Today I Opened a Hot Wheels '09 Cadillac CTS-V

Sometimes Mattel nails it.  As they did with the Cadillac CTS-V.

The proportions are just right.  The wheels fill the muscular fenders just right.  Nice headlight tampos and black plastic grilles up front.  Love the sunroof.  Amazingly detailed interior; if you look closely you'll see the console and steering wheel are silver and created by the backside of the chassis while the seats, etc. are black.  Nice.

For comparison here's the real deal.

Not a bad angle for either car.  Cadillac has come a long way in returning to the top of the heap of the automotive market.  Kudos to GM.  And kudos to Mattel for nailing its rendition.  By the way this casting is from the 2010 First Edition lineup that I somehow overlooked until now.  If you want the Coupe you can get the standard non-V model by Matchbox.

Hot Wheels Grand Prix Series Cars Don't Get No Respect

Hot Wheels Grand Prix Series cars don't get the respect they deserve.  With few exceptions the majority of Hot Wheels redline collectors prefer street cars, especially muscle cars.  But the redline era coincided with the golden age of automobile racing and over the course of three years Mattel introduced 11 racers into their lineup. 

Lola, Shelby, Brabham repco F1 and Chaparral 2G

The Chaparral above is missing its wing- a very common sight.  Jim Hall's most distinctive and game-changing aircraft wing was recreated as a removable plastic piece that was often lost over the years.  The toy wing had flexible supports that allowed it to pivot emulating the action of the real one.

One of my favorites is seen below.  The Lotus is the amazing wedge design.  Also available was the Shelby Turbine which had the turbine engine side by side with the driver.  Surprisingly, the Lotus's did not come in the iconic STP racing red.  These two cars are mine from childhood.  As you can see they were well-loved.  

Grand Prix cars came with either water-slide decals or stickers to apply to make them look like the real deal.  The Lotus came from the factory with a single Hot Wheels sticker and I applied the decals.  I also painted the tires with flat black paint.  The Ford was one of the original 16 Hot Wheels that debuted in 1968.  The real car raced at LeMans in 1966.

Ford J-Car and Lotus Turbine

Another open-wheeled racer the Indy eagle raced in the 1967 Indianapolis 500.  A broken fuel shaft forced the one (of three) that was leading the raced to retire with only nine laps remaining. 

Indy Eagle

McLaren M6A and Lola GT70

 The 60s saw the dawn of the Can-Am racing series  Bruce McLaren began his rise to the top with the sleek McLaren M6A.  The M8 series would later cars sported wings and state of the art aerodynamics and dominate the series until Porsche entered the arena.  The Hot Wheels below shows the cool feature of opening engine bonnet.  Note the detailed engine.  This model came in McLaren racing enamel orange as well as a rainbow of Spectraflame colors like the metallic orange on this example.

McLaren M6A

Shelby Turbine in original series blister pack. The real car was never competitive but deserves an "A" for creativity.

Shelby Turbine mint on card

Then there was the Race Team Series introduced in 1970 to complete your race day fun but that's a subject for a future blog.

For more about the Grand Prix Series check out Redline Grand Prix.

I Buy Hot Wheels Collections

I buy toy car collections.  And there's nothing like buying from original owners.  It assures original parts and there's a certain charm to buying someone's childhood toys and not from an adult collector.  A well-loved toy is a thing to behold. 

The process of buying a collection goes something like this:

Seller contacts me and says they have toy cars for sale.  I request photos and what they're like to get dollar-wise for their collection.  Below is a photo I received from a seller. 

Based on the photos and/or description I make an offer. We negotiate.  We make a deal.  Seller sends me their collection.

It's a blast opening the box when it arrives.  This seller kept his cars in the original rally carrying case.  Cases were very popular and came in many styles, this being perhaps the most iconic.  I suspect cases are the reason so many Hot Wheels survived since the '60s.

Next step is assessing the condition of each car.  Many look better or worse than they did in the photos.  Then it's time for a little cleanup.  I keep the cars I want for my collection and put the rest for sale on my website or my favorite internet shop.

If you're thinking of selling your collection keep in mind that if you want top dollar for each and every car then you should sell them individually.  But it takes a lot of time and effort to do that.   Collections sell for less than individual values.  Afterall, the buyer is taking the good with the bad and the seller has the ease of packing and shipping just once.

If you'd like to consider selling your childhood collection please contact me through my website (link above right).  I buy toys from the 60s and 70s and earlier.  I'm always looking to buy Hot Wheels, Topper Johnny Lightning, Corgi and other vintage toy cars. You will be amazed at what your old toys are worth.

I offer top dollar and am particularly looking for "redlines", the original Mattel Hot Wheels toy cars made from 1967-1977 with red striped tires. I buy Hot Wheels car cases, collector buttons, track sets and accessories. Also slot cars from Aurora, Cox and Tyco A/FX as well as plastic model kits from Aurora, AMT, Revell, MPC and Monogram.


If you want to help someone you love to start collecting Hot Wheels I recommend the Hot Wheels 20 Car Gift Pack and Hot Wheels Molded 48 Car Case.  You simply can't go wrong when it comes to bang for the buck.

Team Hot Wheels Boneshaker Review

Mattel just introduced a new series called Team Hot Wheels that purport to have High Speed Wheels "developed at the Hot Wheels Test Facility".

I know the Emperor has new clothes, er, wheels but does anyone else think these wheels are ugly?

At least the red wheels blend with the red flames. But the blue wheels?!

If the early reviews said these new wheels were faster than regular wheels (they don't) I'd be more inclined to look the other way. This latest iteration of the popular Boneshaker looks great and features a solid roof instead of the original open roof design. Except for the ugly wheels.

By the way if you haven't visited Joe's Diecast Shack before you should.  Photo of red-wheeled Boneshaker by 68customs.