June 23, 2000: A lot has been happening in the Japanese Hot Wheels. First, there are now Treasure Hunts available. However, they are on USA cards, and they have a sticker on the back for the Japanese market. Have been able to find twenty five (25) new cars since the last update, with two (2) of them being Treasure Hunts. Here is a list of what was found: 1970 DODGE CHARGER DAYTONA (now in blue), '36 CORD (now in silver --> TREASURE HUNT <---), '59 ELDORADO, '63 T-BIRD, ANGLIA PANEL TRUCK, BMW M ROADSTER (now in red), FERRARI 333 SP, FERRARI 365 GTB/4, FERRARI F40, FLAME STOPPER, HOT WHEELS 500 (now in blue), HYDROPLANE (now in black), LAKESTER (now in white), LEXUS SC400 (now in yellow), MERCEDES 500SL, MERCEDES C-CLASS (now in red), OLDS 442 (now in green), OLDS AURORA (now in yellow), PROPPER CHOPPER (now in red), RAIL RODDER (now in black), SALTFLAT RACER, SLIDEOUT (now in black), SWEET 16 II (now in red ---> Treasure Hunt <---), THOMASSIMA 3, and TRACTOR. And finally, have become a member of ListBot. So join in for e-mail updates, can be found in the LINKS page. And on occasion, will be asking for your assistance for a variations list and other information.
March 30, 2000: After about 2 months without an update, here it is. And is it a good one. First off, there WILL be Japanese backed Hot Wheels for the year 2000. There are at least twenty cars released so far and have been included in this update. Have added another nineteen new cars from 1999 to the price guide and updated the prices as well. The new cars from 1999 are: 360 MODENA FERRARI (name change on card), AT-A-TUDE (now in green), CAT-A-PULT (now in orange), CHRYSLER THUNDERBOLT (now in blue), FERRARI 456M, FIREBIRD, FUNNY CAR (now n flourescent yellow), JAGUAR XJ220 (now in gold), LAKESTER, MERCEDES CLK-LM, MINI TRUCK (without graphics), RAMP TRUCK, RESCUE RANGER, RIG WRECKER (now in yellow), SCHOOL BUS (now in black), SOL-AIRE CX4 (now in white), Super Modified (now in light blue), THUNDERSTREAK, and XT-3 (now in orange). Starting with this update, will now be averaging the last twenty "sale" prices I find. Currently, all "sale" prices were being averaged. And finally, OPENHERE.COM has added my site into their search engine. Go to the LINKS page to visit their site.
January 11, 2000: Finally getting to do a partial update. Have added twelve new cars to the price guide, however, there are more to come. The new cars are: GO KART (now in orange), '56 FORD TRUCK, DODGE CONCEPT CAR (one in white the other in silver), PIKES PEAK CELICA (now in white), PORSCHE 911 GT1-98, '57 CHEVY (now in red), BABY BOOMER, '70 Roadrunner (now in yellow), BLOWN CAMARO, '37 BUGATTI, and finally '63 CORVETTE (now in silver). Now for an unpleasant "rumor". Have heard that 1999 will be the only year for Japanese back Hot Wheels. Have not been able to confirm or deny this. Right now, guessing this is true as the US has seen a lot of the first nine 2000 First Editions, and so far none have surfaced on Japanese card backs.
December 8, 1999: Found three cars since the last update. They are: 40'S FORD TRUCK (now in yellow), FORD ESCORT RALLY, and SPLITTIN' IMAGE II. Also, the first 9 First Editions for 2000 have been announced, with five already being found in the USA. Wonder how much longer before they are spotted on Japanese cards?
November 2, 1999: Found another two cars since the last update. They are: POWER PIPES and SWEET 16 II (in dark purple w/ Dr. Vamp).
November 1, 1999: Found two more cars since the last update. They are: FORD GT-90 (in black and red) and RADAR RANGER (in teal). And finally have my want list up and running, although it is very short hope to be adding more cars in the future. Next project will be getting the web page done for items I have to trade.
October 25, 1999: Found seven new cars over the weekend. This has been a very good month, 28 new cars so far this month. They are: 1970 CHEVELLE SS in gold (card has 1970 CHEVELLE SS vs. '70 CHEVELLE), '31 DOOZIE, DODGE SIDWINDER, MUSTANG COBRA (now in white), PHAETON, POPCYCLE, SHADOW MK IIa.
October 11, 1999: Found two more new cars over the weekend, looks like things are finally picking up. They are: CHRYSLER PRONTO and SCREAMIN' HAULER.
October 8, 1999: Another great day! Found six more new cars, that's eighteen in the last two days. They are: CALLAWAY C7 in green, PORSCHE 928, ROAD ROCKET in red & black, TURBO FLAME, TWANG THANG, and X-PLODER. Still looking for the remaining cars from the FIRST EDITION series, as most if not all, have been releaased in the USA.
October 7, 1999: What a difference a few days make. Found twelve, yes twelve, new cars. They are: '65 MUSTANG, '80's CORVETTE in Gold, CHEVY NOMAD, FERRARI F50, FIREBIRD FUNNY CAR from Mega Graphics Series, MAZDA MX-5 MIATA, PANOZ GTR-1 in green, PIKES PEAK TACOMA, PORSCHE 959, PORSCHE CARRERA in silver, RAIL RODDER, and finally VW BUG. Is this the beginning of more to come?
October 5, 1999: Well nothing much new to report. Has been very slow with new releases. Only new one found is the FIAT 500c. As a side note, am working on a complete variation list (body color, wheel type, base, and card). If you would like to answer some questions about the cars in your collection please e-mail me.
September 2, 1999: New releases have slowed down after mid August as only one new car has been found. It is the OLDS AURORA GTS-1 now in red. Need to make a correction: as mentioned from the August 12 news, the EXPRESS LANE is the same color as the US version. It is not a JAPAN exclusive.
August 16, 1999: Looks like this might be another interesting week as four new cars have been spotted. They are: FERRARI 355, HUMVEE, MONTE CARLO CONCEPT CAR now in metallic red, and MUSTANG MACH 1 now in blue
August 13, 1999: This has been a busy week as three new cars have been spotted, that's nine new cars just this week!!! They are: CORVETTE STINGRAY, DODGE RAM 1500, and SPEED MACHINE is now Black with flames. Wonder what next week will have for us???
August 12, 1999: Three new cars have been spotted. They are: 70 CHEVELLE is now in Gold, PORSCHE 996 is in dark blue, and TEE'D OFF is now Blue with white interior. Also, the new EXPRESS LANE is in Orange, another Japan exclusive.
August 11, 1999: Three new cars have been spotted. They are: 40's WOODIE from Surn 'n Fun Series, EXPRESS LANE (Auction stated Orange color, however US version is Pink), and Jeepster from 1999 First Editions.
August 2, 1999: Another new card front has been spotted. This times it's the Old Aurora GTS-1. The 1st release (of the silver version) has '99 Olds Aurora, while the new release has Olds Aurora GTS-1. Have yet to see if the card for the white version has changed. Who knows, maybe the white version will be the rare one? Also two new cars have also been spotted, a red AUBURN 852, and a black TAIL DRAGGER. Have completed a comparison list of what has been released in the US in 1998 and 1999 (to date) and whether it has been released in Japan.
July 21, 1999: A new car has been spotted. The HYDROPLANE can now be found in a gray color.
July 7, 1999: Twenty (20) new cars have been added to the Price Guide. Bringing the total number of cars to 132.
July 6, 1999: The new back cards are still being found. The '70 Chevelle is now the latest. The new card has 1970 Chevelle SS, whereas the old card has '70 Chevelle.
June 30, 1999: Another new back card has been spotted. This time it is the Twin Mill car from the Game Over Series. The new card has Twin Mill II as the name. The picture on the left is the new card while the picture on the right is the old card. Can not confirm, at this time, if the other Twin Mill card has changed. Check back later to see.
June 29, 1999: The Barracuda from the Ocean Blaster 5-Pack now has a new card. Notice the back is also different. How much longer will it be before we start seeing "OLD" back and "NEW" back on the other cars? Only time will tell.
June 29, 1999: The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup can now be found with a BLACK wing (original is YELLOW). However, the BLACK wing version is called Porsche 996.