Mack Hauler
King Hauler
Chick Hicks Hauler

One good thing about being a Cars collector and eBay, is that you can find some really good deals for Cars, believe it or not. That’s the purpose of a site I created called Cars for a Dollar. It searches eBay for you, and returns all results for Cars $1 and under.

You might be surprised to see how many new Cars you can find on Cars for a Dollar. Search for the new Race O Rama Cars, or the new Kmart Cars, like Shiny Wax, Transberry Juice, Sputter Stop, Sparemint and View Zeen. Or how about recently released Cars, like Ron Hover, Leroy Traffik, Kathy Copter, Dexter Hoover, Fred, Chuki, Spin Out Lightning McQueen or Axle Accelerator. Need some pit crew members? Try looking for Luke Pettlework, Petrol Pulaski, Stacy, Dudley Spare or Roman Dunes.

Try it out, and save yourself some time and money while building your Cars collection. Remember, Cars for a Dollar is a sponsor, so using those links helps fund the site here. Thanks for your support.

I hope everyone was able to catch Mater’s Tall Tales on Toon Disney this week. Those of you who saw it, what did you think? I thought it was great! All 3 were very funny, and debuted lots of new characters and variations of existing characters. My personal favorite was Mater the Greater.

I also hope you know that Mattel wouldn’t pass up the opportunity for more cool diecast Cars. In fact, the Collector Guide Mattel is putting out for next year, which comes with Night Vision McQueen, natch, has details on the Cars Toons toys. The 2009 Guide, not yet released, lists Cars #111-115 as follows.

• Rescue Squad Mater
• Burnt Lightning McQueen
• Dr. Mater
• Nurse Mia
• Nurse Tia

Nice, but is that enough to keep us satisified? NO WAY! There were tons more cool Cars that could be made into diecast. Other than the ones already listed, here’s what I noticed.

Rescue Squad Mater

• Dalmatian Mia & Tia
• Nurse GTO
• Ambulance

Mater the Greater

• Mater the Greater
• Mater the Greater Pittys
• Mater the Greater Fans Mia & Tia
• Mater the Greater Trinket Seller
• Daredevil Barney Stormin’
• Flyin’ Mater the Greater
• Divin’ Mater the Greater
• Daredevil McQueen
• Rocket Pack Mater the Greater

El Materdor

• Bulldozers
• El Materdor
• Senorita Mia & Tia
• Priest and Alter Boy
• Matador McQueen

Which ones will we likely see? Well, the ones already announced tell us something. The already announced Cars Toons Cars are from Rescue Squad Mater. The Cars listed as being made are all versions of the main characters, plus Mia & Tia. So if made, those are the versions we will likely see first.

My favorite was Daredevil McQueen from Mater the Greater where Mater “lets” McQueen jump the canyon instead of him. If you didn’t see it, picture Lightning McQueen with big rockets strapped to his back. My second favorite would be Nurse GTO. Although, not a main character, how awesome would it be to have a GTO Cars toy? Need I say more?

Which ones do you want to see most?

Remember the Toys R Us Sidewall Shine promotion available last month? Well, Toys R Us decided they want to force you to yet again buy 5 more Cars you already have to get another free Car. This time it’s N2O Cola.

The details are pretty much the same this time around. Here is the site with more details. Here’s how it works. You buy 5 Cars at a participating Toys R Us, from the approved list of UPC’s, between October 26th, 2008 to December 31st, 2008. Mail in the original receipt along with the all the cardboard pieces from the 5 Cars you bought, plus $5 for shipping and handling. (They really want the UPC so make sure to send that in as well, not just the cardback.) Do this for each Car you order, but there is a purchase limit of 10 per household. All requests must be postmarked between January 15th and January 31st, 2009, and allow 8 to 12 weeks for delivery.

You recieve a N2O Piston Cup Racer in its own display case. My feelings about this type of promotion haven’t changed. It’s still just away for them to clear out their inventory. Plus, buying 5 Cars to get one can cost you depending on how much the Cars retail for. At $3.49 a Car, you will end up paying $22.45 for each Car you buy, in addition to getting 5 Cars you may already have for each Car you buy. It’s up to you to figure out whether or not it’s worth it.

Tumbleweed McQueen

There are 3 sets of Cars Movie Moments that have recently been released outside the US.

Doc Hudson and Tumbleweed McQueen
Fillmore and Whitewall Lightning McQueen
McQueen and Kori Turbowitz

Will these be available inside the US soon? We hope so. It will be up to Target to determine that, since Movie Moments are exclusive to Target. This has happened before with the Flik and PT Flea Movie Moments which were first released outside the US. They were eventually available in the US, but still hard to find.

Right now, there are only 3. Here is the schedule. The shorts premiere as follows on Toon Disney (all times ET/PT):

• Monday, October 27 (6:56 p.m.): RESCUE SQUAD MATER — Mater is a fire truck that rescues Lightning McQueen from a burning building. When McQueen is rushed to the hospital, he discovers that Mater is a doctor, too.
• Tuesday, October 28 (6:57 p.m.): MATER THE GREATER — Mater is a famous daredevil who does all kinds of stunts. And Lightning McQueen becomes an unwilling participant in Mater’s greatest stunt ever.
• Wednesday, October 29 (6:57 p.m.): EL MATERDOR — Mater is a famous bulldozer fighter in Spain. He’s so good, he’s able to fend off multiple bulldozers at once. Lightning McQueen joins Mater in this tall tale just as things are at their worst.
• Disney Channel will present all three shorts throughout the day on Saturday, November 1. ABC Family will present the shorts beginning Tuesday, December 23 during the network’s annual “25 Days of Christmas” programming event.

Newsarama has posted a Q and A with the series executive producers, Victor Narone (who worked on the short “Mater and the Ghost Light,” too) and Rob Gibbs. Check out the article for more details.

Wal-Mart Executive #2: “They weren’t exclusives. They were first release Cars.”

Wal-Mart Executive #1: “Well, then we’re getting them too.”

So, it’s been reported that Wal-Mart is getting the Oversized Cars case B and the first wave of Cars Haulers/Trailers exclusively for 2008. After December, they should be available everywhere else.

What does it mean exactly? Well, Oversized Cars, Marco, Mack Cab & Dinoco Helicopter, and possibly any others released in 2008 will only be available at Wal-Mart. Also, the Cars Haulers, Mack, Chick Hicks and the King, and possibly any others released will also be available only at Wal-Mart for 2008.

No word on any other diecast, but there is another Wal-Mart 4-way display cube scheduled to arrive this month or next month.

Any questions?

How did your Cars Collector Day at Kmart go? Hopefully, it was great and you were able to get all 7 Kmart Cars. If not then, you will have to wait.

But don’t fear, none of them were exclusive, so they will all be out eventually. In fact, you may not have to wait that long. Shiny Wax is out now in a 3 pack in case F. Sparemint is also coming out in a 3 pack soon in case G. Edwin Kranks was the hardest Kmart Car to find, only being found in every other case. But if you look at what is coming next, Edwin Kranks is scheduled to be part of case B, 2 per case, coming out this month or next.

So basically that leaves Fred, Transberry Juice, Sputter Stop and View Zeen that you have to find. It’s still 4 Cars, but every little bit helps, right?