Ok. I lied. THIS is the last buy!

I got a nice price on these two Rubber-Tires-cars so I couldn´t resist.

Finally I got Lightning with Rubber Tires. I´ve looked for him all over the internet, or at least on the swedish sites, but to this day, the price have been way too high.
Now I´m only two more cars away from COMPLETION. Ohh! That almost gave me a somewhat religious feeling.

It surely is strange, this hobby of mine...

Happy New Year to You All - car collectors all over the world!

This years last treasures!

This was not only this years last buy, this was also the best buy!

I got The Dinoco "Piston Cup Nights Crew Pack" for only 137 swedish crowns (with shipping) - that is something like 20 dollar. In Sweden, that is a very very low price for a pack of four cars.

I´m so happy! Or... Satisfied at least.

So, now there´s only three Team Chiefs left but a whole 14 Pittys. After the late release of all the three Nitroade-pittys, there´s 28 pitty all together (and then I´m not counting Guido, just good ole´ plain racing-pittys).
So, in the words of the grand poet Bon Jovi - "I´m haaaaaalfway there!"

Another loot of the month came along with the mail today:

I have made a limit of 16 dollar per car in the Cars 2 Rubber Tires-series, and this was just under that.

A look at the collection this last week of 2011:

Yes. I have moved in to a second cabinet...

And there´s more. 2012 could be a tricky year, more temptations lure in the cars-world near Stockholm. At the very near to my office there is now a flourist shop that are selling cars. Yes - flowers and cars.
That is not very common here. As a matter of fact - it is the first store outside the toy stores I´ve heard of that will sell cars. And I´ve already spotted some nice things from the first Cars-movie: Team No Stall - Racer, pitty and Chief.
I gotta get that one!

And maybe some flowers for my wife...

It´s a win-win!

Another brick in the wall

I´m counting down here! Now it´s only four cars left in the Rubber Tire line - THEN I GOT THEM ALL! Mooooahahaha... eh...
Sorry. Got a little carried away there.
But look here, my latest brick in the wall (of diecast-cars in my garage):

K-mart decided to release Lightning, King and Chick Hicks, 3 of the remaining 4 cars not yet released in rubber tires.
The last one, Apple iCar, will probably never (?) be released, Apple wants them to be exclusive I guess and are quite happy knowing that there will be only 1000 real Apple iCars out there.

So. I´m even closer to my goal: To collect all Rubber Tires Piston Cup Race Cars.

But at the same time even farther away from another goal because K-mart also released Francesco Bernoulli, Nigel Gearsley and Shu Todoroki with Rubber Tires.
I guess all of the new Race Cars in Cars 2 will come... So much for my first Cars 2- Race Car Francesco... Of course I´ll have to get all of them in the really exclusive Rubber Tire-series as well...


But one thing is for sure: I´m almost hitting 100! Chick was my 96:th car. This will evenutally call for some kind of celebrating.
And this friday or saturday, me and my oldest son (3,5 years) are going to the movies to finally see the new Cars 2!
He is so thrilled.

Me... I´m indifferent. Totally.

The madness continues - and I´m in trouble

Look how sweet the new little shiny box is!
The Professor Z with a charming small fellow called Ape - in a nice displaybox.

Now I´ve got seven new Cars 2-cars: Lightning, Fransesco, Acer, Tomber and Finn.
But I do not have the space.
Let´s take a trip in an ordinary suburb garage.

Among lots of toilet paper, beers, old books and tools there´s a brown cabinet - actually it is two of them, but it´s the one to the left that we are interested in.

Yes, that´s the one. It looks like there is some light comming out from that small space in between the doors...

A-HA! Nitroade Hauler, 11 pittys, 7 chiefs and 4 Ramones!

And there it is - the pride and joy of my life! Or... pride and joy of my garage at least.
Well hidden from both of my young sons. They have never even asked about the cabinet.

Seen from a bit higher ground, so that you´re looking down a little, the lights works better. But I can´t risk that my sons are in chance of reaching the doors so that´s why I´ve put it up so high.
But that´s the least of my problems.

I have run out of space. Totally. And since I´ve made the discision not to open the cars from Cars 2, it´s even more crowded!

Look how I have to stuff Finn and Tomber away! That is definitely not the proper way to handle a british agent.

Looks like I have to start using the other cabinet, the one to the right, se the first picture of the garage again.
But then I´ll have to keep THAT a secret from my wife. That will not work.

Hmmmm. The 10 000 dollar question then - how to store and yet display - without showing it to the wrong persons?

While we wait...

In the US Cars 2 will have premiere in june 18 but here in Sweden we´ll have to wait all through the summer - the highly anticipated film isn´t going to reach movie theaters here until august 5.

But let´s not waist the time being angry, sad or bored - let´s collect the new cars!

Here´s a brief schedule over the new (and old) caracters that are released as Die Cast so far:

Yes, that´s my collection so far.

Rubber Tires - almost there!

As you can see in the right column down below, I have almost been able to collect all the Piston Cup Racers that has been released in the Rubber Tires-series.
Only two left - Easy Idle and Lil´Torquey.

From the original 36 Piston Cup Racers, 32 comes with Rubber Tires - as for now.

This summer, on the K-Mart Day Event, taking place on june 25th in the States - three of the four remaining cars will be released with Rubber Tires.
And for those of you who follows these kind of weird stuff on the internet, you won´t be in schock - the cars will be:
Lightning
Chick
The King

Now, the only car that remains is Apple iCar. There is something about Apple and trademark/licence-money-advertiment-hollabalooo that keeps new Apple Cars impossible for now.

Peronally, I think that Apple is quite happy with the fact that only 1000 Apple iCars exist. It makes the cars exclusive, hard to find and expensive. It gives the cars an aura of legendary status - and I think Steve Jobs doesn´t mind.

Makes me wonder... How many Cars has Steve in his collection? All of them? Only one - The number 84 and that´s it?
But he most certainly must have the Elvis Truck? Or Todd The Pizza Truck?
Wow, the question is bigger than I first thought. Steve! Please post an answer down below!

Sweden - the new Switzerland?

Sweden and Switzerland are two different countries. Yes. It is true. I live in Sweden. You´ll have to take my word for it. I´m not made of chocolate and cheese and have 23 million Swiss Francs secretly hidden away in some fancy bank in Zürich.
Unfortenately.
The last thing, I mean.

Because regardless from where in Europe you live, collecting Cars is a quite expensive hobby. Over here we have to pay about 120 kronor, that´s almost 19 US-dollar, for a single car.

When I read about sales on K-Mart where Lightning McQueens are thrown away for US$ 2,99 I almost concider emigration.

In Europe Switzerland is also known for being an expensive country. If you´ve been on a vacation to the Alps, and people ask you in which country you´ve been... well if the answer is Switzerland people know that you are well off.

But with the latest diecast Cars-prices running so damn high... I don´t know anymore. After more than 50 years of socialist-party-gowernment, we have now experienced right wing governance for two elections in a row. People have more money in shares per person than people in the US.

Mayby Sweden has become the new Switzerland?

But there are ways to go cheaper even here in Switz... I mean Sweden. We have our own version of E-bay: Tradera.

People are surprisingly early with the latest goods from US. I have been able to bid on new Cars 2-items for weeks (and I´ve bougth some too:)




The cheapest car I got from bidding on this site is Guido, I got him for about US$ 5 plus US$2 for shipping. So in the end, it´s almost twice the money you lucky bastards have to spend on a sale in America.

I have serious plans on a trip overseas just to get some cars. Just imagine travelling from Sweden with a large old fashioned suitecase.
Totally empty.