September '08
News Archive

Paul Newman

1/26/25 - 9/26/08

9/27/08 - RIP: Paul Newman

The world lost an icon this week in the passing of Paul Newman.  Hoping to meet him earlier this year when his partner Carl Haas received the Motorsports Hall of Fame Heritage Award in Detroit, I was told he was too ill to attend.  I hoped he might've shown up at the Detroit-Belle Isle Grand Prix in August, but when his driver Justin Wilson won the race and dedicated his win to Newman, I feared the end was near.  So although it was expected, it's still sad when the news is announced.  My condolences go out to his family and friends.  Maybe tonight I'll watch Cars again to hear Newman's voice as Doc Hudson.  Or maybe I'll go out and buy the 1969 movie Winning, in which Newman plays an Indy race car driver. 

9/23/08 - Dukes: Series 6 Shipping

This kind of snuck up on me.  I was surprised to find an e-mail from Cooter's Place that they just received a shipment of the 6th release of Johnny Lightning's The Dukes of Hazzard series.  I hadn't heard much about this release and there's nothing on eBay yet.  But looking at the pic above, it seems this release only contains four cars:  General Lee (with what looks like some sort of paint damage), Springville County Patrol Car, Rosco's Patrol Car Zinger (yawn), and Cooter's Road Runner.  This may rank as the weakest release yet from this series.

9/23/08 - Elite Batmobile Back in Stock!

I came home to find an e-mail from sponsor Movie Car Mania announcing they've received a few more Elite Batmobiles.  Their first shipment sold out QUICKLY. (I'm the proud owner of one.)  Click on the link in the right column and visit Movie Car Mania today before they run out AGAIN!

9/22/08 - Cars Collector Event at K-Mart

On October 18th K-Mart  stores across the country will be hosting a Cars Collector Event, giving collectors a chance to pull new Cars characters right from the case.  I'm assuming it's going to be structured like Hot Wheels K-Days, where attendees will be given a raffle ticket and if your number is called, you get to open a case and pull out what you want.  You can be sure I'll be there on October 18. 

9/19/08 - Coming Soon from Cars

I found the above pics in the Hot Wheels Collectors forums.  Here's a little sneak peek of what to expect over the next few months from Mattel's Cars line.  There are five, count 'em, FIVE new racers to add to your collection, bringing you oh so closer to assembling your own Speedway of the South set.  And, apparently, Impound McQueen (with the boot) will be the chase car.  Great stuff!

9/16/08 - Chasing Cars

Wandering into Wal*Mart on Tuesday, I found a couple of new Cars releases:  Leroy Traffik and Roman Dunes.  Knowing these cars were from the case that includes the Chase Lightning McQueen, I started rifling through the pegs trying to find one, with no luck.  As I headed into work, I decided to stop into another Wal*Mart, hoping they, too, received this case.  As I entered the die-cast aisle, I found the pegs overflowing with new product.  As I searched the pegs for the Chase car I looked down, and lying right there in front of me was ol' Stickers McQueen (right.)  What a relief.  I'm so glad I'm able to add this one to my collection without paying inflated eBay prices. 

9/16/08 - Speed Racer on DVD

The Wachowski Brothers' Speed Racer movie arrived in stores on DVD on Tuesday.  If you passed on it when it was in the theaters (and based on its box office take, many of you DID pass on it) I strongly recommend you give it a chance on DVD.  At Wal*Mart, I found the DVD packaged with the Mach 5 from the Hot Wheels line.  Unfortunately, it's the plastic version, not the die-cast metal version, but it was a cool find.  I've also seen the DVD packaged with the Mach 6.

9/8/08 - New Cars Find

Popping into a Target store today I spotted two new Cars 3-packs and decided to pick them up.  Team No Stall includes two new releases:  Shirley Spinout and Roman Dunes.  Team Leak Less only includes one new release:  Earl Filter, which made it difficult to shell out 12 bucks for one new car.  Pics have been added to the Cars Gallery.

9/4/08 - Supernatural '67 Chevy Impala

Thanks to a tip from Steve "Skinnybird" I found out that Best Buy is offering an exclusive die-cast '67 Chevrolet Impala with the purchase of Supernatural:  Season 3 on DVD.  Personally, I've never seen an episode of this series.  But if you're a fan, here's a chance to add this die-cast car to your collection.  I don't know what the scale is though.  I'll pop into Best Buy in the next day or two and see if they have any in stock.

UPDATE:  Apparently, the car is 1:64 scale and made by Greenlight.  There's in one minor problem, however.  The car featured on the TV series is a four-door Impala.  The die-cast version is a two-door model.

9/3/08 - Holy Bat Thunder, Batman!

While perusing the die-cast aisle at Wal*Mart, I stumbled onto this little find.  Matchbox released a 5-vehicle DC Superfriends set geared toward kids.  Four of the cars are forgettable but one particular vehicle caught my eye.  Check out the Bat-Copter included in the set.  What's interesting is that the casting is based on the often-used casting that resembles the Blue Thunder helicopter, so it's like getting TWO Hollywood vehicles in ONE!  It's a nice addition to my Batman collection.  Speaking of which, the Batmobile Collectors Collections galleries have been unveiled on the History of the Batmobile website.  Some of these collections will make your jaw DROP.  Clear your calendar, click HERE and enjoy.

Jerry Reed
3/20/37 - 9/2/08

9/2/08 - RIP - Jerry Reed

My condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerry Reed, who not only co-starred in one of my all-time favorite movies Smokey & The Bandit, but also sung the theme song East Bound & Down, as well as many other hits.  He passed away on Tuesday at the age of 71.

9/2/08 - Everything MUST GO!

www.rpmdiecast.com is having a clearance sale on Cars die-cast.  These things are priced to MOVE so they can bring in new product.  Now would be a good time to get caught up on any Cars you might've missed.  Click HERE to see what's still left.

9/1/08 - My Latest Auto-Graph

Well, I have a new addition to my "auto-graphs" collection.  Danica Patrick was in the top five on the list of people I most wanted to meet.  On Sunday, I finally got to meet her at the 2008 Detroit-Belle Isle Grand Prix.  I did more than just meet her.  I had the pleasure of hanging out in her pit area most of the day.  Getting press credentials, I decided to "shadow" her on race day.  Some might call it "stalking."  I prefer the term "shadowing."  I've never seen someone with more energy, always moving from one place to another, with purpose and determination.  She reminded me of a hummingbird.  I rarely saw her pause for a moment.  If she did, she would probably get mobbed by her legions of fans.  But she was very accommodating to fans, never hesitating to sign an autograph or wave to someone shouting her name.  It was thrilling to observe her on race day. Unfortunately for Danica, she finished 16th after a minor fender bender put her in the back of the pack.  Check out the video below, that I quickly slapped together, so you can get an idea of what my day was like.  I call it Race Day with Danica:

9/2/08 UPDATE:  Here are some pics and video stills from Sunday: