Best Motorcycle 2014: Ford

Right out the gate it is probably appropriate to remind everyone about our approach to Hot Wheels movie cars.

Just like all the Retro Entertainment cars, we are more interested in the cars themselves than the movies they came from. At least when it comes to our approach here on the Lamley Blog. I am a movie geek (Fargo remains my favorite movie), and love to see some of my favorite cars pop up on the big and small screen, but when it is time to showcase the mini versions of those cars, there are folks far more qualified to take the movie angle.

So we will focus on the car. Yes, the just-released Ford Gran Torino was a bad guy car in the F&F 4, but that is all I remember because someone told me. I saw the movie, I just don't remember.

But I could not be more excited for the model's release. That is why we sought out a good friend in Canada and asked him to get us a couple. They arrived this week, and we could not be happier with the release.

First off, we are as much in the dark as everyone else when it comes to this new Fast & Furious release. Last year's release at Walmarts here in the US, and to hobby dealers elsewhere, was a huge success, and a perfect match for Mattel and Hot Wheels. So successful in fact that it appears that they decided to do it again.

But that is where the questions arise:

What models are in this set? Many from last year's set, and we can't see any differences, outside of the new metal spoiler on the R34 Skyline. Other than that, the color, wheels, and decos are exactly the same.
What are the new models in this set, and what did they replace? New to this set is the '72 Gran Torino, which has never been released elsewhere, and the '69 Dodge Charger Daytona, which was released as a mainline last year. They replaced the matte grey Chevelle and grey Nissan GT-R. All the rest are the same.
Why was this set released again, one year after the first? We don't know for sure, but maybe the release of the set, with the two new models was already scheduled to coincide with the release of Fast 7, which was planned for this summer. As we all know, the release of 7 has been delayed due to the tragic death of Paul Walker. But maybe the set was already so far into production that Mattel carried on. Pure speculation, but it could be the case.
Will we see this set in the US, or will it be an international-only release? Once again, we have no idea. There is no reason to think we won't, other than it has been released overseas for a few weeks now, with no sign of it anywhere in the States. Maybe Mattel wanted to make these available to the markets that didn't get the first set, and US collectors will have to make Canadian friends. Not a bad option...
Is the Gran Torino as awesome as we think it is? Hell yes.

If you have been a reader of Lamley for awhile now, you probably have a few things figured out about us. We are JDM-obsessed, we break for classic Porsches and BMW's, we have a severe wagon fetish, classic pickup trucks strike our fancy, and we ADORE the Hot Wheels Gran Torino Sport. While muscle generally means Mustang, Bowties, and Mopar, the Gran Torino is our favorite of the bunch. Its profile evokes the classic muscle lines from front to back, but its grill is a telling sign of the over-the-top designs that were coming later in the 1970's. It looks like nothing else, and Hot Wheels captured it perfectly.

And it is clear someone at Mattel shares our passion for the '72 Torino, because it has gotten a lot of attention since its initial release in 2011. It has been in the mainline every year since, with recolors, it has been a Walmart exclusive, A Kroger exclusive, an RLC model, and a Super Treasure Hunt. And now a Fast & Furious exclusive. Whoever in El Segundo is responsible for this plethora of Torino tastiness, we salute you.

And it looks great here in green on chrome J5 wheels. Obviously the 1:1 F&F version was updated and enhanced, but the design was kept clean, and the car is a beaut. And the mini reflects that well. The J5's, at least to me, really work, as does the green and white. The design is very close to the actual stock version of the Gran Torino, with the side pinstripe, but updated enough to look very modern.

Nonetheless, we are very happy to add this to the ever-growing Gran Torino collection. In fact it is time to give it an updated listing, which you will see below.

Enjoy...

Hot Wheels '72 Ford Gran Torino Sport (2014 Fast & Furious exclusive):

The Gran Torino Sport Family:

2011 Mainline

2011 Mainline recolor

2011 Mainline recolored (also released with a Walmart-exclusive banner on the windshield)

2012 Kroger exclusive Super Speeders

2012 Mainline white MC5

2012 Mainline white-lipped MC5

2012 Mainline recolor MC5 (rare)

2012 Mainline recolor J5

2012 Walmart exclusive

2013 Super Treasure Hunt

2013 Mainline

2013 Mainline recolor

2013 RLC

2014 Mainline

2014 Mainline recolor

2014 Fast & Furious

The Matchbox team sure gets a lot of grief. The short answers the team has provided on the last few Ambassador Reports has been met with a lot of criticism. Comments from readers like "I will take my money elsewhere" and "now I can just focus on (name other brand here)".

That is totally fine, and yes, some of the answers do seem a bit blunt. But considering the all-out assault the design team has had focused on them for the last few years, it is a miracle they still answer questions.

Based on the comments many of you make in the Ambassador Reports, you assume the Matchbox designers get together in the morning and in a completely autonomous fashion make decisions on what goes into the line. That could not be further from the truth. Decisions are made by many teams considering many factors. Marketing, production, accounting, design, and many other departments are all in on the process. We don't know how all those decisions are made, as we don't work there, but let's just say that the opinions of collectors are not the highest priority. And frankly, it should be that way. Mattel does what it does, and we decide whether we want to collect it or not.

But we have made that argument many times before. It is not to say we don't have opinions on how they do things. We do. Some stronger than others, but that is just what they are: opinions.

But when it comes to the answers to collector questions, let's look at things in a different perspective. If you haven't noticed, Mattel is put down the clamp on how they communicate with collectors. Any HWC or RLC member will tell you that the design team has stopped any and all communication in the HWC forum. Occasionally someone will ask a question, start a poll, or communicate some release dates, but any interaction that they used to have is no more. There are a lot of reasons for that, some that we are aware of, and plenty we aren't.

Yet as Hot Wheels has gone silent, the Matchbox team continues to answer questions. You may not like the answers, and you may think them blunt or vague, but they have to be. The Matchbox Ambassador position is a Mattel-appointed position. The Matchbox team selects a collector every year to hold that position for 12 months, and that choice is ultimately approved by the VP of Wheels, Felix Holst. That collector for the next year is able to stay in contact with the design team and pass on info to collectors.

The Ambassador program is in its 9th year, and things at Mattel have changed quite a bit during that time. As we mentioned earlier, info is not as forthcoming as it once was, yet the Matchbox team is diligent about getting info to collectors every week, and go even further by answering questions. They may not be the answers you are looking for, but considering the answers essentially are official Mattel statements, they have to be very careful what they say. You would probably agree that being the focus of collector's wrath is much better than being on the radar of your company's legal department.

And on top of that, the personal attacks this team has had to endure about what they do for a living is frankly inexcusable. Opinions are always welcome, but attacks are not. That has died down quite a bit in the last year, but at its high point it was pretty awful. The fact that the team still puts itself out there after that is pretty amazing.

So what is our point?

The point is the designers themselves are very aware of collectors. They read our opinions, they listen to us at meetings. They are happy when we like something they have done. They share many of our same opinions and passions for certain cars and castings. Yet they have to do things the way they are instructed to, as that is what they are paid to do.

But they will still throw collectors a bone when they can. While not as prevalent as they once were, there are collector-aimed models in the mainline, like the Seagrave, Buick Century, and BMW 1M. And if you look at the 9-packs, you will see that they are doing the same there as well. 8 of the models might be pulled from the mainline and 5-packs, but look at the exclusives: Cadillac Sedan DeVille, '69 Camaro, Lamborghini Muira, Porsche 914, and more. Each is like a little love note to collectors passed under the table.

And the same goes for the latest two, the Morgan Aeromax and '55 Ford F-100 Panel in Fire Chief livery.

We have already talked enough today, but these two are fantastic. The Morgan is one of our favorite Matchbox castings, a perfectly executed casting of a very unique, obscure, and seriously cool-looking British car. And the '55 Ford looks great in its nostalgic fire livery, and would sit nicely next to the Seagrave. We should take those pics someday.

Needless to say, we would love to see more realistic castings in the Matchbox line like we saw a few years ago. Maybe it will happen. We have heard inklings that we might be slowly headed in that direction. But the team are car nerds like we are. Yeah, the answers could be better, but cut them some slack. At least they are communicating...

Matchbox '55 Ford F-100 Delivery Panel & Morgan Aeromax (2014 9-pack exclusive):