2008:  The Year in Review

In January of '08, long before the release of the new Indiana Jones movie, it was announced that Hasbro would release an extensive toy line, including a Titanium line that would include die-cast replicas of vehicles from all the Indy films.  Initially, a 1:64 die-cast playset was announced, but that never panned out.  However, we did get nine vehicles before the entire line was canceled by Hasbro later in the year. 

Johnny Lightning continued its Dukes of Hazzard line in 2008 with the announcement of Release 4 (pictured above.)  Throughout the year, JL would offer an interesting mix of popular and obscure cars from this much-beloved TV series.  I, for one, could not get enough of these cars (well, maybe except for the Zingers and Monster Trucks) but there were quite a few who complained about the inaccuracies of the line.  Using a Chevy Pickup instead of a Ford Pickup for Uncle Jesse's truck, for example.  Waves 5, 6 & 7 shipped throughout the year and were pretty tough to find in stores.  I had to get mine through my sponsor Movie Car Mania. 

What the heck happened to Reel Rides in 2008?  Malibu International got fans all excited when they announced their second release of cars that was slated to include, among others,  the Back to the Future Delorean and KITT from Knight Rider in 1:64 scale.  Some cars finally began showing up in January, including cars from the movie Casino, and two Mini Coopers from The Italian Job, but we never did get the rest of the cars that were announced.  I never found any of these cars in stores, only on eBay, and representatives of Reel Rides never responded to my e-mails. 

In February, Knight Rider returned to TV screens in the form of a 2-hour TV movie.  Instead of a Pontiac Firebird, the producers settled for an ominous Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR (voiced by Val Kilmer) which didn't sit well with fans of the original series.  In September, the Knight Rider TV series kicked off to horrible reviews.  I could hardly sit through the episode where KITT was on fire throughout most of the episode.  Apparently, Knight Rider will return to NBC for another season, although heavily retooled.

Also in February, I received an exciting package in the mail.  After months of eager anticipation, I FINALLY received my 1:18 scale '66 TV Batmobile in the mail from my sponsor Pro-Models.  I was so happy to be able to add this car to my 1:18 scale collection of TV and movie cars.  An Elite version as well as a Super Elite version would be offered later in the year.

One of the biggest highlights of the year for me was having the opportunity to visit one of the original Monkeemobiles in February.  The owner, Mel, purchased the car at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Arizona in January and brought it to Michigan, where I had the chance to see it up close and photograph it.  Since then, the car has been seen on the streets of the Metro Detroit area, including the Woodward Dream Cruise.  It was also reunited with Mickey Dolenz at the Motor City Comic Con in May (right.) 

In March, I received another exciting package in the mail from Pro-Models.  This time it was the 1:18 Authentics General Lee from RC2, featuring incredible detail not found on earlier releases.  Sadly, this marked the end of 1:18 scale entertainment cars from RC2.

Also in March, product started showing up in stores from Mattel's Speed Racer line, two months before the release of the film.  Ten single cars were originally released with varying accessories, as well as various multi-packs.  Collectors were disappointed the cars were plastic, but three die-cast metal cars would hit stores before the end of the month.  Oddly, the die-cast metal Mach 5 wouldn't ship until October of 2008!

In April, I received a very special gift from Huw Eastwood in the UK.  Huw sent me one of his hand-crafted metal replicas of the Pink Panther car in 1:64 scale.  This car is one of my all-time favorites and now holds a special place in my collection.

In May, Mattel's line of 1:50 scale Bat-Vehicles began showing up in stores.  The initial wave included the '66 Batmobile, Batcycle, Animated Series Batmobile and Comic Book Batmobile.  A second wave included the Batmobile from The Dark Knight.  These highly-detailed vehicles blew me away, especially the Batcycle with its removable go-kart sidecar. 

Also in May, Speed Racer arrived in theaters and went on to become one of the most notorious flops in Hollywood history.  Critics trashed it and moviegoers stayed away.  I did my duty and saw it at the theater so I could review it for this website and, you know what, I didn't hate it.  Okay, the racing scenes had all the substance of a video game (without the fun of having a controller) but I really enjoyed the story and the performances, especially from John Goodman as Pops Racer.  The DVD hit stores in September.  Give it a chance and check it out.

On May 13, members of the Hot Wheels Redline club were able to begin placing orders for a throwback version of the '66 Batmobile.  Featuring an all-metal body and chassis and Redline Wheels, it would ship in October on classic Hot Wheels packaging. 

On May 20, Mattel started taking orders for the Cars Speedway of the South set through their Hot Wheels Collectors website.  Before the end of the day, the sets were SOLD OUT at a cost of almost $300 plus shipping.  Because of the price tag, I was forced to pass on them, but $300 seemed like a BARGAIN after sets started selling on eBay for well over $1000.  Since then, we as collectors have been able to piece together most of the set, one piece at a time.  More race cars will be offered in 2009 to bring us closer to a complete set.

At the beginning of June, I found these 2-packs featuring vehicles from The Dark Knight, still a month or so away from hitting theaters.  The anticipation GROWS!

2008 began with a fairly long drought of Cars product in stores.  I grew frustrated trying to find new stuff in stores, resorting to trades with fellow collectors and purchasing them online.  Eventually, Mattel began to produce a steady stream of new Cars toys and over the course of the next few months, more than 50 new offerings would hit stores.  I did all I could to try to keep up. 

Heath Ledger had passed away in January and the anticipation for The Dark Knight continued to build and build until the big moment finally arrived in July.  The movie did NOT disappoint.  Not only did I proclaim it to be the best comic book movie ever, but I thought it was one of the BEST movies I've ever seen ... period.  Ledger's Joker was both terrifying and charismatic.  Christian Bale brought an intensity to his Batman character I had never seen.  The movie was gripping and sometimes shocking.  It reminded me of why I love movies and it restored my faith in Hollywood.

Also in July, Clint Eastwood arrived in the Metro Detroit area to begin filming Gran Torino.  I had the pleasure of watching him film a scene at a local barbershop.  The movie opened in limited release in a few select cities in December and will go in wide release in January 2009.  I'm hoping to see this movie soon.  It's gotten great reviews so far and may be an Oscar contender in the spring. 

August kicked off with yet another exciting package arriving in the mail.  This time, Dan Canonizado visited the San Diego Comic Con and sent me the exclusive boxed set that includes Batgirl's 1:50 scale motorcycle.  The vehicles display beautifully in the package and is such a great addition to my collection.

Man, I love getting packages in the mail. In August I also received Mattel's Elite version of the 1:18 scale Batmobile from my sponsor Movie Car Mania.  This version BLOWS AWAY the standard version, with far more detail and quality. 

One of my favorite movies of the year, Death Race, arrived in theaters in August.  With its real-world stunts and action (not that CGI stuff) this movie had a look and feel of a classic car chase movie from the 80's.  It was thoroughly entertaining and Jason Statham was terrific as usual.  I added this one to my DVD collection in December.

At the end of August, I had the pleasure of attending my first Detroit Grand Prix and I spent race day observing and photographing Danica Patrick.  I can't tell you how exciting it was to see her in action.  Unfortunately, Danica finished 16th in the race.  And apparently, Danica won't be back to Detroit any time soon.  I recently read that the 2008 Detroit Grand Prix will be the LAST Detroit Grand Prix, at least for a while.  Due to the economic crisis this area is facing, the race scheduled for 2009 has been canceled.

In September, I was surprised to learn that the third season of Supernatural would be offered on DVD with an exclusive die-cast '67 Impala at Best Buy stores.  Unfortunately, the car made by Greenlight was a 2-door model and the car featured on the series is a 4-door model. 

The fifth and possibly final release from Johnny Lightning's Star Trek line shipped in October.  Made of plastic with metal bases, this line of ships was popular with collectors, but I've been told there are no current plans to continue this line in 2009.

In October, I had a very pleasant experience at the K-Mart Cars Collector Event.  I walked away with six new cars fresh out of the case, and everyone in attendance seemed to come away with something.  I hope K-Mart offers more of these events in 2009.

Thanks to my buddy Dennis, I was finally able to add Mad Max's V8 Interceptor to my 1:18 scale collection in October.  Made by Auto Art, this is a car that has been on everyone's wish list for decades.  Let's hope we get a 1:64 scale version in the near future.

What?  Another package?  WOO HOO!  After months and months of anticipation, I finally got the Redline Batmobile in the mail the day before Halloween.  With it's metal body and chassis, cool retro packaging and Redline wheels, this version of the '66 Batmobile instantly became one of my all-time favorites in my collection.  It really is a thing of beauty.

In November, the latest installment of the Bond franchise hit theaters in the form of Quantum of Solace.  The release of any new Bond movie is an event for me and my friends and we were there on opening night.  Although it was entertaining, I didn't enjoy it as much as Daniel Craig's previous outing in Casino Royale. 

In November, Motormax released a very nice diorama from American Graffiti that included the yellow Ford Coupe featured in the film.  Displayed in front of a Mel's Diner backdrop, this is a beautiful piece that you don't even have to remove from the package to enjoy.

Also in November, I received the 7th and what may be the final release from Johnny Lightning's Dukes of Hazzard line.  Currently, there are no plans to continue this line in 2009, which is a shame, since we never got Boss Hogg's Cadillac Convertible.  I, for one, have thoroughly enjoyed this line and hope that it returns at some point.

The year wrapped up with me finding a few new Cars characters and a couple of Speed Racer boxed sets on clearance at Target stores.  Overall, it was a very memorable year for those of us who love TV and movie cars.  Unfortunately, a planned Hollywood on Wheels series was never released in '08, leaving speculation as to what might've been.  In a response to my e-mail, Johnny Lightning's Tom Z. told me that there are no entertainment-related releases coming from Johnny Lightning in the first half of 2009.  This is incredibly disappointing news since JL has lead the way in TV and movie die-cast cars for so many years.  For now we'll have to occupy our time searching for the next Cars releases and look forward to Mattel expanding its 1:50 scale Batman line.  In theaters, we can look forward to new installments from the Star Trek, X-Men and Terminator franchises.  Vin Diesel and Paul Walker will return for Fast & Furious and the sequel to Transformers will arrive in June.  On television we can look forward to the second season of Knight Rider (ugh).  Let's hope it comes back VASTLY improved. 

In summary, thanks to you, for a memorable 2008 and I'm looking forward to a great 2009.  I mean, come on, the Lions can't go 0-16 AGAIN, can they?