Revving Up

Toy cars and trucks continue to be perennial retail favorites, whether wood, plastic, or metal; large or small; freewheeling or remote controlled; real car replicas or unlimited futuristic designs.

If anything has changed, the appeal has broadened to include more adults and even girls. The product mix has broadened, too, giving retailers additional sales opportunities as well as a larger consumer base.

At Ambassador Toys in San Francisco, owner Linda Kapnick gets very enthusiastic when talking about toy cars. "I keep a basketful of tiny cars up front and the kids go straight for them when they come in," she says. "Before you know it there are all of these little cars all over the floor. It's so cool."

She also caters to collectors, who are "real nit-picky and quite difficult to deal with. So, we keep a car in glass out front and keep all the other integral stuff in the back—the boxes the cars come in, the tissue paper they are wrapped in, original documents, and anything and everything that means something to the serious collector."

Kapnick works with an East Coast independent dealer, Rich Finney, who has found her "really wonderful collectibles, some of which he even has signed, like the American Graffiti cars from Racing Champions Ertl."

Among others, she works with Corgi and Siku, both of whom recently went direct to retailers rather than through distributors, making prices much more competitive.

"We also do the Matchbox collectibles, which attract discerning collectors who really care about detail," she adds.

Coming up from Matchbox this fall are two new collectible series: five Elvis Presley dioramas in 1/64th scale, plus six 7-inch small Coca-Cola tractor-trailers with graphics from around the world.

These follow three series introduced this spring: six Texaco trucks ranging from the 1930s to 1997, six vintage fire trucks and six large-scale vehicles.

Matchbox lists its collectibles for ages 8 years and up, to which Kapnick adds, "Most kids younger than that couldn't care less about detail and authenticity."

In fact, many collectors don't care about those things either. Instead, they may specialize in cartoon-style cars or promotional give-away vehicles from fast-food restaurants or any number of specialty categories.

One specialty automotive toy that may be making a comeback is the slot car playset, complete with racetrack and authentic-looking racecars.

Alan Hess, COO of LGB America in San Diego, insists there is a resurgence of interest in these interactive sets after an almost 30-year hiatus.

"We really didn't want to get into the slot car business," Hess says. "We do large scale indoor and outdoor electric trains." But a pitch came from Carrera, a leading manufacturer of slot cars in Europe and distributor of LGB trains in Austria. "I spent six months going to hobby shops, specialty stores and slot car tracks—there are still about 500 professional set-ups in the United States," he explains. "Well, the slot car mass-market segment is a $36 million annual business, but the upscale segment is maybe only $3- to $4-million. I told the Carrera people in Germany, 'you don't have a market…unless the playsets include American 'muscle' cars, not formula racers or European sedans.'"

This follows the current trend of people restoring those real automobiles from the 1960s and 1970s that featured large, powerful engines in relatively standard bodies such as the Pontiac GTO, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda and many others.

Once again, if it's happening in the adult world, kids look for replicas in toy cars, particularly kids in the 9 to 12 age group, or tween group, as it is now commonly called.

Last August, LGB introduced two Carrera series, 1/32nd and 1/24th scales, featuring a 1967 427ci Corvette with side pipes and a 1965 Mustang fastback. Both series were sold out by early November and LGB had to fly in more inventory.

From a retailer's perspective, though, Kapnick says she tried slot cars, but "unless you do an outstanding job of having a huge presentation, they simply don't sell off the shelf."

Moving from the past to the present, X Concepts this spring introduced a new line of go-kart action models—Tech Karts—modeled after shifter karts, the fastest full-size go-karts in the world.

"Go-karts, real go-karts, are just starting to go mainstream even though they have been around for a long time," says Suzanne Taylor, a marketer for X Concepts.

"People are becoming more aware of them; there are more go-kart tracks popping up around the country; and even our local YMCA has a go-kart camp scheduled for this summer," she says. "We've spun off that, along with the fact that go-karts are cool."

X Concepts has sought to make its heavy die-cast 1/18th scale Tech Karts as realistic as possible, while at the same time using bold graphics to make a strong visual impact, she says. To that end, they have obtained licenses from several of the leading go-kart racing manufacturers.

"Kids like anything that looks like a race car," agrees Wes Sohns, who was assistant manager at the former Play Co. store in Pasadena, Calif. "They also like models of real new cars that they see on the street, or that their parents drive." (In March, Play Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.)

Current hot properties are the PT Cruiser, Ford Escape, and Ford Explorer Sport Track, he says. "And Hot Wheels of almost any description are popular, just like always."

"Cars and trucks are always going to sell," says Leonard Lieberman, owner of Star Toys in Brentwood, Calif. "I've been doing this for 35 years and I've been selling pretty much the same product for 35 years."

Lieberman says he doesn't sell a lot of miniatures—anything smaller than 1/24th scale—and carries few mass-market items.

"This is a very upscale neighborhood," he says, "so I sell a lot of specialty toys, such as the German-made Bruder trucks. They have 20 different models—dump, fire, garbage and the like—with prices ranging from around $30 to $59.95."

He said that he had a great clientele and carried a tremendous inventory. "I'm a compulsive buyer; that's why. I don't want to sell any of it; I just like to look at it all."

However, there is nothing really driving the business right now, he laments. "When Beanie Babies and Pokémon were hot, we would have an extra sale and pull people in. The only draw right now is birthdays. I do think car and truck toys will go on forever, even if the small die cast business has gone a little quiet for us for the time being."

Schylling Associates is among many companies diligently working to keep the die-cast market alive and growing. This year, in the 4- to 5-inch range, they introduced a pair of ambulances, a PT Cruiser, VW Beetle, a 1967 Camaro and 1969 Corvette Stingray, with the latter two going along with the American muscle car trend.

At The Play House in Durham, N.C., manager Donna Frederick points to Schylling as having a good price point. "Their 'pullback' play action is very popular," she says, "since we go mostly for the die-cast cars that kids play with, not the ones that attract collectors."

Spin Master Toys in Toronto is taking a slightly different approach with its new Metal Maxx line, which it calls "the biggest thing in die-cast," even though they are just 1/43rd scale.

"It's a new category for us," says spokesman Harold Chizick, of 7-year-old Spin Master Toys.

"The vehicles, with licenses from Humvee, Mustang, Corvette, Viper, PT Cruiser and others, are small, but rugged," he says. They feature 'rock 'n' roll' steering, and four-wheel suspension that allows all four tires to stay on the ground when used on rough surfaces. "We think of them as 'heavy metal,'" Chizick explains. "You need your whole hand to play with them, not just a couple of fingers."

Other chunky and rugged vehicles include Little Muscle cars from Racing Champions Ertl, a company that helps specialty stores by offering limited edition series and packaging. This differentiates specialty from mass-market retailers.

"They are easy for pre-schoolers to play with. You might call these kids' first collectibles," says Ertl's marketing director Tracy Gould. "Each car is really a character, with a name and personality. We're working on an interactive Web site, which will provide more involvement than just grabbing a car and playing with it on the floor."

Another innovation is Irwin Toys' 1/64th scale Blazin' Key Cars, with die-cast chassis and plastic bodies. They feature a coded key to engage a powerful spring-loaded mechanism that sends the car speeding across a room up to 30 or 40 feet. A flame decal decorates each side of the car, and a plastic 'flame' pops from the exhaust. The cars have individual carrying cases that clip to a child's belt. Transportable playsets are also available.

In addition to licensed models from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, which again include a few '60s and '70s muscle cars, Irwin is introducing a futuristic line, Fire Fantasy, which will be vacuum plated to give them a special metallic look.

Strombecker's Tootsietoy line this year added to its plastic 1/18th scale Hitch-Ups line of truck-trailer combinations by turning them into Terror Risers. The trailers haul four monster tires, 'monster mask' for the truck hood, and a modification tool.

"In three easy steps, the truck transforms from a stock truck and trailer into a drag racer or monster truck," says spokesperson Syl Saffold.

Tootsietoy this year also complemented its 1/18th scale Power Rigs with a 1/24th scale series that also has a power transfer feature that uses the truck battery power to operate special trailers and tools. "The forest fire and pipeline construction sets have flashing lights and sound, along with powered rotating buzz saw, working water cannon, lift arm and tilting dump bed," says Saffold.

Remote Control (RC) vehicles are available for everyone from 3-year-old pre-schoolers to senior citizens and in a wild array of configurations.

New this year in the Tomy Line is the Dynamic Sound Roadster, a 10-inch long, 6-inch high vehicle aimed at the 3-and-up market.

"The remote control is fashioned very much like an actual steering wheel, so the child gets a much more life-like sense of driving," says Laura Volz, marketing and product development manager for Tomy in Newport Beach, Calif.

"We added a sound chip this year with an actual engine revving sound, and you hear screeching tires when the car comes to a stop," she says. "It has headlights and brake lights, along with two characters in the cockpit, which makes it probably the most sophisticated RC vehicle in our line."

Silverlit Toys in City of Industry, Calif., this year downshifted from its continuing dual function programmable/ remote control Turbo model, to a 14-inch RC for pre-schoolers that plays 12 different tunes and pumps bubbles out the back. "The faster it goes, the faster the bubbles come out," explains Silverlit president Cathy Shull.

For the younger crowd, Hasbro offers Tonka's Racing Thunder series, which features NASCAR stock car motifs, real track sounds, and a radio-controlled unit shaped like a steering wheel. This series also boasts "no sharp edges, so the vehicles are furniture friendly."

At Toymax on Long Island, N.Y., the long-lived Mighty Mo's Jr. line for pre-schoolers this year will include Rick & Robbie Races, the Kenny Quad all terrain vehicle (ATV), and Bert the School Bus (all use infrared controllers).

"Rick and Robbie can interact as they race through conversation and movements," a spokesperson at Toymax tells PLAYTHINGS . "Kenny Quad talks and responds to kids' commands, and has animated eyes and mouth. Bert's eyes and mouth also move when he speaks, and the characters inside the school bus sing "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round," the spokesperson adds.

Creatatoy International is after an older market with its new Tracker & Blazer RC, which incorporates the engage-and-release power transfer system that it introduced last year on the smaller scale Shotgun & Skidzo.

"The system allows one controller to operate two vehicles that spin, roll and reach some pretty high speeds," explains Paul Finn, vice president of sales. "Power is transferred from the Blazer to the Tracker and seemingly ejects the Blazer under its own power to move about with the same agility as Tracker. In addition, Blazer can be returned to its home in Tracker and transfer power back to the larger vehicle."

Mattel has a pair of new models, the Angelica RC Chatmobile and the Susie RC Chatmobile. Both feature sound in the form of random funny phrases and directions from the dolls, along with opening trunks.

While not a car, the RC eXXtreme JoXX Extreme Street Luge is a follow-up to Toymax's award-winning Dragonfly stunt machine of last year. Licensed by Team Jugular, which will compete in this summer's X Games, the street luge racers are exact replicas of the professionals' world record-holding vehicles. "The racers realistically lean into tight curves and the driver pops up into the articulated stop/brake position when the luge hits rocks or obstacles," the Toymax spokesperson notes.

This ties in with Tyco's new TMH Tony Hawk Skateboard, due out in July. The vehicle has a specially designed, video game-style transmitter that allows kids 5-and-up to control the direction and speed of the skateboard.

Finally, in what might be called the "open" category, Tyco will also introduce in July its TMH Jacknife, which the company calls "the ultimate stunt rig."

The Jacknife, for ages 5 and up, performs "monster wheelies, awesome nose grinds, radical moonwalks, and 360-degree cab spins." It also will climb curbs and do jumps. For additional stunt action, the cab detaches from the trailer for front and backward somersaults. When flipped on its side, Jacknife has the power to right itself and get back to work.