First Look: Hot Wheels 2012 Volkswagen Beetle…

Ok, here we go…

I have no idea how I am going to do this, but at least the attempt will be fun.  It is Thursday night, and I am packed and ready to leave early tomorrow for Albuquerque.  There I have a ton to do, including a lot of fun to have, and some posts to put up here.

In another universe, it is Thursday night, and I just got a very nice group of Hot Wheels to show to those who come to the Lamley Blog to see new stuff.

Let’s see if I can juggle all of this over the next few days.

And we start with a very good-looking Hot Wheels model.  There has been chatter around about Batch P hitting, and my friends at Wheel Collectors are no exception.  Most of the talk has been of unhappy birds and fictitious human/canine crime solvers.  And we will get to that as well, but in due time.

But first, we must remember that this blog is dedicated to diecast cars, and by “cars” I mean cool autos we see on the streets, in photos, on the web, in our garages, and in magazines.  Some call them “cool cars”, and I am one of them.  So let’s get to a cool car.

And this is one that I have to admit has caught me by surprise.  When I saw the list of HW New Models for 2012, I kind of brushed by the new Beetle.  I new there was a new Beetle out, but had not paid that much attention to it.  So I didn’t pay much attention to the fact that Hot Wheels was doing one.

But I started seeing the new Beetles on the street, and really started liking them, especially those with the cool retro dog-dish hubs:

Yeah, the new Beetle is cool.  Really cool.  And so is the Hot Wheels version.  Really cool.

Either VW was strict about how HW was going to debut the model, or HW got a bad case of “pre-2012 Matchbox-itis”in the morning coffee.  Front and rear detail?  Roof detail?  Side mirrors?  Perfect proportions?  What happened?  It is like Jun Imai’s kenmeri Skyline last year.  Sometimes they just push the realism card forward for a minute and see what happens.  And like the Skyline last year, the results on the Beetle are stunning.

As HW New Models come out, I give a quick thought as to where it might fit if I did a Top 10 at the end of the year.  (Maybe we should do that!)  This Beetle might get some consideration for New Model of the Year.  Dare I give it to a model of a car I don’t care that much about?  I might.

Hot Wheels 2012 Volkswagen Beetle (2012 New Models):

As always, you can pick this up along with all the other models from Batch P at Wheel Collectors, and everything is 10% off if you mention the Lamley Group…

Find the 2012 Beetle for sale…