When was the last time you really found or received a truly
special toy car? We may all look back on 2005 as a banner year for toy
cars and I am amazed at how many new models are falling into that 'truly
special' category this year. Those who insist that there has been nothing
worth collecting since Nixon was President had better get out of the house
more often.
It seems to me that almost every toy car manufacturer has improved the
quality and variety of their offerings in 2005. Even Hot Wheels, my favorite
whipping dog, have done themselves proud with models like the Maserati
Quattroporte and B.A.T. concept. Sure, they are still doing dopey pancake
and skinny-minnie models but after all, they are Hot Wheels and have a
reputation to maintain. Matchbox has clearly turned a corner and there
is every indication that after listening to collectors, real 'Matchboxness'
is back. For the first time in years I am seeing empty pegs in the Matchbox
section of the toy car aisle. Let's hope that improved sales motivate Mattel
to give Matchbox a green light to make great toy cars. I hear they may
even produce a Bentley Continental!
 The Europeans all appear to have seen the success of Norev and decided this
is a good thing. Siku is better than ever and Majorette appears to be back
in good health. The new Schuco models by High Speed are another positive
sign. The Asian companies are in fierce competition for the collector dollar
with Tomica, Kyosho, Konami, AutoART and others doing cars we have wanted
for years. The prices are as high as the quality but that's fair too. Real
Toy is leading the budget toy car pack with Welly, Yat Ming, Motor Max
and others still providing competition. In the U.S., RCE, parent of Racing
Champions, Ertl and Johnny Lightning is facing more competition from the
likes of Jada and Muscle Machines as well as a revitalized Maisto, now
targeting the collector market.
The two biggest complaints from collectors seem to be that toy car makers
don't make the models they want most and when they do, someone else finds
them first at local retail outlets. I suppose in a perfect world all the
new models could be found at our finger tips for the lowest prices but
that will never be reality. Like many things in life, the journey is as
important as the destination. If it was too easy to find all the models
we want, we would not appreciate these same models as much when they were
found. If the Hot Wheels toilet car had been impossible to find, it would
have been a lot more popular. With the Internet and e-mail today, it is
far easier to find the models we want. Finding trading partners in other
parts of the world can result in exchanges of common for hard to find items,
I do it all the time. Just look at the toy cars added to my collection
last month.
The quality, variety and availability of toy cars has never been higher.
Prices, especially adjusted for inflation are at historic lows for regular
line toy cars and quite reasonable for most collector models. Sure, there
are over a dozen different examples of the new Mini or VW Beetle but we
also have examples this year of Buick, Wartburg, Toyota and Alfa Romeo
models of which we had only dreamed. Without the sales of the Mini and
Beetle, toy car companies might not have the luxury of offering more obscure
models, seldom seen.
Will 2005 be seen by the collectors of the future in the same light as
1968 or some other land-mark year for toy cars? No one knows but it would
not surprise me. I remember that it was 1964 when I first received a Matchbox
Jaguar 'E' type. Perhaps in 2045, someone will recall it was 2005 when
they received a Matchbox GT40 toy car. Of course, that assumes that we
have left any on the shelves for the kids to find. |
