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I hit a few stores today hoping to get an early start on some Christmas shopping, but of course I found a few things for ME. First, popping into a local WalMart, I spotted the new Cars Mack Transporter that includes Nitroade, Bob Cutlass (?) and a new release: #90 Bumper Save! Then, later in the day, I hit a nearby Toys R Us and was surprised to see new Cars product on the pegs. I snagged Chief RPM and Tank Coat Pitty, but didn't see the Chase car Impound Boost.

With the release of Bumper Save, that brings the number of race cars that were originally released in the Speedway of the South set to 21 (of 36 cars that made up the set) with more on the way. I looked at my Cars Gallery and came up with this list so far:

1) Lightning McQueen
2) Chick Hicks
3) The King
4) Leak Less
5) Nitroade
6) RPM #64
7) Vinyl Toupee (Target Exclusive Gift Set)
8) Octane Gain
9) No Stall
10) Dale, Jr.
11) Trunk Fresh (Pit Row Race-Off)
12) Gasprin (Movie Moments 2-pack)
13) Tow Cap (Movie Moments 2-pack)

16) Transberry Juice
17) Sputter Stop
18) Shiny Wax
19) Sparemint
20) Sidewall Shine (TRU Exclusive Mail-In)
21) Bumper Save (Mack Transporter)

N20 Cola is the current TRU Exclusive Mail-In offer and you have until the end of December to get the order form and receipts in the mail. So hopefully, it'll be just a matter of time before we're able to complete the entire Speedway of the South set one piece at a time.

Wow, it's so hard to believe the holiday season is upon us. Where has the year gone? I know, in this tough economy, that people have been cutting back on frivolous purchases like, well, die-cast cars. But with Christmas quickly approaching, I strongly urge you to visit the the sponsors who help make this website possible. Movie Car Mania, Pro-Models and RPM Die-Cast have a great variety of die-cast cars and remote control vehicles that would make great presents for the young ones (or young-at-heart) in your family. Click on the links in the right column of this page and who knows, maybe you'll find that PERFECT gift you've been searching for. I hope everyone has a GREAT holiday season.

I dragged my nephew to the movie theater on Friday to catch Transporter 3. I really enjoyed the first one, was indifferent about the second one and was pretty fired up to see the third one, which officially makes the Transporter movies a franchise. First of all, Jason Statham was terrific. He's quickly climbing the top 10 list of my favorite actors. A major plot device, that Jason's Frank Martin couldn't be more than 75 feet from his Audi A8 D3, ensured that there would be PLENTY of automotive action. The scene pictured above, as incredulous as it was, was one of the movie's most thrilling moments. In addition to car chases, there has to be fight scenes, as well. There were a couple of good ones, but they seemed more like an afterthought, not really contributing to the advancement of the story, just sort of plugged in because we expected them. And once again, I can do without the quick-cut-disorienting-close-up fight scenes. It made me long for the fight scenes of pretty much ANY Jackie Chan film. Another gripe I have relates to the forced-upon-us romance between Frank and his passenger Valentina (freckle-faced Natalya Rudakova). The character of Valentina had absolutely no likeable qualities that would want me to see her end up with our hero. She was annoying, guzzled Vodka, took Ecstacy (I think), peed on the floor of a convenience store, stole Frank's car key and made him strip to get it back, yet we are supposed to believe this behavior was enough to crack Frank's cold-steely facade. I don't think so.

In summary, I found the movie satisfying despite predicting every twist and turn. The fight scenes were entertaining and the car chases thrilling. I could've done without the romance, but eh, I can't complain too much. With this effort, Jason Statham makes a claim for future induction in the Car Movie Hall of Fame, with movies like The Italian Job, Death Race and the upcoming The Brazilian Job on his resume.

I added the 7th release from Johnny Lightning's The Dukes of Hazzard line to my collection after ordering it from my sponsor Movie Car Mania. Once again, this release only includes 4 cars limited to 2750 pieces each. Pictured above are the General Lee, which doesn't seem to be any different than previous releases; Cooter's '65 Chevy Pickup Truck; Lucifer, the '68 Shelby GT-500 featured in the episode Luke's Love Story from Season 1; and finally, the cringe-inducing Monster Truck (ugh.) The above pics have been added to the ever-growing The Dukes of Hazzard gallery.

I've finally gotten around to adding some new items to the galleries. Pictured above is the Target-exclusive Grand Prix 6-pack, which includes two exclusive cars: Zoomishi and Masurai. I held off buying the set because I couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of dough just to photograph two new plastic cars, but recently the 6-pack went on sale for $9.99, so I picked it up. The pics have been added to Speed Racer Movie gallery. There are several more cars I need to add from the hard-to-find Wave 2, including Delila, Thor Axine, Taejo Togokhan and Three Roses. I may have to resort to eBay to get these, ugh.

Also, efforts to locate Motormax's American Graffiti yellow '32 Ford Coupe have been fruitless in my area, but luckily, my buddy Dennis came through. He found one at his local WalMart. This is a really great piece. I've added a pic of the Mel's Diner diorama to the American Graffiti gallery.

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I'm giving thanks I popped into my local Wal*Mart store this afternoon. I didn't find anything new in the die-cast aisle, but I saw a palette loaded with boxes of new toys waiting to be put out for holiday shoppers. Sitting at the very top of the pile were two boxes marked Hot Wheels cars. I had to take a peek inside and to my surprise I found the second wave of oversize Cars. I saved some stocker some extra work and grabbed them right out of the case. Pictured above are Marco, Mack and Dinoco Helicopter.

My review of Quantum of Solace is a little overdue, but hey, better late than never. Any new James Bond film is an event film and my friends and I gathered together for this special occasion. Daniel Craig raised the bar in Casino Royale. Did Quantum of Solace live up to expectations? In my opinion, not quite.

Picking up right where the previous film left off, the movie kicked off with a bang. A fantastic car chase featuring Bond in his Aston Martin DBS, a dark-colored DBS this time around, that takes quite a beating. The car chase leads into the opening title sequence that stayed true to Bond movies of the past. Womanly forms blended in with sand dunes was a very creative idea. The theme song was tolerable, but didn't really stick with me. As the movie kicked into gear, there were elements I liked, and there were elements I didn't really care for. I guess my biggest problem with the movie was the villain. Mathieu Amalric portrayed Dominic Greene, who had some sort of plan of getting rich by creating a drought, or something. Personally, the whole villain thing came across as secondary to me, merely a device to keep things moving, without ever taking center stage. And without a menacing villain, Bond never seemed to be truly in danger at any time. Daniel Craig's Bond was in complete and total control every minute of the film, even when falling from the sky without a parachute, he was always calm, cool and collected. In some ways I enjoyed that aspect of the character, but c'mon, it's fun to see a vulnerable side of the character, too.

I did enjoy the pairing of Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko as Camille. Both characters bonded in their quest for revenge and I enjoyed watching that element of the story unfold. Overall, though, Quantum of Solace failed to live up to the expectations created by its predecessor. Casino Royale easily ranks among my top five favorite Bond films of all time, where Quantum of Solace fails to crack the top ten. It did have fun, classic Bond moments, some stunningly beautiful Bond women, and fantastic action, and you can bet my friends and I will be there opening night when the next installment hits theaters.

My buddy Dennis called me last night to tell me he spotted these at Wal*Mart. Motormax has been producing a 1:64 scale American Graffiti line for a few years now, although none of the cars released had anything to do with the 1972 movie...UNTIL NOW. The '32 Ford Coupe pictured above not only resembles the car from the film, it's parked in front of an awesome diorama of Mel's Diner. I'll be searching for it today to add to my collection. The above photo was found on eBay.

Mattel has officially announced the lineup for the 2009 release of 1:50 scale vehicles in the Batman line. The website Entertainment Earth posted some of this info on their site several months ago, then pulled it. But here is the official confirmation from the Hot Wheels Collectors website:

1966 BATBOAT™ (with trailer - New tool!) (SKU# N8016)
1966 BATMOBILE™ (with trailer hitch) (SKU# N8017)
1966 TV SERIES BATCYCLE™ (SKU# M7098)
1989 BATMAN BATMOBILE™ (New tool!) (SKU# N8014)
1989 BATMAN™ BATWING™ (New tool!) (SKU# P4407)
Animated Series BATMOBILE™ (SKU# M7100)
Animated Series BATMOBILE™ (with battle damage) (SKU# P4408)
BATMAN BEGINS™ BATMOBILE™ (SKU# N9235)
BATMAN™ Bat-Pod™ (New tool!) (SKU# P3636)
Comic Book BATMOBILE™ (SKU# M7101)
Super Friends BATMOBILE™ (New tool!) (SKU# N8015)
THE DARK KNIGHT™ BATMOBILE™ (SKU# M7099)

Mattel has also announced it will be releasing the '66 TV Batmobile in 1:87 scale.

A while back Matchbox released a 1:64 scale Audi R8. I bought one, but in a Matchbox forum I complained that it lacked the distinctive black "blade" as they call it. A Matchbox representative told me to just be patient. Now, thanks to a tip from Steve aka "Skinnybird" I found out Matchbox has indeed released the car as part of its Superfast line. Although it's not an OFFICIALLY licensed from the film, the Audi R8 with the black blade is a dead-ringer for the car Tony Stark drove in the blockbuster Iron Man. I'll definitely be adding this one to my collection when I find it.

Just a little over a month since Series 6 was released, I've learned that Series 7 is now in the hands of some online vendors. The pics above came in an e-mail from Cooter's Place saying they have them in-hand.

You may remember that on the original Knight Rider TV series KITT would, at times, transform into Super Pursuit Mode. Well, Knight Rider fan Lars Groeneveld took Joy Ride's 1:18 scale KITT and did some modifications of his own. Check out his very impressive work:

The trailer for Clint Eastwood's film Gran Torino has appeared online. In it we finally get a glimpse of Clint's prized Gran Torino. The movie looks pretty good, although Clint's growling voice makes Christian Bale in The Dark Knight sound like a little school girl. Gran Torino was filmed here in the Metro Detroit area and I had the pleasure of getting a glimpse of filming back in July. Gran Torino hits theaters in December. Check out the trailer by clicking HERE.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost TWO YEARS since the last installment of Talking Cars. The main reason for its disappearance has been the popularity of the forum. In the forum, not only do you get an immediate response to your queries from myself, but from other knowledgeable collectors, as well. Nevertheless, the e-mails continue to pour in from all over the world, and I do my best to respond to all of them as promptly as I can. Here now is a sampling of some of the more interesting e-mails I've gotten over the past few months. The topics are, well, too diverse to mention here. You'll just have to see for yourself. Click on KITT above for the long-overdue latest edition of Talking Cars.

Fans of Roger Corman's 1975 Death Race 2000 might be upset about this remake that pretty much disposes of the original's storyline and uses only the title (or part of it) and retains a few character names. Personally, I can't imagine a remake that includes drivers running over pedestrians to rack up points. Instead, the premise involves a former racecar driver (the always terrific Jason Statham) who is framed for murder so that he can compete in the prison warden's (Joan Allen) sensational and lucrative Death Race. "Win and get your freedom or die trying."

Now, I've complained in the past about movies that have the look and substance of a video game, and Death Race goes as far as having drivers seek power-ups to activate weapons and defenses. So why didn't I hate this movie? I think it's because the cars were REAL and not computer generated abominations. The cars were driven by real STUNT DRIVERS, which made the action feel real. It was exciting to watch the speed and carnage of real cars and not just imagery created by some guy on a computer at his desk (I hope the Wachowski Brothers are paying attention.) This movie had the look and feel of a movie created in the 80's, which is a huge compliment. Take a heaping tablespoon of 1987's The Running Man, add a dash of The Road Warrior and sprinkle in a little The Fast & The Furious, and you start to get an idea of the feel of this movie. It's a testosterone-infused, high-octane, adrenaline rush of a movie.

Jason Statham is terrific in this movie. I love most of what he's done so far, and I think this movie may rank among his best, right up there with 2002's The Transporter, and maybe even better. Ian McShane, who was remarkable in HBO's Deadwood, portrayed Coach in the film. I enjoyed his character and he perfectly delivered some great lines, but I was hoping for the same intensity he showed as Al Swearengen on Deadwood. Newcomer Natalie Martinez provided some nice eye candy, but it was tough to swallow the idea that she and her fellow supermodel inmates were bused in from the women's prison. But hey, she was nice to look at.

In conclusion, I found myself loving this movie early on and never lost my enthusiasm and excitement until the credits rolled. It was very stylish, with its grey-scale palette (it could've EASILY been a black and white film) and enormously entertaining and fun. You'll root for the hero, utter a few "WOWs" at the stunts, and cheer the ending. What more could you want from a movie?

On a side note, there were two trailers before the movie that are worth mentioning. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are together again in Fast & Furious ... and I couldn't be happier! The trailer was awesome. Click HERE to see it. The movie will be in theaters next June, 2009.

There was also a trailer for the latest teen sex romp comedy. The unfortunately-named Sex Drive tells the story of a geek who "borrows" a '69 GTO Judge (above) and drives across country to meet the hot blonde he's been chatting with online. (I may have to sue for copyright infringement, because that pretty much sums up MY love life lately.) Click HERE to see the official trailer and you be the JUDGE (pun intended.) Sex Drive arrives in theaters in October.

This is a little off-topic, but regular visitors to this site know that I occasionally like to hop into my car and take a drive somewhere I've never been. Well, would you believe I've never been to NEW YORK? That situation was remedied when I received a phone call from a representative from The Late Show with David Letterman telling me I had tickets waiting for me for the August 25th taping. I cleared my schedule, hopped into my car and headed east early Sunday morning. Click HERE for the story and photos.

I've added another amazing collection to the Collectors' Collections Gallery. Eduardo from Costa Rica collects a wide variety of TV and movie die-cast, but sent me pics of his World of Cars display, made up of Mattel's playsets alongside some well-done customs. It's a very creative and impressive way to display one's Cars collection. Head on over to the gallery to see the photos and all other submissions to-date.

Today I found four of the five cars that make up Hot Wheels' 1:87 scale (HO Scale) Speed Racer set. Pictured above, from left, are the Mach 5, Mach 6, Racer X and GRX in die-cast metal. I didn't see the "Race Wrecked Mach 5." These things are tiny, but impressively detailed. They've been added to the Speed Racer Movie gallery.

I popped into Wal*Mart during lunchtime and saw a bunch of empty boxes in the toy section that told me they were restocking. I walked down the die-cast aisle and scored Kathy Copter, Petrol Pulaski and (ugh) Tar McQueen, which may rank among the lamest repaints since Bug Mouth McQueen. However, I didn't find the CHASE Lightning McQueen. You read that correctly. Apparently, Mattel decided that finding new Cars wasn't frustrating enough. They decided to release Cars that are even MORE difficult to find than regular new releases. So far, Lightning McQueen with bumper stickers has been released as a chase car (below.) It'll soon be followed by a newly-rescaled Fred with stickers. Personally, I think it's an awful idea. I've never liked the idea of chase cars, White Lightnings, Treasure Hunts, or whatever you want to call them. It brings out the greedy side of people. Store stockers keep them from even getting onto the pegs, forcing collectors to pay inflated prices. I feel chase cars do NOT benefit the collector in any way. But that's just my opinion.

This past weekend was arguably the biggest weekend of the year in the Metro Detroit area. The 14th annual Woodward Dream Cruise took place, with an estimated 1.4 million attendees and 30,000 to 40,000 classic cars making an appearance. The cruise begins at 8 Mile Rd. and runs 16 miles into the City of Pontiac. I spent some time at the intersection of Nine Mile Rd. & Woodward in Ferndale. I shot some video and hope to post it in the next day or two. Mike Serrico, who heads up a group of Hollywood car replica owners from the Metro Detroit area, sent me some pics from the event. It looks like Mel turned some heads with his original Monkeemobile!

Dave Nicholson brought to my attention an incredibly rare version of the General Lee in 1:18 scale. Here's what Dave had to say:

"The model is based on the RC2 Authentics mold and was commissioned by Supercar Collectibles, who also did the 750-piece limited edition of the Black General Lee with graphics. Only 150 were made without graphics, and Supercars is already sold out. The original price was $99.95, but I've watched several sell for around $200 on eBay. Four of them sold last week for $199.95 each and a couple others have gone over $200."

Click HERE to see a current auction on eBay that features the car in Dukes of Hazzard packaging.

I had to go to the UPS office at lunchtime to pick up a package, and I couldn't wait to get home from work to share pics with you. Coming from my sponsor Movie Car Mania, the Elite version of Mattel's 1966 Batmobile has arrived! At first glance, the car is breathtaking, with so much more detail than the standard version. I hesitated to remove it from the box, but I felt it was my duty:

I tried to get the hood and trunk open, but I couldn't do it and feared I might damage the car trying. So I went online and looked at the VIDEO posted on YouTube by www.pimpmybatmobile.com. Apparently, you have to remove the car from its base and remove some restraints that protect the hood and trunk from flopping open during shipping. I just couldn't bring myself to do that just yet. For now, I'm keeping this one on its base. If you'd like to see a more thorough examination of the car, check out the video I mentioned above. Unfortunately, it's a pretty harsh criticism of the car. Among the many complaints is that the car is based on the version that exists today, with all of George Barris' modifications, rather than the car as it appeared on the '66 TV series.

Personally, I think it's spectacular and it's the jewel of my 1:18 scale collection.

8/17 UPDATE: Click HERE to see detailed pics of the Elite Batmobile with its hood and trunk open.

Arriving in the mail today from Hong Kong is a new addition to my Speed Racer collection. Tomica's die-cast 1:64 scale Mach 5 is well done, even though the wheels are sadly generic. I can't complain too much, though, considering I got it on eBay for a buck plus shipping.

"Melted chocolate inside the dash, that really ups the resale value." Thanks to a tip from a fellow collector, I've finally added another "Holy Grail" to my collection. Pictured above, left, is Johnny Lightning's '67 Plymouth Belvedere GTX. Pictured above, right, is a still from the 1995 movie Tommy Boy. Notice any similarities? Black top. Similar paint job. And even the wheels are very close. Johnny Lightning's version was only available in a fairly pricey Mopar or No Car 10-car boxed set. Luckily, I was able to bid on and win the car LOOSE from an eBay seller. In 2003 Johnny Lightning had planned on including the car in a Hollywood on Wheels series. For whatever reason, the car was dropped, but two years later, it sort of snuck into the boxed set. Yeah, I know, I know, Reel Rides produced the car in 2007, but the scale is SO far off it doesn't display well with my other 1:64 scale cars. Johnny Lightning's version will do nicely. Now if I can find a really small deer to display alongside.

As I write this, it's late Wednesday night (or early Thursday morning) and I just got home from the 20th Annual Induction Ceremony of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Held at the Fillmore in Detroit, it was a great night as I got to meet many racing celebrities and witness the following people get inducted into the Hall of Fame:

AMA Superbike Champion and World Road Racing Champion Wayne Rainey, as well as Sports Car Driver Richie Ginther were inducted as well. Rainey was unable to attend and Ginther passed away in 1989. Click on the MSHF logo above to learn more about the museum and the inductees.

The highlight of the evening for me was meeting Mario Andretti, who presented his son Michael for induction. Of course, I had to take the opportunity to ask him to sign a little item for me:

With the Woodward Dream Cruise quickly approaching (August 16) there are car shows GALORE here in the Metro Detroit area. I braved a gloomy, drizzly Sunday to attend the Rock N Rods show in Rochester and caught a glimpse of Bumblebee from the Transformers movie. I'm told this car was actually used in the film. I decided to start a thread in the Hollywood Die-Cast forum to post a pic of YOUR star car encounter. Did you see a famous car at a show? Passed one on the street? Saw it parked somewhere? Snap a pic and post it in the forums.

I just found out that NBC unveiled "Attack Mode KITT" at Comic Con. The official website describes the car as ... "this Mustang on steroids designed for NBC's new Knight Rider boasts Lamborghini doors, a top speed of 377 mph and, most importantly turbo-boost."

The new series is set to premiere Wednesday, September 24 at 8pm EST. Click HERE for more pics and info.

There is a TON of new Star Wars toys in stores due to the release of the new Clone Wars line. Hanging on the pegs among the new figures and vehicles (how about that HUGE Millennium Falcon?) is the latest wave of Titanium vehicles. I spotted some interesting ones, but haven't picked any up yet. The green XP-34 Landspeeder (left) stands out, as does the Bespin Cloud Car. Also, for those of you who couldn't find the Battlestar Galactica Classic Cylon Raider in stores, it's shipping in this wave. I've seen multiples hanging on the pegs. For all the pics and info you can handle, visit the ultimate authority on the subject: RebelScum.com.

Okay, here's the story. Let's go all the way back to January 2007. While looking for die-cast cars at Toys R Us, I found Mattel's Batman Transporter and bought it. I noticed on the back of the package a picture of an unusual Batmobile (right.) Doing some digging, I discovered it was a repaint of a car from the Acceleracers line known as RD-10. I thought it looked pretty cool and waited for it to hit stores. But time passed and I didn't see it. Then in March of '07, I

spotted a few auctions for loose RD-10 Batmobiles that originated out of Malaysia (left.) I assumed they were test shots, but every time I bid, I got outbid. Eventually, I stopped seeing them on eBay. Time passed and I grew frustrated. Then, fairly recently, I spotted something

in stores called Batcave Training Run, and pictured on the box was the elusive RD-10 Batmobile! But included with the playset was the strange "Gatman" Batmobile. That's right. If you look closely, the tampo reads "GATMAN." I thought, "Somebody REALLY screwed up." I had almost given up hope of finding the RD-10 Batmobile, wondering if it would ever get released.

THEN ... while browsing www.batmobilehistory.com I saw a picture of the RD-10 Batmobile! The description said it was from something called Batman Hero Launchers! I went to eBay, did a search, and found one seller offering these Batman Hero Launchers. It was difficult to tell from the photo in the auction, so I contacted him and asked if it actually included the RD-10 Batmobile I had been looking for. He said it did, so I did a "Buy It Now." And, well, it arrived in the mail today and I finally, FINALLY can add the RD-10 Batmobile to my collection. WHEW! It's a great-looking car and a terrific addition to the wide variety of 1:64 Hot Wheels Batmobiles. Pics have been added to the Hot Wheels Batmobiles Gallery.

I popped into a Target store during lunch and found the latest release of 1:55 scale die-cast cars from Jada's Speed Racer line. Included in this wave are (from above, left) F1 Mach 5, F1 Shooting Star, GRX and Black Tiger.

I just stumbled across a thread from the Cars the Toys Forum showing a BUNCH of photos from San Diego Comic Con. The photos reveal what we Cars collectors have in store for us over the next few months. Looking at all the pics, I got that antsy, squirmy feeling knowing I'll be hunting for these things. The above photo is just a small taste. Elvis RV? Pizza Planet Truck? BRING 'EM ON! Click HERE to start your journey.

A big thanks goes out to Dan Canonizado of San Diego who was kind enough to pick up an extra Comic Con exclusive Batman 3-pack for me. It arrived in the mail today. This has got to rank among the coolest die-cast sets I've ever seen. Of course the highlight of this set is Batgirl's Batcycle, something I never thought I'd see in die-cast form. Even though I already have the Batmobile and Batcycle, I love how all three vehicles display in the package. Thanks again Dan!