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Volume X, Last Updated February 13, 2007 |  |
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| In 1967, Hot Wheels erupted on the toy car
market with miniature muscle cars that captured the style of Detroit's hottest
factory hot rods. The next five years became the golden age of American
muscle cars in full and small-scale. The real cars now sell for hundreds
of thousands while the toy versions sell for hundreds. These were the auto candy that Baby Boomer drivers and their kids grew up with and they have never forgotten. In 2005, Ford reached back to that age with no excuses, producing the new Mustang in the retro-image of the models that fired the blood in 1968-1970. The success of this model has been one of the few success stories for Ford as buyers have grabbed up the new-old pony car as quick as they have left Ford's other products sitting in the show room. General Motors had just killed their Camaro and Firebird pony cars and were left salivating at Ford's success. The recent re-birth of the Pontiac GTO proved that Americans could not relate to a non-retro Australian Monaro as a new GTO, no matter how good it was under the skin. GM decided that if jane and joe lunch-bucket want to buy a neo-retro pony car, it better have a bow-tie on the nose. The Camaro concept took no pains to hide it's roots and was a hit of the 2006 auto shows. Daimler-Chrysler had been watching Ford too and they also saw their classic muscle cars selling for seven-figure prices in high-profile auctions. Dodge and Chrysler had already found success with a new Hemi in the 300C and Charger sedans as well as the Magnum Wagon. Dodge's long-gone pony car, the Challenger was quickly re-born in retro-glory to compete with the Mustang and Camaro. It also debuted at the 2006 auto shows to great acclaim. Hot Wheels has never stopped producing models of classic American muscle and pony cars. In the past ten years, a barrage of Ford, GM and MOPAR muscle has appeared in blister packs to the delight of kids and collectors alike. When the real pony cars were being killed-off by GM, Hot Wheels even offered examples of what a new Camaro, Hemi 'Cuda or Mustang should look like, something Detroit's designers surely noticed (click here for a story on Mattel's muscle concepts). Hot Wheels was quick to do the 2004 Mustang concept in both their regular line and as a collector boxed set. The production model was naturally offered in the 2006 line as well. back in 1999, Hot Wheels offered the 1970 'Boss' Mustang in stinger yellow and black. The same colors on their 2006 Mustang GT allow for a perfect matched pair. While the new Mustang draws more from the 1967-68 design, it is easy to see how much the new design owes to the old in comparison with the 1970 model. The very first Hot Wheel was the 1967 Custom Camaro. This model has remained in the Hot Wheels line for 40 years now. In 1982, a new casting was prepared as the original had worn out. It was faithful to the original and it is necessary to check the base to identify one from the other. This silver '67 is from the 1982 casting and looks great in tampo-free paint. It is a perfect match for the new 2006 Camaro concept that Hot Wheels has offered in the 2007 line. The Camaro concept was done in silver and Hot Wheels gives it to us the same way. Hot Wheels never did a classic Dodge Challenger in their early years. To be fair, the Challenger was always in the shadow of the big brother Charger and Barracuda and Hemi 'Cuda cousins from Plymouth. Hot Wheels decided to give us a classic '70 Challenger in the 2006 line, perhaps in anticipation of the new Challenger concept to be offered as well. It was first offered in plum but this orange example just arrived in time to be matched with the 2006 Challenger concept in the same color. Too bad HW had to stick those horrible rubber-band tires and hip-hop wheels on this classic. The new Challenger concept is just as retro as the Mustang and Camaro. The styling is not as dramatic as the other two cars but that is faithful to the original. As the pony car wars heat up it will be interesting to see if the new Camaro and Challenger can catch the Mustang. It is also easy to predict that this trend is just starting. Mercury has not had a hit since the original Cougar of 1967 so Ford must be considering that option. Pontiac is hot to offer a real retro GTO to replace the modest Monaro. How about a new Buick GSX? Oldsmobile and Plymouth are gone so the Hemi 'Cuda and 442 are not likely. Would Toyota ever consider doing a retro version of their Mustang-inspired Celica of the 1970's? How about an Opel, Holden or Vauxhall retro muscle car? Australia would be a prime market for some re-born muscle. We're as young as the toy or real cars we drive. |
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