Motor City

I thought you could press the Control (Ctrl) and F keys simultaneously to bring up the search box in the upper right corner of any pdf file?

"a leading collectibles company that produces model kits, die-cast cars and slot cars" Notice that kits are listed first, whether that be model cars, Star Trek or Star Wars. I expect sci-fi models to continue doing well in sales, so more money will be invested there. If model car and truck sales do well, money will also be invested there. "the Praesidian team ... will bring significant resources as we continue to scale the business" I take that to mean Praesidia is willing to invest capital in the business to grow market share by adding more product in a shorter time frame than Round 2 has. "we also believe that there is a significant consolidation opportunity within the highly fragmented collectibles space. We will be working closely with the Round 2 team to continue to build on its already impressive list of brands.” I would expect Praesidian to purchase tooling or entire companies to be the undisputed models market leader if their expected business model pans out. I think this is great news for all of us.

Renault ...

reminds me of all the people around here who say, "I work at Ford's" or, "Dad worked at Ford's"

those are two different Packards pictured; the first has a solid roof and five large windows on each side; the green one has an open roof and four large windows per side

There are a lot of interesting ideas, but considering the cost of tooling now, it really makes sense in most cases to make something that is easy to modify into other years by changes in front grille and header panel, taillights and rear bumper, interior seating. I've only listed some intermediates as an example: '68-'71 Ranchero GT (with variations for buckets and bench seat, Squire woodgrain paneling), '72-'76 Ranchero GT, '77-'79 Ranchero GT '70-'72 El Camino SS, '73-'77 El Camino SS (and GMC Sprint versions with different emblems that can be glued on) '73-'77 Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Cutlass Supreme, Regal (including S/R in '76 & '77), '75 and '76 Century Indy Pace Car '73-'77 Chevelle SS/Laguna S-3, '73 GTO, '73-'75 Grand Am, '77 Can Am, '73-'75 442 and GS, '76-'77 442 and Century '72-'73 Gran Torino Sport and Montego GT, '74-'76 Elite and Cougar, '77-'79 Thunderbird and Cougar '75-'76 Charger and Cordoba '78-'79 Magnum, '80-'82 Mirada

That's correct regarding the kits, but I was also including the promos.

I agree that the new midsize El Camino made more sense as a promo and kit than the 300 2-door wagon, and sales of the 1:1 El Camino vs. 2-door wagon bear that out. The El Camino also took some sales away from the smaller Falcon-based Ranchero. So from our perspective it was a great decision by Chevy to make promos (and eventually kits) of the '64 hardtop, 4-door wagon and El Camino. I think the various GM divisions determined that advertising was a better use of their marketing dollars than model cars over the next few years: '64 Chevelle SS ht., 4-door wagon, El Camino; LeMans hardtop, convertible, GTO hardtop; Cutlass hardtop, convertible (8) '65 Chevelle SS ht., 4-door wagon, El Camino; GTO hardtop, convertible (5) '66 GTO hardtop, convertible; Skylark GS hardtop (3) '67 GTO hardtop, convertible (2) Looking back, most of us as kids wanted the cool cars such as hardtops and convertibles. The early promos up through the mid-fifties were dominated by four-door sedans and a few wagons. Chevy went all out from '49-'54 with the best selection of body styles - never seen before or since then - with at least several models in the different series per year: 2-door coupe, 2-door sedan, 2-door fastback, 2-door hardtop (starting with the '50 Bel Air), convertible, 4-door sedan, 4-door fastback.

I learned from this forum that AMT never made a '64 Chevy II or Nova (bucket seat model) in any form. I found it odd that in '64 and '65, AMT made the 4-door wagon instead of the Nomad-like 300 2-door wagon or Malibu convertible. Evidently Chevy thought more sales potential was with the hardtop and 4-door wagon, so those promos and kits were made. It would have been interesting to hear the discussions in Chevy Marketing as to why the Nova and Chevelle models weren't made after '65 for several years.

the '58 Olds probably wins the prize for wretched excess chrome trim, followed closely by the '58 Fleetwood

Maybe they're clearing out old stock for new arrivals. Also, probably a lot were bought for Christmas gifts. Most kits are coming from China, so it's going to take some time to replenish. I went to the local one this afternoon and there was only 1 Wildcat left. I should have bought it to experiment with for building a correct interior (which it never had). They had the Revell '69 Boss 302. I couldn't recall if it's any good. I bought the 1/24 '66 Shelby and the Atlantis 1/48 Sinclair tanker truck. They also had the usual Ferrari and Lamborghini diecasts - cars I can't relate to.

Master Caster made Hudson promos for several years (1948/1949, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955):

I had a couple of Tootsietoys crack years ago when I was a kid. One was a 1953-1955 Corvette, and the other was a '54 Olds hardtop. Has anyone else had this happen with Tootsietoy models of the late 1940s to 1950s?

Adam, It has to be the '92 Thunderbird SC!

AMT promos: 1971 is Pewter, 1972 is Grabber Blue

Tom, Are those Schuco 1:43 scale?

Most new cars only have a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty today - whichever comes first - so any warranty would be whatever the dealer decided to offer to the buyer. When I was shopping for a new '87 GM car, it was a 5-year/50,000 mile warranty, then was later extended to 6-year/60,000 miles. I considered the GN, but it didn't come with a full set of gauges (only fuel, tach, turbo boost), so I ordered an El Camino instead. The GNX came with a full set of Stewart-Warner gauges.

I thought companies doing chrome plating have mostly dried up?

Bob, Hopefully Round2 will (eventually) prove you wrong. I didn't buy the resin version since the bumpers aren't chromed.

thanks, Mark, and happy New Year!

I think the '58 models were the last remote-control AMT model cars. They were first available in '49.

Hopefully the kit gets reissued at some point.

Only the valve cover on the driver's side should have the oil filler cap (canister-like blob) unless that varied by year on the 401 engine. I drove a '63 LeSabre in high school that my folks bought new. If you look at photos online, it often is on the passenger side, which is probably a result of changing the valve cover gaskets.

Mike, Do not use alcohol as it could react with the windows and body plastic. Do not use a toothbrush either unless it is EXTREMELY soft, or you'll scratch the surfaces. Your best bet is to use a mild liquid soap and wash the outside of the car with a wet paper towel. On the inside, squirt a small amount of glass cleaner on the dashboard, seats, package tray and floors, clean everything with long cotton swabs, then thoroughly rinse it out in warm (not hot) water. Also use a paper towel with liquid soap to gently clean the chrome, wheels and tires. Rinse everything off in lukewarm water. Then use an electric duster to blow everything dry. You can buy one for about $100 as follows: Amazon.com: Metro ED500 DataVac 500-Watt 120 volt 0.75-HP Electric Blower Duster: Office Products