Whenever you visit this blog, you must know you are entering the Lamley universe. And when you are in the Lamley universe, you know that something JDM-related, if not right in front of you, is lurking ready to pounce. We love Japanese cars.
In the Hot Wheels world, we are in Batch K. Oh, poor batch K. You are a decent batch, but what batch can follow one that debuted two new JDM castings (Toyotii 2000GT and Supra), made one of those debut models a Super TH, and threw in a black R34 just for the heck of it? None, really. And even if you have the ’87 Toyota in your cases.
So moving back to the Lamley universe, poor K had to be the batch to follow one of our favorite batches. And on the Super TH front, a nice looking Ford Ranchero can’t even come close to a Toyota 2000GT in any deco.
So to be fair to the Ranchero, we won’t compare it to the Toyota. And we won’t mention how much it looks at first glance like the Riviera Super. We will take this model at face value and enjoy it for what it is…
Nice.
Yes, it is nice. Ford’s answer to the El Camino has the good looks of the Gran Torino’s grill going for it, but the body doesn’t back up the face. But it is nice. The purple works, as do the wheels, so that makes it nice. The Super sports a metal base, the basic a plastic base, which is nice. The Super strangely sports small rear wheels, while the reg doesn’t, but the Super sits nice and low, so it has that going for it, which is nice.
Ultimately we are glad we have this model, and it further emphasizes Hot Wheels’ commitment to making good-looking Supers. Which is nice.
(Find the Ranchero and the rest of Batch K at Wheel Collectors or on ebay
…)
Hot Wheels ’72 Ford Ranchero (2013 Super Treasure Hunt and basic):
Very nice model, I can see this as being a basis for a nice XB falcon ute custom
The Ranchero, one of my favorite muscle cars. That TH is gorgeous.
I just might have to look for this.
I know you love JDM. But overall I think we can all agree it's been a good year for good looking supers
Niksoh2
My first car was a 73 Ranchero, and I think the 72 GT is the best looking one they built. But this casting…sigh. I hate the scale (sit it next to the 72 Torino and whoops, who shrunk the car?). I hate the slammed stance (to each his own, I know). The mainline almost has a bit of a rake here, which helps. It's just such a meaty car and such an anemic casting. But yeah, the super is pretty.
If I'll find it and buy, I remove the tampo. It looks like cheap sportswear design from 1980's…
Dominik
Correct me if I'm wrong, but since there's no “basic” treasure hunts anymore, wouldn't the “super” treasure hunts just be called “treasure hunts” again?
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Naturally as a Ranchero fan, this is one of my favorite castings. The “superized” release has small wheels in the back (and thus all the way around) because the designer(s) made a mistake when they designed the casting; the rear wheel wells will not accommodate the larger RealRider wheels because of their width, unless they used the narrow large 5-spoke wheels, of which they did not here.
I am a bit late to this original post, however I feel that I need to clarify the timeline for some. The Ranchero/ elcamino who copied who is been misrepresented. Ford was first with the sport utility car/truck. GM did not enter this model niche untill 1959. Where ford was introducing it in 1957. Afull 3 years before any competition. And in the 1920’s and 30’s in usa and Australia to a degree.