October

It's the spookiest night of the year! Thanks to Fabiano Spinelli of www.hollywood-wheels.com for sending me the spooky pic above. Here is my fourth and final part of my Halloween series, this time featuring scary cars from movies and television. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween.

I came home to find some small packages waiting for me. I knew what they were and I couldn't wait to rip into them. The Hot Wheels Collectors Redline Club Exclusive Batmobile is HERE! I heard they started shipping about a week ago and I got an e-mail confirmation my order was on its way, but I didn't want to post anything until mine arrived. This has got to be one of the best EVER! Check out the detail all around the car, inside and out. I love the Redline Wheels! I ordered multiples, so I didn't hesitate to rip one open so you could see the amazing detail. Having a metal base, it has a little weight to it. I have to rank this at or near the top of my all-time favorites!

I had a PRODUCTIVE day today searching for new Cars stuff. I stopped into a Target store on my way into work and found the pegs FULL of Cars in Race O Rama packaging. Ron Hover (above, left) caught my eye and I snatched him up. Unfortunately, despite the pegs being full, I rifled through the cars only to discover someone beat me to the Chase Impound McQueen that is shipping in the cases. I went around the corner and found an end cap with some new cars from the Story Tellers Collection. I picked up Sponsorless McQueen and Wedding Day Ramone. I figured I might as well buy the storybook while I was at it.

Later in the day, when I had a break at work, I decided to visit another Target store. There were a few Race O Rama cars on the pegs, but it looked like someone went through them and took what they needed. I decided to look through the cars anyways and to my amazement, hiding behind another car, was the Chase McQueen. Somehow, someone had missed it. What a great surprise find! Check out the pics below.

Ooooh, Halloween is just DAYS away. Here is the third part of my Halloween series, this time featuring cars from the 2008 Hot Wheels Scary Cars 5-Pack found only at Target.

Apparently, the line isn't quite dead yet. Johnny Lightning has announced the lineup for the 7th release from The Dukes of Hazzard series. There are four cars slated for this release: Cooter's Pickup (above, left) and Lucifer (above right.) The General Lee will also be included with retooled rims and tires, and, get this, ANOTHER monster truck will be included. Pics of the actual die-cast cars can be found at the Johnny Lightning Collectors Club website.

On Friday, I received the latest release of Johnny Lightning's The Dukes of Hazzard series from my sponsor Movie Car Mania. There are only four cars in this series, but they are limited to 3100 pieces each. This release includes General Lee (of course) this time with some paint damage. Cooter's Plymouth Road Runner was featured in the episode Jude Emery. The car features dual 4-barrel carbs, a purple exterior and a blue interior. It's a thing of beauty. Another patrol car is included in this release, this time a baby blue cruiser from Springville County. And finally, Roscoe's Patrol Car joins the Zinger family. Overall, this is probably the weakest wave to date, but I hope it doesn't herald the end of this series. I won't be happy until Johnny Lightning releases Boss Hogg's Cadillac Convertible.

I hadn't planned on opening these cars, but when I learned that each car includes a piece of a Boar's Nest diorama, I had to cut into the packaging to remove each piece. Check it out below, it looks pretty awesome!

I only recently discovered news about the Story Tellers Collection as part of Mattel's Cars line. I found a few at Target today. There are pros and cons to this collection. Most of the characters included in this collection are re-releases and are slightly pricier than the regular releases. However, there are a few new offerings with unique decos. Pictured above are "Smell Swell Lightning McQueen" and "Retro Ramone." Other unique releases include "Wedding Day Ramone" and "Sponsorless McQueen." These characters weren't seen in the film but their stories are told in a World of Cars deluxe storybook. I have mixed feelings about this, but I may pick up a few just out of curiosity.

In other Cars news, I popped into a K-Mart near work and picked up the single-carded Shiny Wax and non-chase Fred. Pics have been added to the Cars Gallery.

The above quote comes from the 1981 film The Road Warrior, and I think it applies here, too. I don't know how to thank my buddy Dennis for this belated birthday present. Pictured above is Auto Art's 1:18 scale V8 Interceptor from the sequel to Mad Max. The detail is mind-blowing. Check out the fuel tanks in the rear. Check out the DINGO. This car has been on my Wish List since I started collecting and it's great to finally be able to add this to my 1:18 scale collection. My pal! Thanks Dennis! Now if we can only get this car in 1:64 scale.

Halloween is now less than two weeks away. This time I decided to feature the 2008 Halloween 5-Pack from Matchbox. This is a great-looking set of cars. The orange and black '57 Lincoln Convertible (top, left) is my favorite. And just for fun, I also included the '63 Cadillac Hearse from Matchbox, which I found hanging on the pegs right next to the 5-pack.

I just got back from K-Mart's Cars Collector Event and it was a fairly pleasant experience. When I arrived I was given a numbered ticket and told to head toward the back of the store in the toy department. As 11am neared, more and more people started to arrive. At 11am, the store manager pulled out one large case that contained six smaller cases and two cases of Minis. He announced that when a number is called, that person can open up one case and pull out FIVE cars. As he started calling out numbers I saw the cases getting quickly snatched up. With one more case on the table, my number was called. All of us opened our cases at the same time. There were SEVEN new cars in each case, which presented a problem, considering we were limited to five. The new cars were View Zeen, Transberry Juice, Sputter Stop, Sparement, Edwin Cranks, Shiny Wax and Chase Fred (resized with stickers.) Hmmm. I put back Shiny Wax, since I already have him in the 3-car gift set. I decided to see if I could get away with 6 cars and as you can see from the photos above, I did. Shhhhhhh. I offer praise to my local K-Mart store for an organized and pleasant event. I think everyone in attendance walked away with at least a few new cars.

Sponsor Movie Car Mania has announced the arrival of the 5th release of Johnny Lightning's Star Trek line. This wave includes: Enterprise-A (Damaged), Enterprise NX-01, Shuttlecraft and Klingon D7. It's nice to see this line keeps going and going. Click on the link in the right column and visit Movie Car Mania today!

Apparently, Hasbro's Indiana Jones toy line ends with whatever current product is still on the shelves. I'm assuming it's due to poor sales, though I'm a little surprised the line didn't do well. That means the first wave of Titanium vehicles will be the last. That's sad news, because I can think of at least 8 more vehicles I would like to have seen. However, with talk of yet another sequel in the works, a Hasbro rep said the line may be revived if a new movie is greenlit.

The Halloween season is upon us, my favorite time of the year. I thought I'd have some fun with the camera and post some creepy car pics between now and Halloween. I decided to kick things off by busting open last year's set of Hot Wheels Fright Cars which came in a 5-car boxed set. If you'd like to submit spooky pics from your collection, E-Mail them to me and I'll post them right here.

Approximately SIX MONTHS after die-cast versions of Mach 4, Mach 6 and Racer X first appeared as Toys R Us exclusives, I FINALLY found the Mach 5 to complete the set. For whatever reason, the most popular car of the series had been long-delayed by Mattel, but reports started surfacing in August that the Mach 5 was showing up at TRU. I was having no luck finding one in my area, until Saturday, when I passed a TRU on my way to a Three Stooges film festival. It's really nice. I may pick up a few more and stash them away.

I thought you guys might like to see the first episode of a new series about cars I'm producing for local cable TV. It's called Auto Focus and the first episode features a group of Plymouth collectors, Danica Patrick at the Detroit-Belle Isle Grand Prix, and Trish Dave reports from the 14th annual Woodward Dream Cruise in the city where it all began: Ferndale, Michigan.

My good luck continued today as I stopped into a Toys R Us store I don't normally visit. I haven't had much luck at Toys R Us lately when it comes to new Cars product, but today I found the brand new Shiny Wax 3-car Gift Set. The great thing about this particular gift set is that it's the first 3-pack that contains THREE BRAND NEW CHARACTERS! Pictured above, from left, are Nebekenezer Schmidt, Senior Trax and Shiny Wax. (Don't ask me where they come up with these names.)

Things are heating up in the movie car replica arena. I just found out that The Franklin Mint is putting out a new Limited Edition Bullitt car at the end of this month. I have submitted my application with the Franklin Mint to become a direct dealer since my distributor has lost his agreement. Hopefully all will go well and I will be able to order direct from Franklin Mint. I will update you guys on how the application process goes.

I just received the Shelby Collectibles 2008 GT-500KR.

People have been asking if it is KITT in the new TV Knight Rider series.

Nope... it doesn't have scanner light....still it's a fine looking car.

Click on the image above to visit the Pro-Models website today.

I popped into a local Wal*Mart at lunchtime hoping to find the Wal*Mart exclusive Hot Wheels Fright Cars. Instead, I found a fully stocked end cap featuring the newest Cars releases! Pictured, from above left, are Spinout McQueen, Sally with Cone, Dexter Hoover and Axle Accelerator. I also found the first few releases from the OVERSIZED line, featuring Barney Stormin, Lightyear Blimp and Lightning Storm McQueen. The back of the cards show three more additions to the oversized line: Marco (fighter jet), Mack, and Dinoco Helicopter. This line is a welcomed addition to the Cars line. My only disappointment is that Lightning Storm McQueen doesn't have the top-mounted rocket like the Comic Con exclusive does. These new pics have been added to the Cars Gallery.

October is here! My favorite time of the year. Let's start off the month by featuring Jason Caudillo of Simi Valley, CA. Jason is the latest collector to have his collection featured in the Collectors' Collections gallery. Not only does Jason have an impressive Herbie collection, but if you look closely, you'll spot some pretty amazing custom cars as well. Click HERE to see Jason's collection and all other previous submissions.