Disney Pixar Cars - The Stores To Find Cars

Walmart and Target have been major disappointments for the last couple months. Promises of pallets filled with Cars toys are more like dreams of sugarplums in some whacked out kid's head! They have let us down! No supply and nothing new!

Who are the New heros of Cars collectors?! That old dump of a store...Kmart! Right there with old glue horse Kmart is Toys R Us! Come on, you agree with me, you walk into a Kmart and it is like a morgue! You keep waiting to hear when they are going to file Chapter 11! Yet somehow, the old Blue Light Special keeps its doors open. Heck, Toys R Us isn't much better really! I don't know how they stay in business. BUT, in spite of the fact Kmarts always look like they are going Out of Business and Toys R Us hardly every has customers, they have come through strong in the last couple of weeks!

Toys R Us has been a consistent supply of New releases! I've found Impound Boost, Chief RPM, and Tank Coat Pitty! I've yet to find the next case with Impound Snot Rod, but I have a strong feeling they will have them very soon as well! So, kudos to Toys R Us for meeting collector demand over the last few weeks! It certainly made it easier to buy five Cars for the N2O promotion!

Today I had a feeling I should go into Kmart and voila! There were the two Over Sized Characters I've been searching weeks for...Mack and Marco! And, they had two of each, which is what I always buy! Not only did I find Mack and Marco, but I also found another Impound Boost! So, guess where I'll be going in search of Cars die cast toys? Well, it's safe to say I won't be going to Walmart until they get their act together!

Hope this gives you some help in your search for the elusive toys! You know, I paid $8.79 for each Over Sized and could care less. They had the darn things I wanted and I was happy to pay Kmarts price! Wouldn't you?

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Alternator Valley's New Original Logo

Unveiling for the first time...Alternator Valley's New Original logo! Here's your first look at it in its clean, rough form! Designed by my friend Martin Arriola, Mattel Senior Manager of Product Design! Martin is also a fine artist who creates Original Paintings in Oil, Pastel and Watercolor. I urge you to learn more about Martin's art at this link...MartinArriola.com

The final cleaned up version will be done at the start of the year. Another talented friend of mine, Mark Mc Intyre, is a former Disney Design Group artist and one of the co-founders of Hitch Critters. Check out his cool animated hitch ball covers at this link...HitchCritters.com

Our logo as been developed to further enhance our identity, and to connect to our loyal readers around the globe! T-Shirts will be available for purchase after the New Year! We may offer other logo emblazoned merchandise as well.

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars - Luigi & Guido Hallmark Keepsake Ornament 2008

Real news about Cars die cast toys is pretty much stagnant. With this in mind, I figured I'd talk about ancillary Cars items. I went to a Hallmark store last week and looked for this year's Cars ornament. It was Guido and Luigi. It costs $15.00 and honestly, it isn't worth it. It is the same boring scene of them as fans. Why doesn't Disney get that we want Originality!! How many Franks would they have blown out the door if they made him?! I know I would have grabbed one of those up! I know you reading this would have wanted one! Anything but the same damn, old, tired designs!! Are you people in business to sell product or not?! Oh well, expect those stupid ornaments to gather dust and end up being discounted because they won't sell.

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars - Disney Pixar Monopoly On Clearance At Toys R Us

I dropped by Toys R Us yesterday and found the Monopoly Disney Pixar Special Edition on Clearance for $14.99! It normally sells for $30.00. I remember when I got the First Edition of the game a few years ago and it cost $45.00. If you can get one, I'd strongly advise you to do so! The game is very cool!

The tokens are really fantastic. I will certainly have to take Lightning McQueen! Kachow!! You can also choose from Mr Incredible, Nemo, Sully with Boo, Buzz Lightyear, and Remy. They are all done in pewter.

The game board has some interesting spots...there's Zurg's Planet, Edna Mode's Mansion, and Andy's Room. You better not speed or the Sheriff will fine you $75.00! You may have to draw a Piston Cup card and pay a fine of $50 because gas goes up again!

I plan on building Al's Toy Barns as far as the eye can see! High roll goes first!

http://www.CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars - Mattel Counterfeits Seized In Raid

I started writing an article last year titled, "Customs versus Counterfeits." It was about this time of year that I saw too many people making what they wanted to call "Customs," appearing on Ebay in large numbers. Honestly, there's only one name to call them...COUNTERFEITS!

I haven't finished that article because for a year I've been doing research and talking to Disney Legal, Mattel and trying to get in touch with a number of lawyers. So, the article is still in the works and may be finished soon.

The reason I am discussing this is because of the big bust made a few days ago of 125 thousand bogus toys from China! Toys created to look like Barbie and Winnie the Pooh. Toys that infringe on Mattel and Disney's legal rights.

Richard de Anda, vice president of global security and investigations for Mattel, said the company conducts raids about twice a week in Chinese factories where counterfeit products are manufactured.

Take a look at the official Mattel manufactured Haulers and compare them to this ripoff "The King" counterfeit. Tough to tell which is authentic and which is bogus. These need to be stopped dead in their tracks and the people making them prosecuted for copyright infringement.

There have also been stolen Cars items from manufacturing plants in China showing up on Ebay as well. I've said before that people should avoid buying contraband. People have over paid for these stolen goods and just encourage the illegal behavior by creating a market for the stolen items. Think about this as well...the illegal Chinese counterfeits may also be made with lead based paints. Do you want to give your child toys that could harm them?

http://www.CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars - Is The Economy Impacting Your Collecting

KB Toys just declared bankruptcy, Circuit City, Linens and Things, and many more have recently done the same. Mattel, Yahoo, Citibank, even LucasArts have laid off thousands! Unemployment is at a twenty-six year high, the Dow is down 39%, while we carry the largest deficit in the country's history! The globe has fallen into recession as well. Sounds very positive, doesn't it?!

The question I have for you is, "Have these developments caused you to pull back on your spending of Cars collectibles?"

I've chosen to stop wasting time running around like I'm looking for Easter Eggs at Walmart, Target, etc. Thus, I'm saving money on gas. I'm also considering changing my collecting of two of each Car, to just one of each Car. I blame this on the lame supply that both Mattel and the retailers have failed to address to meet collector's demands. I'm getting sick of trying to track down toys like a dog chasing its tail!!

Collecting should be fun, not work! Don't you agree? I'm out for today!

http://www.CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars - Tokyo Mater Drifts Into Theatres Today

Is "Tokyo Mater" enough to tempt you to see Bolt?

As much as I'd love to see the fourth of "Mater's Tall Tales,"
I have to say seeing Bolt is not on my to do list.

What I'd love to know is...
when will "Mater's Tall Tales" be available on DVD?

1. Rescue Squad Mater
2. El Materdor
3. Mater The Greater
4. Tokyo Mater
   

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Disney Pixar Cars - KB Toys Auto Purchase Was One Thing Done Right.

KB Toys just filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. They blamed the economy, but I can tell you it was due to poor management, lousy toy selection and filthy stores. A good friend worked in management for years, and left nearly a year ago as he couldn't take the pathetic management from above. The store near my house is always filthy, disheveled, and has the worst people working there. They literally had Hispanics working there who couldn't speak a single word of English!! This was the majority of the workers who dealt with customers! And, the area was not an Hispanic area. Reminds me of the story my uncle told me about the Mc Donalds near him that had a Russian girl working the drive through who couldn't speak English. Can you say "Happy Meal" in Russian?!!

The only thing KB Toys did right was to have a Cars pre-purchase list. You'd buy a gift card and load it with the approximate amount for the Cars you wanted to buy. For instance, if we were waiting for Tumbleweed McQueen, Sally with Cone and Impound Boost, they'd put you down for those three and call you when supply came in. I did this for nearly a year! I had to wait, but always got what I needed! This was a very smart move at the store I'd go to. They had a long list, and it generated consistent sales for them. The list was stupidly dropped when my friend resigned, as he kept it organized and running.

I guess I better go cash in my gift cards for some discounted toys before they go away for good!

http://www.CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Disney Pixar Cars - Tokyo Drift Mater And Lightning McQueen Open For Bolt

When I broke the News about Tokyo Drift back on November 18th (Click to Read), I didn't have any pictures for you. Here's a look at our heros Mater and Lightning McQueen all tripped out for some "Drifting" Tokyo style!

Starting on December 12, 2008 you'll be able to see "Tokyo Drift," the fourth and final short from "Mater's Tall Tales" as an intro to Bolt in 3D! My sources indicate this is likely to be the final "Interstitial," and it appears to me to be a bridge to "Cars 2, The Global Race!"

You can also count on seeing these versions of Mater and Lightning added to the 1:55th scale die cast "Mainline" in the future! Yeah man! More cool toys to add to your growing collection.

You can bank on breaking Cars news to be seen here first on Alternator Valley! Sign up for our RSS Feeds so you can be notified as New articles are published!

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