Exclusive Colors? Yeah, Not So Much...

I just had to make an entry about something very, very odd I happened across in early November. Upon returning from a road trip to Ohio, I decided to make a quick stop in New Haven, IN just for the heck of it. One of the stores I stopped in was a Dollar General near I-469. Dollar Generals never have a huge display of Hot Wheels, but I have made some important finds in them. They do seem to be overlooked by a lot of collectors, despite the fact that their prices are more or less in line with everyone else's. On this particular night, I was perusing their small rack when my eyes met with an unexpected sight -- the yellow Triumph TR6 shown above. Why did this get my attention? Because the only place you are supposed to be able to get this car in yellow is Kmart. I recognized it immediately from the Kmart Hot Wheels Collectors Event in September. "What the...?" For a moment, I imagined someone returning it to the Dollar General by mistake. And the Dollar General taking it by mistake. And putting it on their rack by mistake... That's a lot of mistakes. But no. The truth was even stranger than I could have guessed, because as I went through the rest of the rack, I found the three other "exclusive" color cars that had been included in that same September shipment. So apparently it was Hot Wheels who made the mistake by shipping a Kmart box to Dollar General. And of course this made me wonder if this has happened before. Maybe the reason Kmart only had four cases of cars at the November event I attended was because the fifth box went to a Walgreens or something. You just never know.

Holiday Hot Rods -- Target Vs. Walmart

'Twas the day after Thanksgiving and all through the land frantic shoppers were scrambling for the deals to be had. Salvation Army bells are ringing, Toys for Tots barrels are filling, winter coats are emerging from the backs of closets, and everywhere you look are the warm and fuzzy signs that another December 25th is only a month away. 'Tis the season for another holiday showdown. If you'll recall, I felt that Target was the clear winner for Halloween 2010, but could they defeat Walmart again? The Holiday Hot Rods are perhaps Hot Wheels most significant seasonal releases of the year, and Walmart wouldn't be going down without a fight. Unlike their Halloween entries, they went with entirely different decorating schemes for their cars, upping the ante. So without any further ado, here are your 2010 Holiday Hot Rods:

Purple Passion Woody: Target
I suspect that this car is exactly the sort that makes Californians want to deck the halls and drink eggnog. Considering that Hot Wheels are born there, I'm more than willing to overlook the surfboard, which is as foreign to a Midwesterner like myself as palm trees and luaus. The red works well as an accent for the green, and the gold snowflakes on brown paneling feels quite quaint. And how could anyone but Scrooge himself frown upon the "Happy Holidays!" message. Note the exclamation point.

Purple Passion Woody: Walmart
You'll notice a trend here. Walmart has opted for a more sophisticated "less is more" attitude with it's decorating this time around. The paneling is well done -- simple and tasteful. The white flames on the red looks very classic and elegant, and the green interior and surfboard hanging out the back adds a Christmas-y feel without overdoing it. On a general note regarding the model itself, I must say that I found the weight of this casting (and several others) impressive. Yes, that is a real metal base. Apparently after the all-plastic release of Phantasm for Halloween, Hot Wheels decided to open up their wallets and put out some cars that were worth the extra dough for Christmas.

VERDICT: Tie

Ford F-150: Target
I'm crazy about this truck. This shade of blue doesn't always appeal to me, but it couldn't be more perfect when paired with the white flying snow painted on it. It's like the best snowball fight you've ever had under a bright blue sky. This picture doesn't show it very well, but the snowman on the hood is absolutely adorable, and the gold rims and accents... Well, it just doesn't get any better than this.

Ford F-150: Walmart
Hmmmm... Maybe it's just that Target hit a homerun with their version, but this one just seems very ordinary to me. Okay, it's got the Christmas colors down. The "North Pole Express" on the door is a nice touch. At least they're trying. Kind of.

VERDICT: Target, hands down

Cul8r: Target
I was very excited to see this model among the offerings. I've been crazy about this casting ever since I happened upon that 2006 "Track Stars" version that was the subject of an earlier post. This holiday version has all the usual splendor and then some. One might even say it's downright gaudy with it's red and gold against shining sliver accented by (what else?) green rims. Hey, it even has a line of red stars on the side just to add more color, as if it needed it. But gosh darn it, the holidays are supposed to be bright, cheerful and gaudy. This car screams "Christmas", and that can't be a bad thing for a Holiday Hot Rod.

Cul8r: Walmart
As before, Walmart goes for elegant here. Note the traditional silver and gold with mock flame detailing with the occasional tiny representations of golden sparkles. The copper-colored metal base gives the car a touch of warmth it might otherwise have lacked. Very classy, if a little simplistic when viewed next to Target's version.

VERDICT: Tie, but with a nod to Walmart

'78 Corvette Funny Car: Target
Once again, Target goes the cheerfully gaudy route with bells and candy canes encircling the words "North Pole" on the side while the silver and gold hints of the dragster within provide accents. The lime green doesn't earn it any points with me, but with everything else distracting from it's primary color, it works. But it would have been better in a darker shade of green.

'78 Corvette Funny Car: Walmart
Sometimes less is definitely more. The navy blue with golden yellow detailing that fades at the edges makes this car pop big time. And while it features the words "Happy Holidays" (no exclamation point) on the side, it's done in such a way as to be a tasteful extension of the car's overall theme. Even the silver and gold points of the inner dragster look better than they do on Target's version. NOTE: This car is mislabelled as a '77 Corvette Funny Car on Walmart's packaging.

VERDICT: Walmart

Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept: Target
The red looks nice, but I'm not sure the white flame-style striping really works. It's just a bit much. It might have worked better if they had used it only on the hood and not the sides. That said, the gold bells, rims and base work very well. It's a pleasant enough offering overall.

Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept: Walmart
They've got decent enough colors with gold and red, but the white kind of waters it down. And what's with the plain striping? It just looks like an ordinary racing car instead of something decorated especially for the holidays. In fact, I didn't make the connection between Christmas being on December 25 and the number 25 being on the car until a day or two after I had first seen it. That's how obscure this car's detailing is.

VERDICT: Target

'72 Ford Ranchero: Target
Speaking of un-Christmas-y, what in the world was Target thinking with this? Sure, it's red with gold wheels but I'm trying to figure out what the blue is meant to represent. Flames or ice? Ice would at least be appropriate for winter, but other than the tiny snowman logo on the side, what about this makes it a holiday car?

'72 Ford Ranchero: Walmart
Metallic pea green. Yikes. Yet on some level it manages to work. It must be the delicate white snowflakes against copper on the sides, top and hood. It reminds me of something the 70's threw up. Or some god-awful drapes my parents had when I was a little girl. Either way, it whispers "Christmas past" for someone roughly my age. Granted, the memory comes with a slight shudder. Regarding the casting itself, this one also comes with a real metal base. As Darth Vader would say, "Impressive. Most impressive."

VERDICT: Walmart

'58 Edsel: Target
And now we come to the piece de resistance of the 2010 Holiday Hot Rods. This is Target's version, all decked out in classic gold with gold flames set against dark red detailing. Silver bumpers and grill, red wheels, green-tinted windows, plus yet another real metal base make this release an instant classic and something very special to behold.

'58 Edsel: Walmart
Not to be outdone, Walmart pulls out the big guns with this powder blue paint job subtly accented with navy and medium blue, bright blue wheels and a flurry of snowflakes strategically placed on the sides of the rear half of the car. It's like a trip down a snow-covered lane, eating gingerbread cookies and listening to Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas". Classic, understated and absolutely unforgettable.

VERDICT: Tie

That's two clear wins for Target, two for Walmart and three ties, although Walmart had a slight edge in the interests of good taste on one of them. But wait! As usual, Walmart did a little extra credit work and offers this car exclusively.

Rocket Oil Special: Walmart
It wouldn't be Christmas without "Santa's Sled" now would it? Granted, there isn't much to it compared to this year's other holiday cars, but with the deep red atop a forest green metal base, green windshield and the extensive use of gold on the seat, wheels and engine, this is a very special offering, indeed. The "10" of course represents the year of release. A homerun, to be sure, and a very collectible one that should appeal to young and old alike. Well done!

So where does that leave us? Who has the upper hand? Perhaps we'd best look at the price differential to decide. As always, Walmart's holiday cars are packaged individually and run $2 each. Target's are sold in 3-packs which run $4. So at first glance, it would seem Target has a clear edge. Except that Target offers seven different models. And no, thanks to the pre-arrangement of the assortments available, you can't get two packs and get everything but the Ranchero. I know; I tried. So to get all seven, you're pretty much stuck buying three 3-packs of cars, which will run you $12. And you'll be paying for a couple of duplicates whether you like it or not. To get the same seven cars at Walmart would be $14. So not a huge difference, and you aren't stuck with more than one of the same car. To get "Santa's Sled" is $2 more, of course, no matter where you get the rest of the cars. What did I do, you ask? I broke down and bought them all. There were only a couple that I didn't care for, so I decided I might as well go ahead and get them too so I could say I had a complete set. On a side note, I really appreciate the way every Target store puts their seasonal Hot Wheels in the holiday aisles, making them very easy to find and buy. You never know where they will be in Walmart, if the particular Walmart you are in even carries them. Not every Walmart does. Even if they do, they might not get in every car available. So trying to find them can make for a very long and frustrating shopping trip. In my case, I wandered around Walmart #1 for what seemed like forever. When I finally found their display, they were missing the car I wanted most -- the Cul8r. A lengthy search of Walmarts #2 and #3 yielded no holiday cars, so I wound up driving 15 miles north of town to Walmart #4, not knowing for certain that they had them either. Fortunately they did, and I was able to finish the set. So yeah, I look forward to buying Target's cars a bit more than Walmart's. That said, I'm now the proud owner of not one, not two, but three Purple Passion Woodys in green with red detailing. Grumble, grumble, grumble. "Ho-ho-ho," indeed.

She Chose... Poorly

Another Kmart Hot Wheels Collectors' Event has come and gone. Presumably there won't be another until February, so this was my last chance before Christmas to get it right. I had resolved to get to the nearest Kmart earlier than I did in September, which would be no easy task for someone who regularly rolls over and asks mom for five more hours, not minutes. Under normal circumstances, I would have turned off the alarm and gone back to sleep, but not this day. This day was important! There were Treasure Hunts and exclusive color cars at stake! So it was with a certain amout of pride that I got myself together and out the door a FULL FIFTEEN MINUTES earlier than last time. Hey, that's doing good for me. It was almost all for naught, though, as Mother Nature had other plans. Frost! Oh man... Why is it that I never expect to see frost encasing my car windows? Even when conditions are right, it always takes me by surprise. Well, I wasn't going to scrape. No time. Instead I let the car's heater run on defrost for a few minutes. Impatient sigh... Glance to the clock... another impatient sigh. No time to wait for the heater to do the job either. As soon as there was a hint of melting, I pulled out, using the windshield wiper fluid every few seconds to clear a space so I could see. Of course it would freeze over again almost immediately, so I had to keep it up until the car began to warm up. I say "began" because it never fully heated up. As I drove into Kmart's parking lot, the air coming out was still only lukewarm. But by that time, the sun was shining brightly -- so brightly that I had to stop and stare at it in amazement. I couldn't remember there being so much sunlight when I arrived for the last event. Or maybe it just seemed dark because I was still half-asleep. Not this time. Nor sir. I was primed to do much better than I did then. This time, I had a plan.

My primary objective, assuming my name was drawn, was the Treasure Hunt car, whatever it was. I see them so rarely, and I've never found one at Walmart or Target, leading me to suspect that either people know exactly when those stores restock their displays or employees are nabbing them before they can ever hit the shelves. Beyond that, I had my sights set on the exclusive color cars. Last time I bought two of the four exclusives, and while all those cars were still available after the fact, there were a lot fewer of the models I bought. I suspected that some of the exclusives might disappear altogether before I got a shot at the leftovers in the bins, so I wanted to get all the ones I wanted up front. I had decided to buy three of them -- the '56 Merc in orange and white, the Ford GT LM in yellow and the Corvette Grand Sport in black and orange.

It was roughly 8:35 am. I made my way to the back of the store, signed in, and was pleased to see that there weren't a lot of people who had gotten there before me. A large number of people continued to arrive long after I had found a confortable display of doggy squeak toys to lean against. One thing I did notice as I waited was that there were only four cases of Hot Wheels in the stack. I just assumed the other was out of view somewhere. There were always supposed to be five, right? Apparently not. As the clock hit 9:00 am, I overheard one of the clerks shrug and say, "Huh. There are only four cases this time. Oh well." The rules were the same as before. Each case had eight cartons within, so 32 names would be drawn. And each person drawn would have five minutes alone with their case to lay claim to no more than five cars. I'm still a bit baffled as to why some Kmarts let those who are drawn buy their whole carton if they want to. At this Kmart, they have a rule sheet printed up, presumably from corporate, and they stick to it.

There were no posters to be given away this time, so it was straight to the boxes. By this time a large crowd had gathered. I knew not getting chosen was a possibility, but I tried to remain upbeat as I waited, regardless. Meanwhile, little tidbits about the selection at hand came trickling out. "It's the '58 Impala!" someone reported in regards to the Treasure Hunt car. Trying not to get my hopes up, I craned my neck over a few shoulders, hoping to catch a glimpse before settling back against the squeakies again. Fortunately, my waiting paid off. After watching a number of people who had arrived after me get their turns, my name was finally drawn. Of course last time, they said that there might not be a Treasure Hunt car in every box, so I'd just have to take my chances. Lo and behold, there it was. As soon as I spotted it in the middle of the carton, I pulled it out to start my pile. It was just the regular version, but I wasn't about to complain.

Though I was seeing a number of new cars that I dearly wanted, I didn't let them distract me. I merely set them aside for the time being and kept searching for the exclusive color cars on my list. Of course they were in there, every last one of them. The only one that I was still vacillating on was the turquoise Nomad. I don't particularly like turquoise cars, and I already had it in a very snazzy red. I figured I'd be able to pick it up later if I changed my mind, so I passed it up. Big mistake.

As it turned out, the Nomad and the Merc were the only two of the exclusives to disappear completely. I even checked the other Kmart on the south side of town a few days later. Nothing. So unless Hot Wheels ships them some more, they are gone baby, gone. Drat. And I thought everyone would want the Corvette Grand Sport. Obviously I still have a lot to learn.

So what did I get instead of the Nomad? I decided to grab the IROC Pontiac Firebird decorated as a police car. In my experience, city works-type vehicles are often quick to disappear, and in the off-chance they got snapped up, I wanted one. I never saw the Heat Fleet '97 Corvette or the light blue '67 Pontiac Firebird 400, but I heard people talking about them after the fact (as in, "Hey, have you seen any of those in the bins? Someone had one, and I wanted to get one too!" I defintely didn't see any of the Hummer H2 SUT decorated as a police vehicle. What is it about that car? First the 2010 "Parks Department" version got away from me, and now I can't find the new one either.

Since Kmart had fewer cases than usual, there were fourteen people left out of the drawing, including one rather vocal woman who had spent most of the event complaining non-stop that she didn't recognize half the people there and loudly disparaging anyone who had brought a child with them. Never mind that she had her own child in tow. "This event is suppposed to be for collectors!" she'd sniff indignantly, griping about how she'd wind up paying as much as $50 for any cars she missed out on via eBay because her son just had to have every release. I could understand what she was trying to say on that front. It is annoying when you get home and discover many of the most coveted cars already up for auction online. But who can blame people for trying to make a buck in this economy? She was out of line to complain about children at the event, though. Lest we forget, Hot Wheels are toys, and most of us came to love them because of our experiences playing with them as children. I would never begrudge a child for getting and playing with a Hot Wheels car, no matter how collectible it was or how much I wanted it for myself. As for new people at the events, well guess what? You were a new person once too, lady. Get over yourself.

Because there were so many people left out, everyone unanimously agreed to let those people have first crack at the bins of leftovers. They were allowed five cars each, same as everyone else. This is probably the real reason some cars completely disappeared, but who was going to say "no"? Next time, it could be any one of us who gets left out, and we would want the same opportunity. When those people were finished, the rest of us had at the remaining leftovers, and I was happy enough to find fourteen more cars to buy. Unlike last time, this was the first time I had seen most of the cars in the boxes, so there were quite a few I needed. Like the red Ferrari 308 GTS. I had reluctantly purchased it in blue back in August, wishing it were red like the Magnum P.I. car. So naturally it comes out in red now. Grumble, grumble, grumble... I was equally pleased to get the Dodge Neon, which has only been released a couple of times previously. I drive a Neon, therefore I wanted it, even though this car looks absolutely nothing like mine.

Then there are the "first to market" cars to consider. These can be deceiving. It's very exciting to get them since they are guaranteed not to have been available anywhere else before the event. Sometimes they are fast to disappear, but the key is to keep reminding yourself that you'll see boatloads of them everywhere in the weeks ahead. Buy them if you want them, but it won't be your only chance to do so. I got two of the first to market cars this time, including the Customized C3500. What can I say? I just can't get enough of cars with flames. I also got the Ferrari F430 Spider in red. I had previously found one in yellow from 2009. Ugh. Why does Hot Wheels insist on making Ferraris in yellow? The logo is already yellow, you dolts, and they look like crud when you can't see it. Needless to say, when I find an old Ferrari on the shelf, it is almost always yellow. I have to suppress my gag reflex to buy it. Of course I'm not overly fond of yellow cars of any brand. Which brings us to the F-Racer I purchased.

The one I picked out had such dark paint as to be more gold than yellow. I might not have gotten it at all, but I actually like the design, and the bright blue works well as an accent. it brings to mind sunshine on the ocean. That and the fact that this model reminds me of nothing more than Shrek with those ear-like protrusions on the sides. Hot Wheels should make it in lime green with brown and oatmeal-gray accents. I guarantee it would be a best seller.

Of course there were many others -- the Dodge Challenger Drift Car, for example. I was quite pleased to throw each and every one of them in my box. Yes, I had the good sense to ask for my carton this time around. It does make one's selections so much easier to carry around, not to mention that they are probably collectible in their own right. So it was another successful event, even if I missed out on a few things. Hopefully the weather will cooperate in February so I can make my third consecutive appearance at one of these things. Maybe then I'll be able to say with certainty that I'm not one of the people that the annoying woman doesn't recognize.

Super-Duper

What is it about Kmart Hot Wheels Collector Events? I've been to two of them now, and just before both of them I got extremely lucky in the Treasure Hunts department. This time, the only major grocery store chain in town was having a 77 cent sale on Hot Wheels, and I had been meaning to get out to as many locations as possible just to see what they had. Alas, it wasn't until the last day of the sale that I was able to go, so I decided to hit the five closest stores. I figured their selections would be picked over at that point, but it was worth a look anyway. As it turned out, one of those stores had closed its doors since I had last been there in early October -- the one in which I found the "Super" Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe I wrote about back in September. *Sniff*
But never mind that. I couldn't be too upset considering that at the very first location I did search, I stumbled across the regular Treasure Hunt version of the Baja Beetle. Then just a few pegs away, I found the "Super" version shown at the top of this post. As you can see, this is another car in which the two types are easy to distinquish. The antifreeze spectraflame paint on the "Super" looks more green than yellow unless you look at it in the right light. I had no qualms about the car itself, not that I wouldn't have snapped it up regardless of its appearance. I like Beetles. Always have. When I was little, we used to count them while on the road for family vacations. "Red bug!" "Blue bug!" "Uh... Sort of yellowish-green spectraflame bug?" Hey, why not. As before with the Shelby, I bought the "Super" and the regular. I left a second regular version for the next person to find. I just couldn't quite believe that I had found them on the last day of the sale.

After discovering the closure of the next store on my list, I moved on to the third location. I didn't find much there, though I did make a couple of other purchases. Then came the fourth store. Here, they had erected a huge four-sided box display in the Christmas aisle. The first side yielded nothing new. On side two, I immediately happened across another "Super" Shelby. I mean, it was right in front for all to see. What the...? And there were no regular versions to be found on the display -- just the "Super". Sure I already had it, but considering it's value, I'd have been a fool not to claim it for 77 cents.

On side three, I found another Treasure Hunt car -- the regular version of the Ford GTX1. In fact, I found several of them. Quckly setting one aside, I told myself, "Keep digging. Just keep digging." Sure enough on side four (wouldn't you know it?) I finally found the "Super".

Unlike the Beetle, this car's blue paint made it difficult to tell the difference under store lighting, though with closer inspection, one could see that the paint of the "Super" was more affected by changes in that light and looked very dark, for example, in shadow. But the tires were the real giveaway. There was no mistaking the higher quality wheels of a "Super". Once again, I had to wonder... Did I walk in 30 seconds after someone had put this display together or something? How in the heck did I get this lucky? Even though I left the final store on my hit list without making a purchase, it did leave me a little worried about the Kmart Collectors Event that weekend. I couldn't help but feel this was God's way of saying, "Look, you aren't going to get drawn for a box on Saturday, but here are some 'Supers' to make it all better."