A Tale of Two: Hot Wheels Ford Econoline & Matchbox Dodge A100 Pickups

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Alright Hot Wheels, you got me.  You finally got me to buy a Pop Culture model.  But it isn’t fair, really.  There is not way I could pass up on the first release of the Ford Econoline Pickup.

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Sure, I dig Boba Fett.  His death in that hole monster still stings.  But digging Boba Fett as a 9-year-old doesn’t necessarily mean I want him on the debut of such a cool model.  But you forced my hand.  At least its Boba Fett.

So Boba aside, let’s look at this model.  Wow.  It’s a beauty.  At least being in Pop Culture means we can see it in full deco with Real Riders.  The steelies work perfectly.  The stance works perfectly too.  Oh, and cool skateboard.

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And you can’t help but think of the Dodge A100 Pickup when looking at the Econoline.  I am sure there are a million differences between the two, but I need the headlights to tell.  I will admit to several instances of confusion between the two when casually passing by an Econoline.  Or A100.  So, it is nice to have both pickups courtesy of both Mattel brands.

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And not only do they give us the obvious differences, the models serve once again as a great contrast between the blue and orange brands.  Matchbox?  Stock, high, and classic.  Hot Wheels?  Modified, low, and modern.  And they work perfectly together.

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We have seen quite a few releases of the A100 from Matchbox, and hopefully we see more.  The same goes for the Econoline.  I would love to see several releases in the coming years, let’s just hope it can expand its horizons, especially towards Car Culture.  I see a potential mail-in and convention model as well.  Let’s hope it isn’t just relegated to Pop Culture.

I’ll still buy it.

7 Replies to “A Tale of Two: Hot Wheels Ford Econoline & Matchbox Dodge A100 Pickups”

  1. Awesome Star war’s 1960’s ford Econoline pickup truck you found congrats thumbs up. I’m on the hunt for this one thumbs up. And I would like to see more of these in the future also thumbs up.

  2. Love the Econoline pickup. Didn’t realize it is a new release. Or is it more like a warm up fr the HiPo Hauler that Gas Monkey built for Hot Wheels? Hot Wheels did post it on their Instagram feed recently.

  3. I’ll be happy as long as this casting doesn’t remain a Pop Culture casting darling.

    While at it, let’s get a few others in that line some “normal” treatment, eh?

  4. The Econoline will be made as another Gas Monkey Garage car that I think will be an RLC Exclusive. As far as this first release absolutely on the hunt for it to put next to that beautiful A100

  5. Jimmy said at the Pittsburgh convention that the Econoline will debut in pop culture but quickly move to car culture in the near future.

  6. I won’t be persuaded to buy the Econoline in this form, but I’m really hoping for a Car Culture release. There are SO many models that are stuck in the Pop Culture lineups that would absolutely KILL if they weren’t plastered with silly decos. I’d love to see a clean example of any of the panel wagons (Impala, Nova, etc), for example. I’m guessing this isn’t destined for the mainline at any point, and I’m okay with that, as long as it gets some decent mileage with a realistic deco, whether it’s in Car Culture or elsewhere.

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