You had a lot of questions and we have lots of answers … some of them even pertaining to your question! 🙂

I know Mattel would never just make a case of new cars but…. why couldn’t Mattel ship a case of mostly new cars with a few McQ’s or some of the older ones to keep the collectors happy?

While it’s not directly answered, the reason is that Mattel thinks they are saving a few bucks but ultimately, the are costing themselves more sales – covered HERE.

Do you have a source directly inside Mattel? I’ve always been baffled as to how your get your information so far in advanced.

That is an interesting question because the quest is the question or is it the questioning that is the quest.

What came first the Chicken or the Egg??

See Above.

Here is my question – can you do something about the distribution problem – both in the cases and the stores??

I have made a suggestion.

Is there a Gov’t bail out plan for small wood working firms who have to lay all their employees off next month in order to stretch the orders out further and make them do more with less???

Show me the money.

question number 1
where are all of the piston cup racers, easy idle, mood springs, fiber fuel and so on

In the Speedway of the South set?

question 2
the gaskits car promo, does it exist or was it pre-mature and uncovered before it was ready to come out.

Well, the inside memo seems pretty clear on what it is and the start date. Rest of the follow-up is in this post.

question 3
do you have the winning lottery numbers for this weekends power ball and or lotto for florida.

A-113?

IS THIS DIECAST LINE EVER GOING TO BE COMPLETE BEFORE CARS2?

What’s complete? CARS with names? Every CAR that appears on screen? Every possible expression of every character? My guess is that with about 24 months to go before CARS2 diecasts start appearing, we will probably see another 125 CARS (not counting the shorts and Storytellers) so it will be as complete as any diecast licensed line plus when CARS 2 is out, they will undoubtedly release a “classic-flashback” series …

can mattel start putting out more movie moments like flik and p.t. flea and mia and tia red version? that would make all collectors happy

They are now a Target exclusive – why is it taking so long? No one knows but they are FINALLY starting to appear/re-appear. The full order and what’s coming back are in this POST and yes, PT Flea & Flik are coming back.

what happens to all of the redundant peg warmers, like the plain lightnings-ramones doc hudsons, will they end up in the bargin bins or will they have another peg warmer sale for the apple icar, but this time, buy any 10 of ramone-lightnig or doc hudson and get a free apple i car–SUPPLIES LIMITED

Photo from Mattel Retail Store. I can tell you that the Apple Piston Cup racer will definitely not be offered as a promo but beyond that, we’ll just have to see.

Error, or correction?
Mario Andretti red wheels!

When Mario Andretti appears in the US with red rims, the mustard yellow version will be considered the ERROR VARIANT version.

When are the case D 3 packs coming out? What about the new launchers (mood springs, fiber fuel, and easy idle)?

3-Packs should be out soon. The launchers – probably not for another few months …

How can I save more on my insurance premiums?

Check here and shop around but make sure it’s the coverage you want.

I saw Red Mia & Tia and Flea & Flik at Target the other day. I wondered if they found an old case in back or something.

Only Target can buy and receive Movie Moment cases now.

Does there seem to be a better time of the day to look for cars at certain stores? Like in the morning at Wal-mart, or Mondays at Target? Is there any rhyme or reason?

Answers provided by 5oclockshadow & Twiggy

5oclockshadow
Most heavy traffic stores tend to stock late night and early morning. So best to hit those Targets when doors open. Walmart is a different story. Some are 24-hours, so from 10pm to 2am is a good time slot for those.
The Walmart and Target stores in my area have a lot lighter traffic, and they typically stock during the morning hours after they open.
TRU is a joke here. Most cases they bring out are already opened and picked through before they hit the floor.
About 90% of the time there will be a truck come in Sunday night/Monday morning to restock from weekend sales at all major retailers. The other nights will be on a schedule determined by their warehouse distributor. Best advice is just to ask someone who works in the toy department for that store.

Twiggy
On Target, it depends when their flow team decides to stock their product, each Target can be different depending on a few factors, one main being if it is deemed an “overnight” store (people come in to start work 12 midnightish (overnight stores are high volume Targets, so if you live by one, chances are you are good to go once the doors open.) If it is not, they come in at 4am, by the time the truck is unloaded and they get to the floor and decide where to stock it is basically a toss up. Usually they have a set schedule, my Target usually doesn’t even get to toys until 10am or so now. They used to stock them first thing before we opened during the Christmas season to avoid the crowds, but not anymore. Like a previous post said, talk to someone who works in the toy department. Most are pretty helpful! Good luck!

Will I ever find Wally Hauler?

Walmart distribution now seemingly planned by demented squirrels. I know that’s not a real answer but if I could understand a rabid squirrel, I would help you.

there are some really cool shots of some Ferraris on some posters in Luigi’s Tyre Place near the end of the film when McQueen is getting refitted out. Is there any information about these shots and the ferrari’s involved? They look like they are based on old ferrari models. It would be great to see them released as characters in die cast models.

Coincidentally, Mattel has an EXCLUSIVE Ferrari license worldwide for most scales – hence you do not see that many Ferrari CARS other than real oddball scales like 1:6 – though Kyosho (Japan only) managed to find a loophole and released some great 1:64 diecasts … will do a post someday.

Does anyone know what’s coming next for Movie Moments? I saw Chick / Bruiser over here in England last week and I wonder what might be coming next?

While this list & info applies to the US, the order listed seems to about the order of appearance worldwide – as some of the MM’s are out in EU but not in the US … though in the last few days, people have reported seeing ROR MM’s – though they do not seem to have a sticker saying ONLY AT TARGET … and they are all re-releases.

How are Cars born?

Answer from PirateDad

PirateDad
Smart Bumper answer…. A Mommy Car and a Daddy car love each other very much, so they cuddle and snuggle and a baby car is born a few months later!

Disney/Pixar/Mattel answer… Mack says to LM, Thank the Manufacturer, so I guess it is a chicken and egg question…The Manufacturer places them in eggs and then the are born!!

MET: For adults who wish to peer behind the curtain, keep reading. Personally, it’s better to have a kids wonderment and stick with the first answer 🙂

There are Kids CARS (see crowd scene at Piston Cup races) – and since we know that they “eat/drink” and have tongues though somewhat impervious to “external” damage (Mood Springs/Doc/King), we can presume they are either cyborgs (a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts) or the result of human enhancement engineering. You could argue from the phrase ‘thank the manufacturer,’ would be more cyborg-like speak than human enhancement engineering (as in, CARS were once human) as humans would use a different phrase but it’s certainly not a 100% certainty as humans enjoy saying things such as “I feel a quart low’ which is not technically accurate as we really only need liquids mostly made of water and not internal gear oil … though of course, we do some fats in our foods to aid in taste and digestion but “I feel a quart low’ is not used to connote the need for some tablespoons of canola oil). I would be inclined to go with cyborg as CARS are living entities that ‘grow’ physically and emotionally hence the “kids CARS.” Then of course, the age old question … are we “bad,” because we are born that way (Wingo?) or is it environment? Isn’t Wingo just a import coupe but blinged out because thinks he’s “Wingo?” (low to ground, flared out body, giant spoiler, flashy paint?) Look at McQ, a crashy race car driver who changes … and he can change his shell anytime from racer to life in the slow lane Cruiser … or Ramone, who changes his exterior everyday but is the same guy inside (one girl guy) … so hey, that message about who you are on the inside is more important & what matters – and not how the outside world sees you? They should make that into a Disney movie. If only.

The new K-Mart Cars – When will we see those? Can we buy a case from somewhere else?

Presuming Kmart is still in business in June – they might offer it online at Kmart.com again afterwards but we won’t know until June-ish.

TRU Gasket – WHEN?

No firm dates if or when it’s coming back – when things ‘collapse,’ it takes a while to renegotiate so maybe Fall, 2009?

And why do we go crazy over the Cars of the South, when they are the same 3 cars paitned differently?

Without the frenzy, we might as collect toilet paper packaging. Plus, the bottom line is even if every racer gets re-released, it doesn’t really detract from the set. The track is unique, the packaging never to return, the CARS are all spiffed up and we know the production dates … it is @1,000 of a kind.

And why do we go crazy over the haulers, when they are the same truck? Then buy the single with a different face?

Of course, it’s impossible to say why you should or should not buy anything. There are some obvious things you shouldn’t pay for (Flaming dog poop! Buy now before the fire goes out!) but beyond that, who are we to say what you should or shouldn’t buy. Some people pay hundreds a month for life insurance, or pay $250,000 for college – some others think that’s crazy. Same with collecting. It’s just a choice you get to make.

Have any Cars been retired? I thought Doc had one that was.

Yep, post coming up … on or before Thursday … not necessarily this Thursday.

What is the significance of A-113 in regards to Pixar? It is on Trev from Cars and the station wagon from Toy Story.

Answers from Edge, 5 OShadow & Wiki

Edge
A-113 is a reference to the animation room at California Institute of the Arts, where many Pixar animators studied. It can also be seen on Mater’s license plate, by the way. The number also appears in “Toy Story”.
And to add to that, in WALL*E, the protocol that AUTO is programmed to follow is A113, and A113 is also the room number Mr. Incredible is instructed to go to in The Incredibles.

5oclockshadow & the Wiki
Toy Story – License plate number on Andy’s Mom’s minivan
A Bug’s Life – Code on cereal box as Flik enters the bug city.
Toy Story 2 – Airport announcement for “LassetAir Flight A113″, also a reference to director John Lasseter.
Monsters, Inc. – Sign seen in the background when Sulley sees Smitty and Needleman loading the trash compactor.
Finding Nemo – Model code on camera used by scuba diver.
The Incredibles – A room number in Syndrome’s lair. It is the conference room that Mr. Incredible is suppose to get his second assignment and where he is attacked by the enhanced Omnidroid. Also, the prison level where Mr. Incredible is held is “Level A1″ in Cell # 13: A1 & 13
Cars – Mater’s license plate. Also the number of the railway train which almost crashes into Lightning McQueen while he is on his way to Radiator Springs.
Ratatouille – Git, the lab rat, has a tag on his left ear that reads, “A113″.
WALL•E – The code for Auto’s “directive”. This instance is the first time “A113″ has held any actual significance in the film’s plot and is mentioned aloud.

Will Canada EVER get any new singles? We are currently on Case F of LAST YEAR, while you guys have Case F of this year. MET, can you tell us International folks anything??

I have no idea why Mattel Int’l has forgotten Canada … when asked, they reply they love Canada and all is well … maybe they lost the keys to the office in Ontario or they got some bad poutine and are waiting for an apology? It’s time to write them.

In the CAAF Auction Case that the exclusive Red Ransburg LM was in, there is a police SUV on the 2nd row from bottom, far right side. Who is it and when will he/she be released?

Richard Kensington SUV has been moved to the megasize line and should be out before 2009 is over but nothing definite yet so no guarantees …

When I submit a comment, it says;
new comment is submiting, please wait a comment…
What does “wait a comment” mean? Should this say “wait a moment” instead? Just wondering.

Out TOP squirrels are working on it – TOP Squirrels … the writer of the ‘comments’ plugin does not seem to notice so we have fixed it manually – guess it’s time to do it again …

We’ve all heard the expression “he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer”, but how come no one ever says “that guy IS the sharpest knife in the drawer”?

Yes, there are certain phrases or words that become a common colloquialism but the other end gets knackered … such as ‘disgruntled,’ is the opposite of gruntled but hardly anyone says he is pleasant and gruntled … perhaps because the word sounds harsh and “un-pleasant” so its usage falls. Conversely, some words sound like they mean – like squishy. Good luck learning American English. 🙂

OK, here’s my mystery questions; when the Cars Movie was new, and the agreement between Mattel and PIXAR to produce the diecasts was finalized:

1. What year was the first diecast Cars car made?
2. Which car sculpt was the first one released for sale? In other words, which order did they come out in? Was Sarge, Lizzie, Wingo really the first ones or was McQueen and Mater first ?
3. I have a early car that ends in a date code of XXX3 Does that really mean it was made in 2003?

Answers by John & MET
John in Missouri
The original release date was November 2005, so my assumption is that the first official ones were made that year as well. I saw a Cars video or something about the making of the movie, and John Lasseter & Company have some diecasts on the conference room table, so maybe you got one of those! How did you come across that?
The original cases had 30 Cars in them, so all 12 hit the pegs at the same time as I recall.

MET: The earliest date I have is a Sarge from 2005 (March?) but even that seems odd as it was December 2004 when they announced that CARS was moving so it would be strange for Mattel to be producing a merchandiscing item tied to film not to be released for another YEAR+ … Other than they booked and planned for the production and figured, well, they don’t take up that much room so might as well? I cannot say for 100% certainty here. Mattel also might’ve thought – well, if they move it BACK to November 2005, we better have something to sell?

As for the production, my best guess is that those were the first three they finalized designs on. Sarge is really just a 1940’s Willy’s Jeep with eyes … pretty straightforward … same with Lizzie – plus they had fairly small roles within CARS, not much was going to change … and Wingo really has a small part also and I’m sure they locked his design in early. While it would’ve been a big undertaking to have to add or re-render any new McQueen scenes … until Pixar gets the final say so from John Lasseter, they might’ve hedged their bets because now they had an extra few months to tweak or re-do something if they, really, really wanted to when CARS was moved from November 2005 to June 2006 – you don’t want to say OKAY and then suddenly, McQueen gets a Rust-eze decal on the back spoiler 🙂

And the logic that they were the first three are the no promo info cards. They do all seem to have earlier production dates and as noted in our book, the marketing research showed that CARS was tracking weaker than other Pixar films plus NO ONE had every really successfully sold a line of licensed diecast CARS so they figured this line could use a little juice to try and get people to buy in hopes of redemption. Clearly it was not necessary so Disney just pretended the thing never existed.

The 2003 is certainly an oddity and I would be inclined to say it’s a mistake – while CARS was in internal production and I’m sure there were prototypes and other mock ups … 2 years BEFORE the film comes out is way too early especially in 2003, the projected date of the film to be released was November 2005 and NOTHING would have been finalized yet.

When are the newest movie moments set to be released? And what is the case make up going to be?

HERE. No idea on case assortment but let us know what you see.

Don’t you have to be a US resident to collect any lottery winnings?

Not in Cali – you just have to be present.

So how come the lack of single number race cars? I would think 1,2,3,5,6,7 and 9 would be sought after numbers in racing, before 123 or 2 #84’s.

There are two points to argue. A) They wanted to avoid direct NASCAR comparisons or licensing issues … most of the NASCAR racers are in the low numbers or more famous NASCAR numbers such as #24, or #48 that you did not mention above. I have not gone through the entire list but it seems that there are no active driver number that is “repeated” as a CARS Piston Cup race CAR … obviously the LICENSED CARS of Dale Jr’s then #8 and Petty’s #43 are exceptions … it would’ve been a little expensive to try and license many more drivers and really un-necessary – then it just becomes a NASCAR animated movie … but also for example if they used #99, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards might sue saying you are using his good name for profit. Even if the CAR were pink and Disney/Pixar would probably win, why go through all that hassle? Or even any remote possibility a NASCAR driver could get offended if say, in the film CARS #5 causes some giant wreck or something …

I would say that pretty covers 98% of it – the only remaining sliver reason is that they clearly do not follow NASCAR 100% with stock cars from different eras all driving together.

MET…….what if we all got together and figured out a day & date where we could have a MASS VIEWING OF CARS?????
A set time, taking into account time zones around the world, with everyone ready to hit PLAY on their DVD player.
As the movie progresses, we all have the ability to comment and point out things in the movie.
I don’t know if it could be pulled off, but it would be fun to try, wouldn’t it?
What do you think?

Sounds amusing. What’s everyone doing June 9, 2009? 🙂

Are they releasing Tokyo Mater with Bolt DVD/Blu-Ray Disc’s?

It does not look like it. It is NOT listed as any of the extras on the disc. It would be surprising if it is on the disc and not listed since it’s a short and not just a trailer. Hopefully we’ll be able to view on The Disney Channel on 4/3.

Are they making Tokyo Mater diecasts?

Yep but probably won’t be out until early 2010.

When will we see an annual Cars convention?

Anyone else interested?

Does anyone on this forum have every car in every package ever released?

I could probably name some candidates 🙂

Is it better to keep your Cars in the package or open and display them?

The question is sort of answered in our recap of the singles releases – you can start with the latest on RACE O RAMA with links to the previous 5 parts. The final discussion sums up the collectiblility of each line – why some are vaulable as SEALED and others where you will find it hard to get full value solely based on its repeats, ease of collecting or desireability. I may do a summary post.

Will Texas Tea Hummer make an appearance in Cars 2?

Disguised as one of the citizens of Apple CARS town … 🙂

Are they still making Movie Moments? I hardly EVER see them anymore, and when I do they are the old ones. Are the gift packs replacing them? Has anyone else’s Target discontinued their haulers and if so does anyone know why? And my biggest question ~ WHY, WHY do they make a semi in the mega sizes when they are releasing the haulers? It is the same thing, who wants two Mack semis? I only bought Mack but ended up returning him because I realized what’s the use of buying an extra semi to go with each of my haulers? Does not make sense to me, anyone have any thoughts?

See above. Also – no, no, not discontinued, because one is a megasize and one is hauler, um, I do? 🙂  … personally, the more CARS the merrier.

Have we covered the topic about icar and Revolting both havin’ the number 84???

Does a Canadian bear eat poutine in the woods? 🙂 Of course.

Will Mattel ever put out a 3-pack that doesn’t have at least one repeat?

Your wish is their command. As noted, the Dinoco showgirls comes with a new LM never before released – other than that, the 3-packs are either “fun catch-up” boxes or cynically, does a bear after eating a Pope in the woods  …

When will we know if all haulers will also be released as Mega Size Semis? And what about the non-racing-team haulers, like Gil and Jerry?

We only have listings through May so unknown but it seems likely more Semi’s from Piston Cup racer team haulers will get cab-only releases. I would bet against Gil or Jerry getting the treatment but that’s just a chicken blood and dice along with nude dance guess – fortunately for all, it’s not me doing the nude dance.

Are the Kmart days the only time and place we will see these Piston Cup Racers with faux rubber tires? And will it only be the Piston Cup Racers with these tires?

Probably and yes. Though part A might happen again if Matty wakes up …

Speaking of quality control, is it just me or are they having a problem with the cards lately.  I am seeing this everywhere, the cars are either pristine or just mangled.  I know some others have commented on this with the easter eggs, which I have seen first hand.  Target x has a perfect case and 3 miles down the road at Target y they have a case of mangled cards.  I have also seen this with case F the cards in the whole case have major creases and another case is pristine.    It’s just weird.

Cards are thinner cardboard – much easier to “soften” or crease. I have not seen the Easter eggs in a box but the other odd-shaped CARS all had cardboard inserts. Probably what may have happened is they got opened in the backroom, the cardboard inserts thrown away and CARS dumped into a plastic bin to go out on the floor but if the box was opened on the floor – they are less likely to get damaged.

I also noticed at one Target today and I will look at others tomorrow, but that Target had dropped the price tags for both the haulers and the team sets off their shelves.  The DCPI’s still work but the tags are no longer on the shelf.

Target will pull shelf stickers if they are “none in transit/none on order,” but it means very little as they can generate a new sticker in seconds – presumably it’s so employees stocking don’t “hold that blank space.” They will simply redo when the new stock & new stickers arrive. It pretty means nothing because it could be back tomorrow.

Hope you enjoyed these answers. I need a nap now. Maybe we’ll do this once a month?

This has nothing to do with the Q&A but here’s some interesting prelim studies on oxygen therapy & autism … BBC LINK.