First Look: Hot Wheels Boulevard '85 Ford Bronco...

Yes, it is OJ's Bronco.  Well, at least it looks like it.  I have no idea what year the Bronco was that transported OJ on his NBA Finals-preempting adventure, but close enough.  Plus, I missed all that.  I was in Brazil from the time the murders happened until soon after the verdict was read.  Everyone who I mention that to says I was very lucky to miss that whole chapter.  I will take their word for it.

So with that aside, how about the real significance of this post.  This is sadly (very sadly) that last Lamley First Look that will be dedicated to a Hot Wheels Boulevard model.  That is a real bummer, as the line takes a bow and heads off stage.  But at least it can be proud of what turned out to be a stellar run.

For me personally it got out of the gate a little slow.  To many American classics and fantasy cars.  I did not care for the fantasy cars at all, and I liked the American classic, but was hoping for a little more variety.  And boy did it come.  Boulevard hit its peak in 2013, and here we are finishing it off with a look at this brand new Bronco.

So here is what we will do.  Let's take a look at a few pics of the Bronco.  Enjoy them (or don't), and here in a few days we will all celebrate what an awesome line Boulevard was.

The Bronco never garnered any attention from me as a kid, but that is actually what makes this model a little more appealing.  Just a bland middle-the-road car from the 80's, done up nearly perfectly by the Hot Wheels team.  I remember it from passing nonchalantly through many experiences, and here it is jogging up more than a few memories.  What do you know....

(You want this?  If you do, get it now while Wheel Collectors is offering it for 17% off, along with everything else in the store...)


Hot Wheels '85 Ford Bronco (2013 Boulevard):

The two fantastic 4x4's from the final batch of Boulevard:

Matchbox Monday: Matchbox's Family of SUV's...

(Before we start, remember that Matchbox Monday is sponsored by or friends at MVE Collectibles.  I really do hope you are checking out their store.  Many of the items, including Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Greenlight, Johnny Lightning, and M2 are very fairly priced, and many times cheaper whan what you find on ebay.  Check them out here.)

I think the SUV era is over, at least for now.

But it was sure some gas-guzzling fun while it lasted.  There are still plenty of SUV's on the road, just a little different than those behemoths that were all over the place 5 years ago.

In the diecast world the SUV's still are on the pegs.  The Matchbox Ford Explorer is just hitting and later we will see the Range Rover Evoque.  And as usual, Matchbox is the maker.  If you compare the two Mattel brands, Matchbox seemed to be the SUV specialist.  They came from Hot Wheels, but it seemed that the models that transported both soccer moms and self-proclaimed outdoorzies from the city came from Matchbox.

When looking at the list of SUV's that Matchbox put out in the mid- to late-2000's, there are a handful that really stand out.  To me the European SUV's looked the best, so that is what I collected.  Tahoes, Suburbans, Expeditions, even Navigators looked clunky next to the sleek European trucks.

Here is a look at some of my favorites:

Range Rover Sport:

While there were some elements that Matchbox missed compared to the real thing, this was one of my favorite SUV castings.  The best version was the orange Superfast (pictured at the top of the page), but the last version released in black with 5-spoke wheels was pretty sleek.

Volvo XC90

The ultimate soccer mom car.  Maybe that is why it didn't come off the pegs very fast.  Still, this Superfast version is a great example to have.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo

This was a casting that needed the right wheels to hit its peak.  And it did with the Superfast versions, all pictured here.  Later it was released in a 10-pack with the large 10-spokes, which also looked nice.  I just wish Matchbox had it in them to release one more with the large 5-spokes like on the black Range Rover.

Hummer H3

Ok, a full-on exception to the rule.  You want my opinion on Hummers?  I cannot stand them.  "Hate" might be an appropriate word.  They are ugly, useless, and represented the worst of 10 years ago.  Does that clearly state my opinion?

Yet, for some reason this yellow version appeals.  I think the blingy wheels paired with the bright yellow signify exactly what the Hummer was all about.  This was a very difficult model to find, as it was only available in ROW markets, and was hard to find even there.  So I am very happy to have it.

BMW X5 & X5 Police

A signature Euro SUV, and seen in Police form as recently as the 2011 Lesney line.

And for good measure, a couple of photos of the Range Rover customs.  Everything is how Matchbox intended except for the wheels.

So which is your favorite?  For me, I think the black Volvo takes it. 

Yours?

If you are looking to find some these, follow the links below:

Matchbox Range Rover Sport

Matchbox Volvo XC90

Matchbox Porsche Cayenne

Matchbox Hummer H3

Matchbox BMW X5

Model of the Day: Hot Wheels 2006 First Edition '07 Cadillac Escalade...

I have mentioned before here on the blog that there are a handful of models that debut in some sort of stock deco, and I happily add them to the collection.  But starting the next year, that same models stays on the pegs.

There are several reasons I might do this.  One is because I might like the real car it represents, but may not love it, and I would rather use the extra space on something else.  Another might be because I only like the car in stock deco, and have no interest in other versions.

The Hot Wheels Cadillac Escalade kind of falls into both categories.  I would not consider myself a huge fan of the real car.  I have never really liked big lumbering SUV's, and the Escalade represents a lot of reasons why I have that opinion.  Big, gaudy, somewhat pointless.  There are a million other cars I would consider before paying 70K for a guzzler like that.

But -

I love Cadillac's design queues, and they sure used those queues to spruce up what is essentially a Tahoe or Suburban.  The truck looks good.  Not good enough for me to collect all versions of it, but throwing the two FE's into the collection makes sense.

Plus, the Escalade represents a previous era.  It is now much more of a suburbanite fake Louis Vuitton-bag toting soccer mom machine than an urban status symbol.  In my travels, if I come up on a black Escalade, I will most likely find a trying-too-hard blonde mom toting around a handful of kids glued completely to the Disney DVD of the Day on the small flat screens.   But I was around just a few years ago when it was the ultimate status symbol, the rapper's choice of transportation, complete with 27's that cost more than most cars.  We have all moved on for the better (except for the Molly the Blonde Soccer Mom), but I am allowed to get a little nostalgic now and then.

That is why I keep the black and white versions of the Hot Wheels Escalade in the collection.  They may not be my favorite car, but they do represent an era, whether I like said era or not.

Lastly, the casting is really well done, and to me one of the precursors to the current batch of VERY realistic models we have seen hit the HW pegs of late.  It has fairly realistic proportions, side mirrors (although they were ditched on future versions), and nice out of proportion rims.

So let's get our bling on and celebrate an icon of the previous decade...

(And yes, everyone needs at least the black Escalade in the collection, including you.)


Hot Wheels '07 Cadillac Escalade (2006 FE):