Cars Toys Blog

Mattel Toys from the Hit Disney Movie

Final Lap Case E, Jay Limo, Vern, Mood Springs and Wet McQueen

I mentioned this in my last post, but Final Lap Cars have not been getting wide distribution. That may be changing however. Hot on the heels of case D, case E is now showing up at Targets. Part of the reason may be that case E has 4 new Cars, instead of the usual 3.

New Cars in Final Lap case E are Jay Limo, Vern the Taxi, Race Damaged Mood Springs and Wet Lightning McQueen. You may be confused as to the difference between Wet McQueen and Doused Soaked McQueen. It’s pretty simple actually. Soaked McQueen is from Rescue Squad Mater and is slightly crispy compared to Wet McQueen which is from the Cars movie.

Mattel is definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel for Cars characters here. It’s a testament to how well they have done with the line though. It’s also why they are pumping out the Cars Toons Cars this year. Although the new Cars Toons Cars have been scarce as well. More on those this week also.

Final Lap Case D, Donna Pits, Nick Stickers and One Eye Mater

This is old news, but if you are like me, you have not even seen these in the stores yet. Final Lap case D has been showing up at Targets for several weeks now. New Cars in Final Lap case D are Donna Pits, Nick Stickers and One Eye Mater.

It’s no secret that distribution of these is very poor. None of the Targets around me have gotten new Final Lap Cars in months. If you are having trouble finding them, don’t give up yet as they seem to be showing up in greater numbers now.

Of course, case E is right on its heels. So it may not last long. I will bring you details on case E tomorrow.

Tokyo Mater Set to Air This Friday on Disney

Tokyo Mater and Dragon McQueen

Tokyo Mater and Dragon McQueen

Tokyo Mater is set to air this Friday, March 12 8:55 pm ET/PT on Disney Channel. The animated short will also be presented on Disney XD on Monday, March 29 7:23 pm ET/PT. I think this is the second time it has aired on TV in the US. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s really great, probably my favorite out of all of them.

Mattel’s 2010 Toy Fair Cars Press Release

The New York Toy Fair 2010 starts today, and Mattel will have a big presence there this year. Toy Fair 2010 will be held on February 14-17, and we will be bringing you all the Cars Toy Fair news we can find. Mattel has already issued a press release for 2010.

Based on the popular film CARS and the hilarious CARS Toons, a series of original cartoon shorts airing on Disney Channel, Disney XD and streaming on Disney.com/Cars, Mattel has the toys that are sure to win the checkered flag racing into imaginations everywhere.

Monster Truck Mater

“Monster Truck Mater” is an upcoming episode in the Cars Toons series. It will air in 2010 and will be the seventh episode in the series. Besides the above quote, the only thing mentioned in the press release is Monster Truck Mater related product. Monster Truck Mater is another Mater’s Tall Tales short that has not been shown on TV yet.

There is a Monster Truck Wrastlin’ Ring, a Monster Truck Feature Assortment and Frightening McMean. Here is the info along with a photo of the playset.

CARS Toons Monster Truck Wrastlin’ Ring
As seen in the CARS Toons episode “Monster Truck Mater,” the culminating event is the final showdown in the ring. The Wrastlin’ Ring lets kids re-create that memorable scene and “fight” with different opponents or battle The Monster. The set features a motorized floor for great wrastlin’ action, as well as a “claw” for scooping your opponent out of the ring. The ring is made to accommodate the oversized 1:55 scale CARS Monster Trucks.
ARP: $29.99 each Ages: 4+ Available: July 2010

CARS Toons Monster Truck Feature Assortment
This assortment brings the CARS Toons story “Monster Truck Mater” characters to life in a whole new way with cool features, exciting movements and fun sounds. Each character comes in a slightly larger 1:43 scale – perfect for smaller hands – and allows kids to take their opponents down for the count with great wrastlin’ action and sounds seen in the popular CARS Toons.
ARP: $14.99 each Ages: 3+ Available: July 2010

CARS Toons Frightening McMean
It’s “Frightening McMean” from the popular CARS Toons feature brought to life in a larger scale. With a raised chassis, monster truck-worthy wheels and a cool custom paint job, little hands will love the push-around-play of Frightening McMean – plus touch the hood of the car to activate authentic sounds and phrases inspired by the CARS Toons!
ARP: $19.99 each Ages: 3+ Available: August 2010

CARS Toons Monster Truck Wrastlin' Ring

Cars Toons Monster Truck Wrastlin' Ring

This is for sure not the only thing that Mattel will be showing at Toy Fair this year. Stay tuned for more news coming soon.

The State of Cars Toys: 2010

You may have noticed the lack of posts around here lately. That’s partly due to the lack of new Cars showing up after the first of the year. The other part of it is due to my lack of enthusiasm for the direction that Mattel is taking the Cars line.

To be fair, Cars diecast have been going strong since 2006. Mattel has produced some great toys, not to mention every major Cars character and most of the minor ones! But 3 years is a long time, and the line is obviously losing steam. To try and combat this, Mattel is doing 2 things, lenticular Cars (Look My Eyes Change) and Cars Toon Cars.

Lenticular Cars are just a way to sell the same Cars Mattel has been selling for the past 3 years all over again. I have not bought a single lenticular Car, minus the chases of course. I liked the Cars Toon shorts, and I understand that many are excited for the diecast. But Rescue Squad Mater was not my favorite short, and that’s mostly all we have gotten so far. I have only bought a few of these so far, and I can’t bring myself to spend more money on Cars that were not in the movie but only had a few seconds of screen time in a 3 minute short.

So, it’s not looking good for me and Cars in 2010. Not to mention, the price continues to go up, while Mattel’s distribution on Cars is a terrible mess, at least in the Knoxville area. More on that in a minute. But what about Final Lap Cars, you say? Really? A retail exclusive can save the line? I don’t think so. I hate retail exclusives. And going back to distribution, the distribution of Final Lap Cars has been terrible in my area.

So, in the end, I think distribution is hurting Cars the most, and it may kill the line ultimately. I won’t go into it too much, but distribution has always been a problem for Cars. Mattel’s methods are to package a few new Cars in with lots of old ones. This always results in lots of pegwarmers. This has not changed. But with Lenticular Cars the problem is amplified, due to the fact that none are new, minus the chase Car.

Even the Cars Toons Cars are an example of Mattel’s poor thinking with distribution. The first series was Rescue Squad Mater. The second wave should have been Mater the Greater. What did Mattel do? Put out a few Mater the Greater Cars with cases of Rescue Squad Mater. I don’t see how this helps anyone, including Mattel. And it’s not going to change.

In the end, does it really matter? If you’ve been paying attention, you know that 2011 is the year of Cars 2. So in all probability, at the end of this year, Mattel will be gearing up for the next movie line. You may have also noticed that the Cars Toons are helping move the line in that direction. So this all may be the natural progression of things. But I’m not so sure. If Mattel turns off hard core collectors, it may be very hard to win them back.

On a more positive note, the New York Comic Con and Toy Fair are coming up this month. Mattel will likely have a heavy Cars presence at NYCC this year, just like last year. So we will be able to see what they have planned. We just might not be able to get to buy all those Cars. Also, we will be seeing another 2010 guide similar to the 2009 one. Some lines still have promise, like the Mega Size and Haulers. But sadly they are still plagued with the same distribution problems.

In the end, great toy lines come and go. Collectors are always sad to say goodbye to the lines they love. Is the end for Cars around the corner? Or will Mattel make it to Cars 2 and have another hit on their hands?

Top Cars of 2009: Results

The votes are in! You guys voted for best Cars of 2009, and the polls are now closed. Here are the results.

Best Single

Todd Pizza Planet

This one was not even close! Todd Pizza Planet (40%) won in a landslide. I’m not surprised as Todd was my choice too.

Best Mega Size

Elvis RV

This one was a much tighter race. Elvis RV (29%) was voted best Mega Size. Elvis was not my first choice here, but he was one of the best Mega Size in my opinion.

Runner Up: Frank (23%)

Best Exclusive

Mater Saves Christmas Boxset

Target Mater Saves Christmas Box Set (34%) was voted best exclusive. I wasn’t surprised, as this was my choice also. It was hard to choose here, as we are getting more and more exclusives in the Cars line. I wonder how this will change in 2010.

Runner Up: Kmart Cars Collector Day Cars (19%)

Best Hauler

Jerry "Recycled" Batteries

Jerry “Recycled” Batteries (36%) was voted best Hauler. This was a tough category because the Haulers are so similar. The Walmart Hauler was my favorite because it is so unique. A lot of you thought so too, as it came in second.

Runner Up: Walmart Hauler (14%)

Thanks for voting guys! I hope 2010 holds some interesting things for Cars. Hopefully, something better than Color Change Cars. Ugh.

Sidewall Shine, Mood Springs Haulers Out Now

New Haulers are showing up quite a bit before the end of the year. Sidewall Shine and Mood Springs are starting to show up at retail.

And that’s it for 2009. I’ll be posting the Best of 2009 poll results this weekend. See you next year!

Final Lap Case C, Pit Crew Sarge, Muddy McQueen and Costanzo Out Now

More and more Final Lap Cars are starting to show up, and we have made it to case C right before year end. New Cars in case C are Pit Crew Sarge, Muddy McQueen and Costanzo Della Corsa. Pit Crew Sarge is another one of those Cars promised a long time ago. His production was delayed by the lead paint recall Sarge of course. Muddy McQueen and Costanzo Della Corsa have also been promised for a long time, having first been seen at Comic Con 2008.

Anyway, case C should be showing up at a Target near you, real soon. Here are some pics.

Lenticular Case B, Chase Ransburg DJ Out Now

Chase DJ

Chase DJ

I need to get a few posts in before the end of the year, so here goes. You may have noticed that new Lenticulars are showing up. I have no idea which Cars are in this wave, except for the Chase Ransburg DJ that is showing up with case B. He’s shiny. And a Chase. So you want him.

Top Haulers of 2009

Alright, this is the last poll for this year. The voting has been very interesting so far. I’ll post the results this weekend. Happy New Year everyone!

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