Whenever I buy any toys, be it Cars or action figures, I always compare what is available on the shelf/pegs to find the best product. Occasionally I will reject something I want because it is too bad.

Does Mattel have anyone doing quality control on Cars anymore? I've only been collecting Cars for a couple years now, but it seems like the paint apps have gotten significantly worse recently.

The Neon racers are horrible with extra neon paint in spots, crooked apps, and lots of chips. It took longer than it should yesterday to put together a decent set. LMQ singles were the worst of the bunch. I pity the next collector who visits that Target looking for them. Afterward when I was looking through Cars at Walmart, I saw more off the mark apps. It was particularly noticeable on the King.

Has the QC on Cars been this bad all along, or just since I started collecting? It certainly looks like it's going downhill fast.

SCAVENGER said:

I think the bottom line is, major companies want productivity high and costs low…and unfortunately quality is one of the first things to take a hit!

This is VERY true, but don't forget, these are toys meant to be sold to kids who will play with them and those nice decals will get scratched and the nice paint jobs will get chipped.

Collectors are part of the market and Mattel has acknowledge that, but the collector's market is a small piece of the pie (please correct me if I'm wrong).

I think you are severely underestimating the collector market MmB. I won't deny collectors are still a minority part of toy companies' sales, but certainly not just a fraction of a percent. How many kids do you think have the opportunity to get Cars that are not main character or others that collectors leave behind? Sure, some parents like myself will go out of their way to get hard to find toys for their children, but kids shopping with their parents will mostly just see the previously mentioned leftovers.

We hear that kids these days prefer video games of other tech gadgets over toys at an earlier age now, yet at the same time many are adamant that toy sales are almost 100% to children. Why would Mattel continue to make Treasure Hunts for Hot Wheels if collectors did not matter? Their current MOTU line aimed directly at collectors and based on subscription sales is still going another year (although subscriptions are dwindling as they are down to mostly obscure characters for what hasn't been made yet). And have you seen the price of some collector Barbies? They are certainly not marketed to children, especially when they are based on classic or mature shows or movies.

Regarding collectors… comparing hot wheels and barbies to cars is apples to oranges. Adults today grew up playing with hot wheels and barbies, this is not true for cars which are relatively new. Perhaps the answer is some where in between.

Now, regarding the paint quality/durability. There may be three reasons that I can think of. One, the manufacturing process for hot wheels was developed decades ago when quality was still very important. The cars manufacturing process was developed recently where the happiness of share holders and the bottomline is the most important thing.

Two, the paint and graphics on a cars figure is much more intricate than hot wheels. I know hot wheels have baked enamel, perhaps this is not financially feasible for cars.

Three, cars are heavier than hot wheels. When they collide there are larger forces involved. Paint is more likely to chip/scratch when larger forces are involved.

It may be a mix of all three or none at all. Just guesses, but I agree, I would expect the same level of quality from cars that I see in hot wheels. It's a shame, but I think our kids will outgrow cars before they completely wreck them.