O F F - T H E - S H E L F The following editorial reflects the personal thoughts of Doug Breithaupt relating to our common hobby of miniature cars. It is intended to generate discussion relating to 'Tales of Toy Cars'. Your letters are welcome and may be submitted via e-mail. The Best Toy Cars and Toy Car Manufacturer of 2006 2006 REGULAR LINE 1st Place - Matchbox 1961 Jaguar 'E' type with 32% of votes cast 2nd Place - Hot Wheels Ferrari 512M with 11% of votes cast 3rd Place - Siku Bugatti Veyron with 8% of votes cast COLLECTOR LINE 1st Place - tie Norev Alpine Renault A110 with 9% of votes cast Tomica Isuzu Hillman Minx with 9% of votes cast 3rd Place - tie CM Lancia 037 with 6% of votes cast Maisto VW 1500 with 6% of votes cast MANUFACTURER 1st Place - Matchbox with 22% of votes cast 2nd Place - Norev with 7% of votes cast 3rd Place - tie Johnny Lightning with 4% of votes cast Hot Wheels with 4% of votes cast 2005 REGULAR LINE 1st Place - Matchbox 2004 Dodge Charger with 26% of votes cast 2nd Place - tie Siku Porsche Carrera GT with 17% of votes cast Hot Wheels Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9 concept with 17% of votes cast COLLECTOR LINE 1st Place - Norev Renault Dauphine with 19% of votes cast 2nd Place - Biante 1977 Ford Falcon XC Cobra with 7% of votes cast 3rd Place - Revell 1939 Chevrolet with 6% of votes cast MANUFACTURER 1st Place - Hot Wheels with 25% of votes cast 2nd Place - Matchbox with 17% of votes cast 3rd Place - Norev with 8% of votes cast Congratulations to Matchbox, Tomica and Norev for their first place victories in each category. This year saw a record response to our 4th annual poll of TOTC readers. In the 'regular line' competition, one model dominated the voting. The new casting by Matchbox of the classic 1961 Jaguar 'E' type was an overwhelming winner with one third of all votes cast. A distant second with 11% of votes was another classic, the Ferrari 512M by Hot Wheels with the opening engine compartment. Siku's stylish Bugatti Veyron took third with 8% of the votes. The 'collector line' models had very balanced voting and ended with a tire for first place. Norev's classic Renault series produced another winner with the Alpine-Renault A110 but Tomica's beautiful model of the little-known Isuzu licensed Hillman Minx was just as popular. Considering the limited availability of models from CM, they did very well with a third place for their Lancia 037 WRC rally car. Maisto also deserves credit for their first podium finish in our annual poll with 6% of the votes for their very interesting VW 1500. For 2003 and 2004, Norev claimed the 'Toy Car Manufacturer of the Year' award but could only manage 3rd place in 2005. Hot Wheels proved their continued popularity with the win in 2005. For 2006, Matchbox proved that they are back on top with an impressive 22% of the vote. Norev maintained their consistent support with a second place finish, up from third in 2005. Johnny Lightning and Hot Wheels tied for third. In our fourth year of the Toy Car of the Year (TCOY) awards, the big companies and their models are still very popular. Matchbox has clearly risen Phoenix-like to re-claim the popularity they once had. Five years ago, many, myself included, had put most of the nails in Matchbox's coffin. This amazing comeback story is clearly the most impressive of the current toy car era. Who would have predicted that Hot Wheels would ever play second-string to Matchbox? Hot Wheels continues to show support for their excellent historic racing cars, especially the Ferrari models. Norev has settled into a solid number three spot in popularity, surpassing Johnny Lightning, Siku and Tomica. It is nice to see small companies like CM get credit for their excellent rally models. 2007 looks to be off to a good start with new names like Greenlight and Shelby Collectibles sure to appear in the list. Changes at Johnny Lightning, Majorette and Biante will be closely watched by collectors while expanded lines from Maisto and Jada continue to offer great variety. The percentage of votes for each model/manufacturer are shown below. MANUFACTURER REGULAR LINE COLLECTOR LINE Majorette - 3% Regular Line - Nissan Murano - 5% Matchbox - 22% Regular Line - 1961 Jaguar 'E' type - 32% Collector Line - Jaguar XK 120 - 5% Hot Wheels - 4% Regular Line - Ferrari 512M - 11% Collector Line - 1965 Pontiac GTO - 2% Norev - 7% Collector Line - Renault Alpine A110 - 9% Siku - 2% Regular Line - Bugatti Veyron - 8% Schuco/High Speed - 1% Collector Line - Jaguar 'X' type - 3% Epoch/Real X - 0% Collector Line - Mazda 3 - 2% Grell - 1% Collector Line - Wartburg 353 - 1% Hongwell - 1% Collector Line - Skoda Octavia -1% Yat Ming - 0% Regular Line - New Mini Cooper - 0% Collector Line - 2005 Ford GT -1% Racing Champions/Ertl - 0% Collector Line - Honda S2000 - 1% CM - 3% Collector Line - Lancia 037 - 6% Edocar - 1% Regular Line - VW Beetle RSI - 1% Jada - 3% Collector Line - 1970 Oldsmobile 442 - 3% Auldey - 1% Regular Line - Chinese Taxi - 1% Johnny Lightning - 4% Collector Line - Studebaker Avanti - 5% Maisto - 3% Regular Line - Lamborghini Miura - 4% Collector Line - VW 1500 - 6% Real Toy - 3% Regular Line - Mazda RX8 - 1% Welly - 1% Regular Line - Subaru WRX 1% Motor Max - 3% Regular Line - Jeep Commander - 3% Collector Line - AMC Gremlin - 5% Konami - 1% Collector Line - Honda Civic - 1% Malibu International - 0% Collector Line - 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air cvt. - 0% Kyosho - 1% Collector Line - BMW 3.0CSL - 4% Tomica - 3% Regular Line - Mazda MPV - 1% Collector Line - Isuzu 'Hillman' Minx - 9% AUTOart - 1% Collector Line - Lamborghini Gallardo - 3% Biante - 1% Collector Line - Holden LH Torana SLR5000 L34 8 - 2% Renault Toys/Universal Hobbies - 0% Collector Line - Dacia Logan - 0%     HOME>>