2009 Hot Wheels Mystery Cars

This year the mystery continues with the release of the 2009 Mystery car series. I have mentioned my feelings about this series in previous posts, but in typical Mattel style they managed to come up with another gimmick to keep my interest. This years Mystery car lineup contains the regular assortment of repaints with one interesting twist. The #2 of 24 is the Ferrari 430 Challenge. It is a magnificent casting with awesome tampos - and in beautiful red no less. You can't serch the pegs for this car as a First edition. You can only find it behind the black bubble. I was very pleased when a family member brought a few back and the Ferrari was among them. As in the past, I don't think I will be collecting too many of these as I am not keen on getting too many doubles, but the prospect of having another Ferrari is still tempting...

Make All Your Mustang Dreams Come True at AmericanMuscle

The biggest dream of any Mustang owner is to be able to customize their car exactly how they want to. With the exact parts they want, in the exact order they want, and in the exact style they want. When these Mustang owners only have a small selection of parts to choose from, however, they really can't achieve this dream. But when they finally head over to AmericanMuscle, they'll find that our ever-growing collection of all the highest-quality Mustang parts will allow them to make their dreams come true.

One of the easiest and most noticeable modifications you can make to your Mustang is to change the headlights. And if you want to enhance the stealthy look of your Pony, a pair of Mustang Smoked Headlights is the way you want to go. These headlights look great on any dark or light colored "New Edge" style Mustang. Plus, they will actually improve you night time visibility despite the smoked exterior, because of the powerful Luminics or Sylvania bulbs you can get with them!

Where there are modded headlights, modded tail lights should follow! And what better way to give your car that old-school, retro-Pony feel than with a pair of Mustang Sequential Taillights! Most famously used in some of the legendary Mustangs built by Carroll Shelby in the 1960s and 70s, we proudly offer both plug-in and splice-in versions of these tail lights, and provide you with simple instructions for installing either type.

But the lights don't stop there - you should also consider picking up a Mustang Roll Bar. These roll bars are designed to provide safety because they have an extra brake light in them, and style, as they are an absolute must-have in any convertible Mustang. Designed to fit the curves and natural lines of whatever Mustang they're made for, you'll find that even though the blend in well, they still give your Pony a unique appearance whenever you've got the top down.

The trunk of your Mustang is probably one of the last places you think about when it comes to modifications, but AmericanMuscle did. Our selection of Mustang Trunk Liners will not only protect your trunk floor, but they're also designed to prevent items such as toolboxes, first aid kits and groceries from sliding around while you're out enjoying your Pony. These trunk liners are available with the Cobra, GT, or classic "Running Pony" logo. Best of all, we stock versions suitable for both convertibles and coupes, so you'll be able to enjoy them no matter what 'stang your cruising around in.

2009 Hot Wheels

Here in Canada we collectors can usually count on new boxes of our favorite toys arriving weeks or months later than in the U.S. With that being said, it is mid October 2008 and I have just found a slew of cars in 2009 packaging. It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise to be able to start thinking ahead to what 2009 has to offer us in Hot Wheels. What is left of the 2008 First Editions will still be fun to find. The only one '08 first edition I haven't seen yet is #39 of 40 - the '65 Volkswagon Fastback. I hope its not a matter of it never making it here.

Wal-Mart sale on Hot Wheels

This week Wal-Mart is having their anniversary sale. Hot Wheels are $0.68 and so its that time when I take inventory and decide to get some doubles of cars I picked up previously and maybe get a few I would otherwise leave behind. As a collector who likes to mostly keep them in their packages, I'm not a big fan of the "sale bin" and how they get dumped in 2 feet deep. Its hard enough going through them with people on either side throwing packages around but spotting one you like just to find it has a bent card is not ideal. And as usual, the stories are told of the guys who show up just as the doors open and fill shopping carts with all the prime picks - oh well, thats the price I pay for a day job.

Another recent article

I was featured in another newspaper article recently. Like a few weeks ago, this one is from a local paper based on an interview done at my home. They ran a fairly big picture of me too - here is the article:


Hot for Hot Wheels
A Ferrari five-pack ignited a life-long collecting passion
Shane Buckingham
Published on Aug 22, 2008

After a long day at work, Jason Norton sometimes finds himself uncontrollably drawn to a department store he hasn't visited in a while.

He'll pull over to a Wal-Mart, Zellers, Toys R Us or whatever store he's spotted that day, with one thing in mind - finding Hot Wheels to add to his collection.

Now, Norton is the first to admit he's not the biggest collector out there, and he hosts only a modest collection of about 6,000 cars in boxes stacked to the ceiling.

"I'm just your average collector. I couldn't afford to collect them all," the Smithville resident says.

While some people collect as an investment, he says he simply does it for fun. His collection is continually evolving, he says, because he tries to add each year's first addition cars to it, not to mention their variations, which are released by Mattel shortly after.

"They've got you. Mattel knows they have diehard fans out there that have to get every variation. That becomes an expensive prospect," he says, adding he doesn't take it to that level.

"There are people out there and give them credit they go that extra mile, but I've got a day job. To be honest, I don't know how they do it," the 32-year-old design draftsman says.

He admits his hobby quickly turned into a habit, but why not when a Hot Wheels car costs only about $1.

"Always in my mind they've seemed more valuable than that," he says. "So some people might get a daily coffee; I'll go grab a car."

Describing one of his many stops to a department store, he began to expand on what goes through the mind of a collector as he or she starts the "hunt."

For example, driving his Mazda Miata with Hot Wheels printed on the license plate, Norton spots a department store and pulls over.

Sometimes he's just stopping to browse around, but other times he's looking for what brought him to become an avid collector in the first place - red Ferraris.

Norton says he started out as a collector at a young age, but as time wore on he began to lose interest until one day when he was 17 he spotted a five-pack of red Ferraris.

"I picked up that five pack, and that's what reignited the passion," he says. "It got me back into it, and I haven't looked back since."

Returning to his stop, he walks down the aisle of the department store, and sees children run around the corner of a display. He looks directly above it, noticing he is now in the toy department.

As he proceeds toward the Hot Wheels rack, he sees another person rummaging through the toy cars. He soon realizes it's another collector. Norton feels there's no need to be pushy or horde, for he's only in this for the love of the hobby.

Still, he thinks there might be a Treasure Hunt addition car somewhere in the mix.

He knows Treasure Hunts are released sporadically by Mattel, and to find one is rarity occurring once or twice a year, but still he waits.

"Because of the rarity and the value, a lot of collectors will have somebody on the inside and basically (Treasure Hunts) don't even make it to the pegs," he says.

Once the other collector has finished looking, Norton moves forward scoping out what the store has to offer, and soon discovers what appears to be a Ferrari, not to mention it's red.

"That's the best, red Ferraris. They don't have to be red but that's the identity of the Ferrari."

He snatches it up as he carefully scans for other gems. Looking through the rows of first editions and special series cars he notices something special - a Treasure Hunt.

"There's a certain euphoria to it. Once you finally find that car, I can tell you any collector's heart will be going quickly because of that thrill of the hunt."

Getting over the surprise, he then proceeds to the checkout after a job well-done.

Once at home, he adds the one or two cars he's found to his collection with certain sense of pride and satisfaction.

On average he purchases one or two a week, he says.

Norton says his three-year-old son Bladen also loves Hot Wheels, almost as much as he does.

"You try not to steer your kid, and have them develop their own personality but it turns out he is naturally a car guy. Without the hot wheels influence he's a car guy regardless," Norton said with a smile.

So whether it's watching the Pixar movie Cars, playing with hot wheels or scouting out different vehicles that drive by on the road, the two have a lot of fun with their cars.

"It actually surprises me (Bladen) can spot cars, and he'll know what they are. He'll see a car and tell us there's a Corvette or a Mustang."

Just because Norton takes pride in his collection doesn't mean he doesn't like to share it with others.

Norton sometimes gives his cars away to inspire others to become collectors or simply to oblige a request to have a really cool car.

"Every once in a while somebody will remind me of something or somebody will say hey I really like that car so I'll slip them a Hot Wheels."

To see Norton's Hot Wheels, or to get tips on collecting, log on to www.morehotwheels.googlepages.com or www.hotwheelsferraris.googlepages.com.

The Ferrari 288 GTO is finally here!

I have been waiting for this one for months and I have to say I am not dissapointed! The detail is very nice and the colour/smoked glass and tampos are well done. Classic 5 spoke rims are a natural choice but I would like to see this model with a few of the other 5 spoke variants such as the PR5's. Of course red is the way to go with all Ferrari's, all other colours are tied for second place.

2008 First Editions

I thought I would share some of the First Editions from this year. It has been a great year for new castings, Mattel seems to have outdone itself regarding quality and detail. The variety of new cars for 2008 is quite good too. Exotics, muscle cars, tuners, fantasy cars, trucks and classics are well represented. And its always a great year when not one, but two new Ferrari's come around.