Who'll Replace George as Fillmore?

With the passing of George Carlin, who'll replace the comedy legend in Cars 2 as the lovable Fillmore? Once a character has made an impression on the public, it is hard to think of anyone else voicing that character. It is like a band losing a lead singer like Steve Perry or Peter Cetera whose voice was the band. A similar sounding replacement may suit some, but I won't accept Journey without Steve.

I remember that David Coulier from "Full House" fame, had done the voice of famous cartoon characters such as Scooby Doo, Popeye and Fred Flintstone. There are some impressionists who are very good voice-over artists, and although not the original, can pull it off as a fill in. Since Carlin's voice was a bit gruff, his voice should be easier to imitate. Pixar may have additional recordings they could use for the second film. Carlin's passing will no doubt affect the character of Fillmore in the sequel.

They may be able to imitate George Carlin, but he was certainly an "Original!" His talents and personality will be missed.

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Will Apple Release a Laptop with Blu-Ray?

I went to my local Apple Store a couple days ago and talked to a lovely girl about the 17 inch Mac Book Pro. I had to know if they had a Blu-Ray player yet. "Not yet," she told me. If the Apple cycle of new releases follows as usual, we may hear about new hardware in July. I'm personally dying for them to release new laptops with Blu-Ray players. They will certainly be smart to do so. As a reader points out, others have already released laptops with Blu-Ray players such as Sony, Dell and HP.

Why is this pertinent to Cars? Because I, as many, bought the Cars Blu-Ray disk due to the Blu-Ray McQueen promotion from November of last year. I have yet to be able to watch it, as I don't have a player. I'm not going to buy a Play Station 3 because I'm not into video games. Blu-Ray players don't have the features I want at a good price yet. So, I am waiting for Apple to end my waiting by taking the lead and coming out with a laptop with a superb Blu-Ray player.

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Pixar Cars Mini Adventures Line Stalls Out!

When Mattel released the Cars "Mini Adventures" line, I went to the store and bought the first four pairings and three play sets. I got home and had such a case of buyer's remorse, I felt stupid! I sat there and looked at over $100.00 worth of plastic and thought, "What do I need all this stuff for?" The Cars "Mini Adventures" line are made of plastic, I feel the designs are quite boring, and they are overpriced. So, the next day I returned it all and felt great! Why, because as I normally do, I knew it wasn't practical, nor economical to collect ALL the Cars stuff! I decided to stick with the line I fell in love with...the Cars die cast toys! There have been so many die cast Cars released, and as we all know, many, many more are to come.

The one strong positive about the Minis line are the play sets. They are full of detail and are quite cool! Mattel should make them bigger to match the die cast line of play sets to complete the town of Radiator Springs. In the long run, I think I'm going to build a model town with all the characters and play sets that are released. It will be just like the detailed and often amazing model railroads people like Walt Disney loved!

From what I've observed, the Mini Adventures line is not that popular. The stores are packed with them, people don't talk about them much, and they are certainly not that interesting.

I'm sure most of you would like to see Mattel keep a steady stream of new releases from the 1:55th die cast line flowing. Additionally, it would be nice to be able to get them more easily. The original line is speeding down the track and shows no sign of running out of gas!

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

ZipZaps Micro RC CARS May Still Be Available!

I've seen all types of RC (Radio Controlled) Pixar Cars on the market. The best in this collector's mind are the ZipZaps from Radio Shack! I bought mine 2 years ago and thought they were sold for a short time and gone. I just went to ZipZaps.com and right there on the front page are the stars of Pixar's Cars! I attempted to place an order and couldn't. I called the 800 number and got a guy who claimed they were on back order. I don't believe him. He seemed like one of those guys who didn't know crap about his job. I also went to a Radio Shack today and they said they haven't been available for a long time. At this point, you'll have to call Monday through Friday, as they aren't open on weekends. When you get a hold of someone, immediately ask for a supervisor and ask them to give you a solid answer as to their availability. So, if you can still buy them, I'd highly suggest you do! They are great fun and simply irresistible!

They come with a remote, are packaged nicely and have good power! At this point they've only made Mater, Sally and Lightning McQueen. Since these have been the only characters released since 2006, I don't think they'll be releasing others until the sequel is released in 2012. It would be cool to see Sarge or Red released. I'm sure many of you would love to see other characters as well. They retail for $19.99 and I'm trying to confirm if they are still available online, as I have confirmed they can't be purchased at Radio Shack stores any longer. If you can still get them online, pick yourself up one, two or all three before the day comes that they do stop being sold.

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Speedway of the South Set - Numbered Holographic Stickers Coming to You Soon!

It has been reported on the Hot Wheels site that the Motor Speedway of the South set will be complete soon. The Holographic, individually numbered stickers have been processed and will be mailed out to the Original purchasers within the next few weeks! Congratulations to all of those who called, e-mailed, and made their displeasure known to Mattel for their oversight of the boxes sans the numbering. You are the reason the sets will be a bit more valuable, because when all is said and done, they will be numbered as you were originally told they'd be. The stickers will likely look like their other Holographic stickers as shown. Just don't mess up putting them on the box when you get yours. ;-)

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Need More Proof for a Cars Special Event?

I launched my campaign with Disney Special Events two years ago to convince them to do a "Cars" Special Merchandise Event at Disney World. I've talked to management I know very well and continue to be optimistic that someday they will do such an event. It may not be until the sequel comes out in 2012, but they'd be foolish not to strike while the tires are burning hot!

Do they need more proof that this is gold mine? Recently, the Motor Speedway of the South Set (Glad I got one!) has been selling on the secondary market for over $1000.00! One of the thousand dollar plus sets just sold for $1076.52 a few days ago. I've been e-mailed about how to get one of the sets that less than a month ago, originally retailed for $300.00. Unfortunately, the only way to get one now is to buy it on the secondary market or to try to trade for one. It was a Limited Edition set with just a 1000 piece run. Think about how many Cars collectors are out there!

The fervor over the First Limited Edition (15,000) Blu-Ray Lightning McQueen was very high. Collectors are constantly talking about the Lightning Storm McQueen coming out at Comic-Con in July! People are asking people to buy them one, talking about going to the convention, and speculating how much they'll sell for on Ebay. Collecting Cars die cast toys was reported to bring in $2 Billion in Sales for Disney and Mattel last year.

I had some people scoff at my suggestion of such an event saying people wouldn't go to Disney World and buy Limited Edition Cars merchandise. Funny, thousands of people have travelled to Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Paris and the World of Disney in New York for everything from pin events to Disneyana events! Let me tell you this...I've been collecting everything from comics to coins, and Disneyana to animation since I was seven years old, and I know a thing or two about collecting. I've been amazed at the completest attitude, the fevered pitch, and the plain old insanity I've seen during the last two years since Cars toys hit the market!

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Looking for Pixar's "Cars" all Over the Globe!

I'm back from my trip aboard the Disney Magic and California! I sailed from Florida through the Panama Canal and ended my journey in Los Angeles. Three weeks of fun and adventure! During my trip, I continued my hunt for Cars die cast toys! What kind of collector and writer would I be if I didn't search out the little die cast treasures throughout my trip. The first and obvious place I had to check was the ship's gift shop. What do ya know? I found Dudley Spare, and got two to boot!

The next place I found some treasure was in Acapulco! I went to a Mexican drugstore with a friend who was looking for some medicine. While she attended to her business, I milled around until I found a bunch of toys messily stacked on some shelves. I looked through them until...Eureka! I found a Flik and Flea Movie Moments!!!! I couldn't believe I finally found one! Then, to add to my excitement, the darn thing was also in Spanish!

When we visited Puerta Vallarta, I searched at both a Sam's Club and Walmart, and came up empty. I looked around Cabo San Lucas and only found sea lions and Pelicans! Finally, arrived at Disneyland and hunted around only to find hundreds of Peg Warmers! My last lucky find was up in Culver City, Cal-e-fornia! I drove by a Toys R Us a couple times and finally decided to drop in because my intuitive Cars sensors were going off! I went to the Cars display and found one Chuki! That was the last lucky find on my three week trip. I travelled roughly 7500 miles and these three were all I could track down. Do you think collecting these little guys is a bit popular?!

I visited the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles because they HAD a Pixar Cars exhibit that was to run through November. I got there and was about to go in when I saw a sign that said the exhibit was gone. The ticket seller had no good answer, other than to say Disney decided to pull the exhibit. I was very dissapointed and just turned and left. So, my article about that exhibit will not happen. I looked in the Auto Museum gift shop and they just had the usual Peg Warmers too!

I'm amazed at the staying power these toys have had after two years on the market! As I joked tongue in cheek, when I heard about Cars 2 being released, I'll have another six to eight years to write about collecting these fun folks from Carburetor County for some time to come!

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/