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?
