The Munchkin has decided the Hiway 35 video meets her standard of "cool" and has fitted it into her current stack of favorites. I haven't told her yet there's supposed to be three more coming. I want to see if they get released first. In fact, I hadn't planned to get this first one until I saw it on clearance for half price. Even that, I took to be a bad sign for the future of this program. I've seen too many, over the years, sputter out before completion.

The first I remember was the original Pro Circuit program in the early nineties. a number of vehicles based on real race cars was announced, that would be available for a bit more than the regular line. This was one of Mattel's early experiments with an up-market line, featuring two part wheels and more elaborate tampos. A lot of good things came out of that series including two of the best looking wheel sets in the Hot Wheels repertoire. But not all the cars we were promised got made. Lack of sales was the reason cited for ending this program early. I understand some of those last cars exist in prototype.

More recently in Mattel's upscale lines we have seen a tendency to not complete programs if they run into sales trouble. We have seen cancellations in Milestones and Editor's Choice, leaving collectors high and dry with unfinished sets. Even on Mattel's other diecast side we see the Matchbox Across America series petering out leaving collectors scrabbling to find those last models where ever they may have trickled out. and now I see the hall of Fames starting to gather dust, and also the Hiway 35s, and I can't help suspecting that cancellation notices for these are in the cards.

In some respects you have to feel sorry for the designers who plan and execute these programs because they have to guess what castings are going to be in demand and avoid the ones that will hang. Who would have thought a 63 Corvette in Edelbrock war paint would be a pegwarmer? Yet I can find literally dozens at the stores in my area. The artistry in these is no less than what goes into Treasure Hunts, and they are not made in as great a number as Treasure Hunts. Yet people will pay twice the equivalent of these car's retail price on Ebay for Treasure Hunts that often don't look as good as these.

Part of the problem is the market determining the real value of some of these programs. Hiway 35s were released at $2.50 to $3.00 and, for the most part, haven't sold. In fact, these sold best only when collectors were bribed with a VW Drag bus to make them more palatable. The Hiway 35s were supposed to showcase Mattel's new graphics process and new wheels. But for the most part, the series is made up of fantasy castings that traditionally aren't as popular with collectors. The resulting lack of interest, and concurring lack of sales, is forcing these cars into the clearance aisles. I understand the third wave of these cars has just been released. I've never seen any beyond the first. If all the cars are going to be released across the country, and the accompanying videos as well, it needs to happen soon before the stores stop accepting them.

Which brings me to my gist today. How about, instead of releasing just the first seven cars in release one of Hiway 35, Mattel had released all thirty five cars, but in one fifth the total planned release. Then Mattel could look and see which models sold and which did not, and they could order more accordingly. That way, the collector who wanted all the cars in the set would know it would be possible to get all the cars in the series, and the collector who only wanted a few could get the ones he wanted, and the retailer wouldn't be stuck with a whole bunch of cars he couldn't sell. And Mattel, the manufacturer could see what is in demand and what is not, and replenish accordingly.

I can see this being carried over to the mainline. Imagine getting all the first editions in January, all the first six five car sets in February, and all the other six sets in March. Then from April through august all the upscale and high end sets during what is traditionally the slow collecting time, and close out the Fall with the Treasure Hunts and Final Runs. I'm sure there are all kinds of practical reasons why this can't be done, manufacturing procedures and such. Still, it's a happy thought to amuse myself while wading through all those stale pegs and looking for the next video.