Diecast Chevy Caprice Cop Car

American cop cars should always be large, gas-guzzling monsters of the road. Forget how they do it in Europe and South America with them tiny Peugots and what-nots. The way things are going in America - cap and trade, regulations on light bulbs - the "green" crowd will have lobbied the government to the point that all big American cars will soon be eradicated off the face of the Earth.

My Diecast Car of the Day™ is this Chevy Caprice Cop Car from some Chinese company (I think.) This diecast is actually a piggy bank. Lift the trunk lid and drop in your change.




The tires feel like real rubber. The cop lights, side mirrors, door panels and front grill treatment are spot on. The diecast is approx. 1/18 scale and it's pretty hefty. The detail is great. I love the classic black and white cop car look.

Rolls Royce of the Day™ - Rolls Royce Ghost

The Rolls Royce of the Day™ is not a diecast model (or a vehicle I shall ever be able to own. ) It is the new Rolls Royce Ghost. It sure looks purty.

The Ghost is slotted in size between the tank-like RR Phantom and the BMW 7 Series.

The Ghost has rear Coach (Suicide) doors like its larger sibling. The Ghost also comes with an optional polished aluminium bonnet like that found on select Phantom Coupes and Phantom Drophead Coupes.

The Ghost has a sleek and more rounded exterior shape than the block-like Phantom. The Ghost is pure elegance on wheels and harkens back to the grand coachbuilt cars like the Silver Cloud.

It's interior is pure Rolls Royce with nary a hint of Germanic interference in its design.

The big difference with the interior is the large transmission tunnel due to this car sharing more of its platform with the brand new BMW 7 series. The Phantom has a near flat floor like the cars from the 20s and 30s.

The Ghost dashboard is cleaner and more elegant looking than the dash in the Phantom.

Read more about the upcoming Rolls Royce Ghost:

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/04/hands-on-rolls-royce-ghost-is-100-roller-so-far/

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Secret-new-cars/Search-Results/Spyshots/Rolls-Royce-Ghost-2009-new-spyshots/

Cute Cat Picture of the Day™ - De and Trout

This is the Cute Cat Picture of the Day™.

Isn't that just the sweetest thing? Trout is a beautiful cat but it's darn near impossible to get a good photo of her unless she's being held.

Rolls Royce Silver Cloud Diecast by the Franklin Mint

The Franlklin Mint 1955 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud is My Diecast Car of the Day™.

This 1/24th scale model is perfect. The Mint is famous for creating some of the finest diecast models and this Silver Cloud is truely one of the best. The model is solid, heavy. The attention to detail is equal to the attention Rolls Royce paid on the real Silver Cloud.


The Spirit of Ecstacy and the grille look like the real deal. All four passenger doors open to reveal an interior just as detailed as the outside. The dashboard looks like wood, the steering wheel is very accurate, and the picnic tables have a simplified version of the mirrored Burled Walnut veneer found on the real car.


The boot is carpeted and holds a spare tire. A perfect recreation of the straight 6 engine sits in the engine bay beneath the split bonnet. The two tone paint job looks like a million bucks.

The Silver Cloud is one of the most iconic car designs ever. Rolls Royce used the Cloud as inspiration in designing the Silver Seraph and the new Phantom.

The Franklin Mint's 1/24th scale diecast Silver Cloud is a wonderful replica of a wonderful car.

1978 Ford Thunderbird Diecast Car

The Motor Max 1978 Ford Thunderbird American Graffiti is My Diecast Car of the Day™.

Don't know why this is in the Motor Max American Graffiti collection since that movie took place in the early 1960s. But who cares. This is a sweet 1:64 scale diecast car. It looks good.


That expansive front end with the big grille and massive metal bumpers (remember them?) is perfectly captured in this tiny model. The painted roof on this diecast successfully recreates the bizarre vinyl roof treatment that even Rolls Royce didn't offer: the vinyl top is in two pieces, separated by a thick band of the car's sheet metal.


The real 1978 Thunderbird - actually the 1977 through1979 - was Ford Motor's most successful model with sales of over 300,000 cars. And why not? It's a huge, plush, and powerful personal luxury coupe. It shared its platform with the recently deceased Ford Torino.


Motor Max did a fantastic job by cramming so much detail and accuracy into such a small package. This diecast successfully captures the essence of high class 1970s style.

Reminds me, anyone catch "Kotter" last night?

Classic Burt Reynolds Movie of the Day™ - Cannonball Run II

CMT (Country Music Television) aired Cannonball Run II last night. Okay, this movie isn't a classic in the sense that Hooper or Smokey and the Bandit are classics, but it's still a fun movie for Burt Reynolds fans.

First things first, the Cannonball Run II is a bad movie. Really bad. The jokes are corny, the acting is non-existent.

Yet Burt Reynolds and company are having a good time and that translates into fun for the audience.

There are some positive aspects to this movie:

First, the cool cars:
Rolls Royce Silver Spur, Lamborghini Countach, Chrysler Imperial Limo, Mitsubishi Starion, Cadillac Fleetwood 75

Second, the Hot Babes:

Catherine "Daisy Duke" Bach, Marilou "Taxi" Henner, Susan "Looks like Farrah Fawcett" Anton, Anonymous Bikini Clad Babes

Third, the exciting stunt sequences:

Helicopter kidnapping the Silver Spur via a gigantic magnet, Orangutan driving a Cadillac, Jackie Chan kicking around a bunch of bikers, Orangutan beating up Tim Conway and Don Knotts

Fourth, the craziest collection of actors ever captured in one movie:

Richard "Jaws" Kiel and Jackie Chan as partners in the turbo charged Mitsu, Sammy and Dean reprising their roles from the first movie, Burt and Dom de Luise also back from the first movie, Shirley MacLaine and Marilou Henner as phony nuns on the run, and Tony Danza partnered with Mel Tillis and the Orangutan.

Jamie Farr returns as the wonderful politically incorrect character of Sheik Falafal (that's right, Falafal. It's funny.)

Finally, the awesome cameos:

Telly Savalas, Charles Nelson Reilly (as a mobster!), Ricardo Montalban, Tim Conway, Jim Nabors, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors, Doug McClure, Jack Elam, Louis Nye, Foster Brooks, Sid Caesar, Abe Vigoda, Alex Rocco, and the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra.

Cannonball Run II is not as good as the first one but it's a heck of a lot better than Stroker Ace.

WTF? Chinese Company Geely to Buy Volvo from Ford?

This is a shocker. The company that gave us the concept Geely GE - a really well done copy of the Rolls Royce Phantom - is rumoured to be taking Volvo away from Ford Motor.

What a world. The good thing is if Geely decides to really make the Geely GE it would be a heck of a lot safer than most other Chinese cars out there.

First the Indian company Tata bought Jaguar/Land Rover from Ford, then the Chinese buy Hummer from GM, and now the Chinese are (probably) about to be proud Volvo owners.

What is the Chinese word for yuppie? Do the Chinese listen to Nora Jones and James Taylor?

Read about the rumor here:

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/18/report-geely-agrees-to-buy-volvo-ford-silent/

http://www.leftlanenews.com/chinas-geely-to-buy-volvo.html

1970s Memorabilia of the Day™ - Cannonball Run Diecast Rolls Royce from ERTL Toys

Check it out! Burt Reynolds and Jamie Farr in the original Cannonball Run movie.

This is my 1970s Memorabilia of the Day™. It is ERTL's diecast version of the car that Jamie Farr's politically incorrect character of The Sheik drove.

The Rolls Royce Silver Shadow is still in the box. From what I can see of the car through the packaging - I'm keeping it in the box! - the detail is pretty good. The only weird thing is the car's beltline doesn't run straight but curves down as it flows through the rear door and up again over the rear wheel. That's how the two door Corniche is designed, not the foor door saloon.

So, ERTL got a detail of the car wrong. Hey, at least it has the movie's title stamped on its side.

About that movie, anyone remember The Cannonball Run? Quality-wise it falls below Smokey and the Bandit but is way above Stroker Ace.

Long live Dom DeLuise.

Chrysler Imperial Concept Diecast Car by Jada Toys

What might have been had Chrysler not been dumped by the Germans and the US Government wasn’t clamping down on fuel efficiency.

If this concept car had been allowed to go into production Chrysler would have been on the frontlines of a return to the1970s cars Americans were so good at designing.

And imagine, when this concept came out a few years ago, the Germans still owned Chrysler so much of its mechanical engineering would have come from Daimler.


But alas, twas not to be. The Germans split and Chrysler is now owned by FIAT.

This beautiful diecaste Chrysler Imperial Concept model is by Jada Toys and is part of their DUB series.

I have two, a Silver and a Blue one. The attention to detail is phenomenal. The grille, the badges, and the paint job are all outstanding.

This diecast is 1/43 scale and made out of metal not plastic like most modern diecast cars. It costs a few dollars more than a regular Matchbox or Hot Wheels car but it's worth it.

The real Chrysler concept car is money*. Chrysler did a fantastic job. It is derivative of the RR Phantom - right down to the rear suicide doors - but who cares. One should keep in mind that back in the Forties and Fifties American cars had large, hulking bodies with monstrous front ends and suicide doors.


And the Chrysler Imperials during the 1960s were absolutely beautiful. They definitely held their own against Rolls Royce, Cadillac, and Lincoln.

Read the blogpost at Leftlane News for info on the real Chrysler Concept. It would have been one hell of a luxury car.

*Say this word like Food Network's Guy Fieri

Refit USS Enterprise NCC 1701 Diecast by Hot Wheels

Okay, this isn't a car but it is a diecast model from Hot Wheels.

The beautiful USS Enterprise NCC 1701 refit is My Diecast of the Day™.

This version of the famed Constitution-class vehicle has been and always shall be my favorite. To this day, I get goosebumps every time I watch her epic introduction in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The Hot Wheels diecast is pretty well designed and built. Not too big, it's about four to five inches long. The attention to detail is fantastic.

The saucer section (primary hull) is exceptional for such an inexpensive model. Long deep grooves and lines successfully create the illusion of individual panels.


The NCC 1701 and USS Enterprise show up very clearly, even beneath the primary hull, where the font is much smaller than what is printed on top.

The warp nacelles and pylons look great. Cool looking blue plastic runs along the inner sides of the warp nacelles. That same blue plastic is used for the deflector shield. Note the great paint job. Good work, Hot Wheels.


Although the box says its diecast, the bulk of the model is plastic. The secondary hull is where the metal is. The warp nacelles, pylons, and primary hull are plastic.

But the model still looks great. And it comes with a cool stand that allows you to tilt and angle the Enterprise anyway you wish.

The base of the stand is decorated with the Star Trek insignia.

Some fanboys may dislike this model because it's less diecast metal and more plastic.

Hey, nothing is perfect. This Hot Wheels model is a fantastic tribute to a fantastic starship.

For detailed information on Constitution-class starships and on the original (that is before the JJ Abrams alternate timeline version) USS Enterprise, check out this article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki.

1992 Rolls Royce Corniche Diecast from the Franklin Mint

The 1992 Rolls Royce Corniche from the Franklin Mint is My Diecast Car of the Day™ .

What a beauty, eh? This Franklin Mint 1/18th scale diecast car is a copy of a limited edition model - only 25 built - offered by Rolls Royce in celebration of the Corniche's 21st anniversary. It is painted Ming Blue and has a beautiful Magnolia interior.

As American luxury carmakers like Cadillac and Lincoln were forced by Government regulations and wacky environmentalists to downsize body styles, engines, and gas tanks, Rolls Royce continued to build oversized, gas guzzlers with monstrous engines.


The real Corniche was powered by a 6.75 litre V8, a massive hunk of metal and aluminium that was on par with 1970s American engines like Cadillac's 7.7 litre V8.

The real Corniche is over 204 inches in length, stands as tall as a truck, weighs in excess of 5400 hundred pounds, and averages about eight miles to the gallon/city. Just like your typical 1970s American car.

My diecast Corniche is only about 11 inches long, a couple inches wide, and gets zero miles to the gallon.

I love the design of this car, the Corniche. I love its sleek, Coke-bottle shape, the perfectly proportioned grille, the long wheelbase.


The car continued the tradition of over-sized luxo-barge convertibles that the Americans were so good at during the 1970s. But, alas, by the early 1990s, classics like the El Dorado and Lincoln Mark Series were reduced to chintzy, ill-shaped shadows of their former selves.

The classic Corniche body style remained virtually unchanged for almost three decades. The car died out in the mid 1990s and was replaced by the beautiful Bentley Azure (also a monstrous gas guzzling behemoth). In 2000 a Corniche convertible was offered as a limited edition model. It was styled after the Silver Seraph/Arnage saloon.

The Franklin Mint did a stunning job with this diecast. The paint is deep and rich. The interior is full of neat details like the realistic looking burled walnut dash. The switch gear in the dash and center stack also look very real. Beneath the bonnet is a detailed miniature version of the classic 6.75 litre V8.




Franklin Mint, I salute you on this fantastic diecast.

My Diecast Car of the Day™ – 1970s Cadillac Sedan De Ville

My Diecast Car of the Day™ is a true classic American luxury car, the 1970s Cadillac Sedan deVille.

The 1970s were truly the halcyon days of the American motorcar industry. Back then, delirious excess and over-indulgence were the way to go. The cars were huge, long, tacky, overweight, velour trimmed, and vinyl-topped gas guzzling behemoths of the road. The Cadillac or Lincoln hood alone was around six feet long.

Thanks to the oil crisis, environmental propaganda and the U.S. Government, American automakers were forced to make cars smaller, safer, and more fuel efficient, you know, to do things the way foreign companies did things. American car companies should have been allowed to create machines that Americans wanted and let the free market decide.

Take the old school 1970s Cadillac Sedan de Ville. What a machine. Damned thing is something like 225 inches long – a few inches longer than a modern Suburban! Okay, my car is a Matchbox 1/64th diecast replica and it's quite small, but it is to scale, dammit.

My Matchbox 1/64th scale diecast car is pretty nice. It is small, but the attention to detail is awesome. It looks great from every angle. The paint job is top-notch. The grille and bumper treatment is very well done. Even though this is a 1/64th scale car the details would look good on a larger diecast model.

The real Cadillac Sedan de Ville had huge seats and a vast, roomy interior: a pleasure dome of hedonistic excess – miles of grotty plastics and vinyl.

Back in the day American automakers offered just about every option thinkable. Want a Chartreuse colored velour interior with power adjustable armchairs? Got it. Want an AM/FM radio with a state-of the-art Quadraphonic 8 track (the iPod of its day)? It’s yours. How about thick pile Hunter Green shag carpeting? No problem.

All that for around $6000? Not a bad deal.

So, I salute you Cadillac Sedan de Ville. You served you country well. And Matchbox has created a swell 1/64th scale tribute to a fine American classic.

Still Can't Afford A Bentley Arnage? No Problem!

This, um, Bentley Arnage was found on Ebay a while back. I gotta tell ya, the front of this beast looks fine.

The proportions are a bit off but so what? The grille and headlamps look like the real thing.


The side view? Starting to get into weird territory. The door panels scream Lincoln Town Car as does the wide C pillar.

The C pillar, though, really isn't a problem, because there have been Royces and Bentleys (back when both companies were the same and shared platforms) with stretched C pillars.


The tail lamps are sort of okay but the light cluster around the license plate area screams cheap!!

All in all, this would be a fun car to have if you knew people would laugh at you or feel pity for you. This is the Borat of luxury cars, the Bruno of limos.

The only truly bad thing about this Lincoln Arnage is the interior, which is the same as your Grandpa's ride.

Yes, the seats have customized leather but the luxo-atmosphere is ruined by the plethora of fake Bentley emblems stitched into the seatbacks and plastered onto the dashboard!!

Verdict? I'd take it. I mean, this is no Geely GE but it'll do.

WTF? Geely GE The Chinese Rolls Royce

Heh Heh, look familiar? Gotta say this about the Chinese auto industry, they got some balls!

In the past they fell into some hot legal water over copying Mercedes and BMW vehicles. In fact, BMW had sued to prevent the Chinese designed Shuanghuang CEO SUV from being sold in Europe because BMW felt it was a copy of their X5 SUV.

Well, a car company going after one of the largest communist countries on Earth in court does seem like a futile exercise. Seriously, think the Chinese government would be scared? Nah. What could BMW do to them?

Well, the Chinese are at it again with the wonderful Geely GE. Will they once again get away with blatantly plagiarizing a beloved and much recognized symbol of the automotive world?

Rolls Royce Phantom, meet your Chinese clone, the Geely GE. The proportions of the two cars are practically the same. Notice the Geely's profile...the length of the hood, the shape of the doors, the smallish trunk. And how can you miss that big ass grille with the winged mascot.

Okay, in Geely's defense, there are some differences. The Geely GE doesn't have suicide doors, and, um, let me think, oh yeah, the Geely GE only has one rear passenger seat.

Yup, one rear passenger seat. Makes you think of Bertolucci's The Last Emperor. Or Al Bundy's dream throne.

But you know, I'm so very broke and desperate that if I could, I'd buy this Geely son-of-a-bitch. I love Rolls Royce motorcars, even took an old Bentley Eight out for a spin once.

The only ones I can afford to purchase are the models from Franklin Mint, Matchbox, Maisto, etc.

For example, this is my beloved 1/24th scale Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I from the Franklin Mint. Beautiful. Handcrafted. But I can't drive it. Believe me, I've tried.

Such is the comedy called life that I can't afford to purchase and maintain a real Royce, let alone a pre-owned model, but can fill up an imaginary garage with 1/24, 1/18, and 1/42 scale replicas. Therefore I'll have to take the Geely GE.

I could love the Geely GE like a Royce. We could make the relationship work, the Geely and I.

Just think of the Geely GE as being a Franklin Mint replica of a Phantom that one could really drive.