Pixar Animation Studios, the subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, has been tremendously successful in merchandising die-cast cars based on the cars in their movies.

The 2006 Pixar movie “Cars” was the perfect vehicle to capitalize on merchandising die-cast cars. “Cars” was the story of Lightning McQueen, a hybrid of a stock car and a Le Mans endurance racer. Lightning McQueen has big dreams. He wants to beat his rival, achieve fame and get an endorsement deal in short order. Of course, Lightning McQueen hits some bumps in the road that could put at risk the most crucial race of his career.

The other cars in the movie were a perfect accompaniment for die-cast car sales. Chick Hicks was a 1980s stock car. “The King” Strip Weathers, spoken by racing great Richard Petty, was based on Petty’s 1970 Plymouth Superbird. Doc Hudson, voice work done by the late racing enthusiast Paul Newman, was a 1951 Hudson Hornet. Ramone was a 1959 Chevy Impala Lowrider. Luigi was a 1959 Fiat 500. Flo was a 1957 Motorama show car. The die-cast reproductions are priced from $3.59 to $10.79 for Lightning McQueen, Flo, Ramone and other characters in “Cars”.
An interesting side story involved Kelley Blue Book. It is the ultimate resource for appraisal the value of vehicles. After the release of “Cars”, Kelley Blue Book released a humorous appraisal of a popular fictional car. Lightning McQueen was valued at $1.5 million according to his make/model and personality.
When the movie “Cars” first was in the movie theatres, the Mattel-produced 1/55 scale toy cars of the most popular cars. There were dozens of characters represented. Some, such as Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks, were available in various versions. This led to a short-term shortage. In June 2006 Disney Consumer Products added to the “Cars” product line with Disney-Pixar Cars Mini Adventures. An example of this line was Lightning McQueen with Pullback Trailer. It measures 2” long with an approximate cost of $14.00. The Mini Adventures product line continues to create new models. Sarge’s Boot Camp Ramone and Flo as well as Lightning McQueen’s Team with Mater are two new offerings scheduled for a June 2009 release.

Additionally, a 36 pack called “Speedway of the South” featured most of the race cars shown during the opening race sequence of the “Cars” film. The set includes 12 familiar Piston Race drivers such as Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, Dale Jr., Gasprin, The King, Leak Less, No Stall, Vinyl Toupee and Octane Gain. Additionally, the set will include 24 “new” Piston Cup racers. Disney Cars Motor Speedway of the South is the most limited edition of Disney Cars ever to have been produced. There were only 1,000 sets made. With the widespread popularity of the Pixar die-cast cars, serious collectors clamor for this limited edition set. A website listing the Speedway of the South set gives a retail price of $2,799 even though it is out of stock. Most likely the price will escalate if buying from a private collector.

Tags: diecast disney pixar, diecast cars, diecast pixar

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