[dipstick]

Got some information from a contact at Mattel - a friend of a friend of a friend - that Matchbox is dropping the Fantasy pieces and generics (not all) in favor of returning to the REAL car market. They used the Superfast as a test is my understanding and they have been wildly successful to the point where they are designing a series beyond the 75 originals or a Series II.

The original theory was that Matchbox would be for kids (hence the fantasy approach) and Hot Wheels would be for real cars and collectors. Evidently, that has backfired and now they are somewhat reversing that and moving Matchbox back to realism. YEAHHHHHH!!

Hot Wheels is going toward the more concept and fantasy cars and moving their real cars which they identified as collectors pieces all to the Preferred lines and up. Hence, the good cars will be in the $3 range and greater.

At least we are getting some Matchbox back - will be curious to see what they are going to be doing for castings.

Dip

 

[jnkfleet]

That's all good and fine...Why don't they just admit...Their little experiment failed?

I'm aware they sold several million "BlingHardTunedNoseOoze" things, and that it was well below thier expectations of... I think I read 100,000,000.

What really sold were the few castings,based on true musclecars,the Nova,Impala,Mustang,GTO(s),Daytona,and some of the foriegn imports.

I stated around a year ago..They'd pull another smoke and mirror act out of their @&&, poor decision to try and draw in more kiddies(kids don't have the money,adults have ),when the aim should have been the adult collectors.

Hey HotWheels!...we want realistic(just ask RC2) looking diecast...Yep that's the ticket.


Jeff Fleetwood

 

[Swifty]

Actually, that information was released shortly after the Hershey Matchbox convention.

There will be one (limited) fantasy car (no idea how many generics there will be) that is a tie in with some pirate set they are doing. Not sure if the casting will be a pirate car, or if it is a normal car wearing a pirate's hat.

Either way, I'm excited to see REAL Matchboxes next year!

 

[David Tilley]

When Mattel bought out Tyco in 1996 they suddenly found themselves with the 2 biggest manufacturers of toy cars in the world. Hot Wheels (#1) and Matchbox (#2). It took them a few years to try to come to terms with what they were going to do with the 2 brands, and in 1999 they came up with the idea that was still in use until this year's range. Matchbox would be for the 3-6 year olds, and Hot Wheels 6+. Therefore Matchbox would have the models more towards the younger looking people (with the exception of Collectibles which was 8+), and therefore they stopped putting muscle cars, classic cars etc in the standard range. They wanted more play themes for Matchbox meaning more construction, emergency vehicles etc. For 2004 they took it a step further by putting UItra Heros in the range. Big mistake. The idea has completely flopped. So therefore they have come up with a new approach for 2005 and beyond. No longer will be Matchbox be a stepping stone to Hot Wheels, but they will both compete next to each other but appealing to different people. Matchbox will be all about toughness, playing outdoors, realism, adventure etc. Hot Wheels will all be about performance, speed, power etc. Of course there will be the Superfast series for Matchbox which is going to continue far into the future if sales keep up. That is the crossover point between the 2 brands. Basically, the current Superfast will continue up to 75 models. Then next summer they will go back to the start and begin again. Much like Matchbox of old, they will keep all the numbers for models the same for the next set of 75, but with a few new additions replacing some of this year's line up. The follwing year, the same again and so on. Each year of 75 models will be mid summer - mid summer, not calendar year.

 

[Porsche911GT3]

I think the Superfast cars would be even more popular if they changed those bling-ish wheels on the Muscle cars. I'm sure they could do better...

And I, personally, would like it if they would ditch the little collector's box idea and bring the price back down to $1 like the mainline cars of HW and Matchbox have always been.

But whatever happens, I'm sooo glad Matchbox is turning around!! Those Action Hero cars, or whatever they were just look boring. And I think the kids think so too...they don't seem to be moving.


One last thought....I'd REALLY like to see Matchbox make some trucks that have that jacked-up look with the big mud tires(no I'm not talking about monster trucks). They put a few out maybe 2 or 3 years ago and those were the only MB cars I would buy. Now they've dissappeared from both HW and MB.

This is a pic of what I'm talking about:
But the older trucks had some nicer wheels that had more tire instead of more trim like on this Ram. And this new one is also lacking an open bed.

 

[Swifty]

I'm hoping the bling bling rims go away too. But the price and box will stay the same. The box is a throwback to when Matchbox cars actually came in boxes. As for pricing, Superfast can't compete against the main line cars at $.99.

 

[David Tilley]

Are you talking about the big wheels like the one pictured below? A lot of people do prefer them over the current big wheels. As to the Superfast wheels, Mattel do know they are not going over well, and are planning replacements.

 

[D14D]

superfast i dont think is to compete w anything i can see no direct comp

mb 1-75 line competes w hw mainline, tomica, norev, gusival, corgi, welly, maisto, motormax, realtoy, majorette, playart
mb collectibles competes w jl, revell, rc, ertl, tomy limited, norev ltd, siku, mb sf 3 may fit right here
the hw blings kinda compete w jada toys, funline's muscle machines,
yatming competes w summer, imperial,
hw 100% competes w autoart, paul's model art (minichamps)

plus in regards to mb 589 03 66/75 dodge ram srt-10 i told mb to lower the stance and give it a slightly jacked look to it because it is the fastest pickup on earth 153.987 mph (m/t summer 2003/daimlerchrysler ag)

remember the universal era 4x4 tire seen on mb 175 ford rs 200, mb 186 dodge dakota, mb 128 dodge caravan that type styling would look hot now, or the rear tires seen on

 

[Fast Eddie]

This is wonderful news!

 

[moparmarc]

just picked up a full set of Superfast, cant belive i found a complete set on the pegs. they must of been stocked during the day, Picked up a few JL's streat freaks too that were pretty cool, Camaro in the Rough, and scored a 10th grand sport vett.

But the Matchbox are Sweet for 2 bucks, the Dart is awsome, if they keep making cars that are Freash die-s and limited to 10,000 for olnly 2 buck, i'll buy em up...

MoparMarc

 

[oldpole]

I was pleasantly surprised with the Superfast line, although I also would like to see more suitable wheels on some of them.
I'm a fan of 'out of the mainstream' cars, so I still buy the occasional HW mainline for the concepts and exotics. I had already bought a cartoon themed 5-pack from MB to get the TVR Tuscan S, but now that it has been re-released as a Superfast, I can give the 5-pack to Toys for Tots and enjoy the higher detail level of the SF.
Hopefully, they'll boost the production a bit so that the SF aren't so hard to find. The detail level might not be quite as good as a JL, but for only $2 I'm not complaining. If I didn't already have the Dodge Phoenix from an old Elvis set, I would've jumped on that one too!

 

[edseldave]

That is good news ! I too like most of the Superfasts . Hope the wheels get changed to something more authentic . I like the box art & packaging too . $2 is a bargain compared to the Junk thats in the $1 range .... I havent bought but a handfull of regular Hot Wheels or Matchboxes in quite some time .... Hot Wheels collectibles are priced a bit high for what they are , but we cant do anything about it , except not buy them ....