who first introduced me to Hot Wheels. He loved sharks with a passion and read all he could about the different species. I still remember the day he taught me to correctly pronounce the name of the truly terrifying prehistoric shark Carcharocles megalodon. He had an actual fossilized tooth from one. He also had what was technically a shark in his aquarium. He named it "Jaws". With all this in mind, I began to wish I would find another Sharkruiser to give to my brother (hey, I wasn't going to give up mine!) for his upcoming birthday, just for old times’ sake. According to my dad, my brother didn't show the least bit of interest when he asked him if he knew what had become of our old Hot Wheels cars, and I suppose that's to be expected. But what better way to pay tribute to our shared childhood than to give him a shark that has been fashioned into a Hot Wheels car? The only problem was the car's horizontal caudal fin. My brother, being a stickler for details, would be sure to notice that and lament it. Quite frankly, I wouldn't put it past him to break it off in an effort to "fix" it. But at least on this version of the car, it isn't clearly visible. There was once a version that was painted like a killer whale. That, at least, would have made sense.


While looking for a second Sharkruiser, I came across the Hammer Down color shifters creature car that was inspired by hammerhead sharks. Of course this model isn't as realistic in appearance as the Sharkruiser, but at least it gets the caudal and double dorsal fins right. And the blue version turns a very nice shade of deep purple when cold, the exact color my brother would attempt tirelessly to achieve every Easter when we colored boiled eggs. Not that, once again, that will necessarily mean anything to him now. Of course, if it isn't one thing, it's another. I know the way its eyes are drawn on the front of its face will annoy him. "Why didn't they just put them on the sides?" he will say, and of course, he'll have a point. Despite the potential pitfalls, I was eventually able to buy a second Sharkruiser and a Hammer Down. I hope when I give them to my brother, he shows at least a passing interest in them. As for me, I've seen several Sharkruisers in the stores in recent days. "Pleased with myself" level... falling...

Hot Wheels on Memory Lane

A funny thing happened when I was at a nearby grocery store in the last days of July 2010. I saw a $1 bin next to the check-outs filled with toy cars -- mostly Hot Wheels, but also a few Matchbox offerings. I glanced through them almost without thinking and noticed a few classic cars strewn in amongst the modern day speedsters. I had recently become acquainted with some members of a local car club, one of whom was about to celebrate his wedding anniversary. While I couldn't afford a proper gift and wasn't expected to, it occurred to me that it might be a nice gesture to get the happy couple some classic Hot Wheels cars to display in honor of their shared hobby. I only bought one that day, a purple '56 Merc, but on the way to their party, I went back for three more. Of course this got me thinking back to the "good 'ol days" when I was a little girl who raced Hot Wheels cars with her brother, back when all was right with the world (even when it wasn't). I wondered what had happened to my old cars. No doubt my parents had long since gotten rid of them, though there was always the faintest of hopes that they were still buried in a box somewhere. I surfed the net and discovered just how collectible Hot Wheels cars had become over the years, especially those early models. I looked up the car which had been my favorite, a Mercedes Benz C-111, in hopes of getting another and was stunned to see how much people were asking for it today. Even loose with flaking paint, its price had increased exponentially. And that was nothing compared to the going rate for some of the cars my older brothers owned. "Hmmmmm," I thought, "Maybe I should be picking up some Hot Wheels for myself!" Granted the cars being released now will probably never be worth much compared to those from the Hot Wheels "Red Line" era, but at a mere $1 apiece, it's hard to go wrong. But of far greater importance than any potential price they might fetch down the road is their value on that grand, ethereal concourse known as Memory Lane. I may never see my beloved Mercedes Benz C-111 again, but the Hot Wheels displays are still right where I left them, and $1 will still buy me an instant smile. Can't beat that deal.