Sometimes it is nice to go meat and potatoes. Last night I did. I met a friend for dinner, and as I looked at the menu, two items stood out. The steak. And the baked potato. I’ve gotten the “if you had one last meal, what would it be” question, and while my answer changes a lot, it never involved a steak and potato. But tonight it did. I ordered a steak and potato. And it was marvelous. It was as simple as a meal can be. Full-on basic. I may not do it again for awhile, but I loved it this one time.
Matchbox just went meat and potatoes themselves, and it is equally marvelous. As 2017 draws to a close, one of the last new models in the Matchbox lineup will be the ’16 Chevy Camaro. It is just a Camaro. No frills at all. Maybe you can argue the lack of a roof is a frill, but not much more than that. And it is a Camaro, maybe the most commonly replicated American car, next to the Mustang. It isn’t a stock version of a more obscure car (VW Golf Country), or a unique take on a more well-known car (Datsun 510 Rally). It is a stock Camaro. And it is great.
Awhile ago I did a feature on the latest Camaro from Hot Wheels, and mentioned it would be nice to see a couple go without the large rear wheels. I wouldn’t call it a big complaint, but something that I think would be nice to see. You know where I am going with this. I hate doing the “this one is great, the other sucks” comparison, so know that both are nice. But for a collector like me who likes realism, the Matchbox wins this one.
Then add perfectly executed front and rear tampos (the Thailand factory does an amazing job – that is one of the reasons HW Car Culture moved there) and you have Matchbox’s steak and potatoes. And it is delicious.
Look for it in 2017 Batch M, due this fall.
I cant wait for this model
must have.
This looks great…Nice that they did the convertible version to differentiate from Hot Wheels. Also, license plate tampos are one of my favorite little details and I’m always happy when they do them
Hotwheels did the race car, Matchbox did the rental car….. joking aside, it looks good!
Nice one Camaro matchbox… I am glad that matchbox make the way the rear wheels is same size with the front wheels… Balancing and the tampo is very nice…
Proportions, paint, tampo placement, wheels everything is spot on! Great job Matchbox.
Btw, why did you not compare it to Hot Wheels ’16 Camaro SS coupe?
When Gerry announced this last year at the Gathering, I was happy that we had another licensed vehicle in the lineup, but it was not even close to a contender for the top three best of 2017- now it is! The proportions are spot on (as said before), the detailling is crisp, the windshield is not too thick.. everything looks really good. Hat’s off to the Matchbox team. Someone joked about a rental car- This totally could be, right alongside the Chrysler 300- and that is what makes this and the Chrysler 300 so perfect, and how I believe the Matchbox line should try to be in the future. Just my thoughts.
Haven’t commented in a while but this really caught my attention. Everyone has said what is pointless for me to repeat. I will say this with full confidence, Matchbox is back bigtime. It’s time to recolor the 300 though! The models this year and last have been awesome! I can’t wait to see updates from the gathering. It’s on my bucket list to make it there but will most likely never happen. Way to MBX!
John, the Chrysler 300 is being recolored in white in the 2017 J case, releasing this week. It looks really good.