Since the 50's and 60's, Chevy and Ford have been locked in a

battle of "one-upmanship" when it comes to automobiles.

It really started with the Corvette vs. the Thunderbird. And we 

all know that the two cars have taken hugely different paths in

their lives. That rivalry carried on into the 60's, when Ford needed

something to go up against the new Chevy Corvair. And a new

American icon was born. The Mustang. Let's take a look at how 

Mattel and Playing Mantis have handled the task of bringing this

legend to the small scale.

Now, folks, I must admit, I had a very hard time deciding which of these

cars does a better job at capturing the original look of the first true Pony car.

Both versions are identical in length, with the Hot Wheels version being

slightly wider and heavier than the Johnny Lightning offering. The only real 

differences are in the details. 

As the two pictures above show, both cars capture the lines of this classic

very well. The Hot Wheels car has a slightly longer than needed hood,

but it does make opening the hood easier. The Johnny Lightning does

a better job at capturing the bumper as a separate piece, although it

is cast into the body,  rather than casting it as part of the chassis.

And as is the way with most Johnny Lightning cars, the front, side, 

and rear details are spot on. Both cars feature plastic tires on good looking

rims. 

The Hot Wheels version doesn't have the extra painted details, but one

wouldn't expect that from a 99 cent car.

One small gripe that I did have about the Johnny Lightning car is the hood

itself. It just doesn't close properly. Now we all know that Mattel isn't immune

to manufacturing defects, but of the 9 Hot Wheels Mustangs I own, only one

hood hits the cowl, while all 4 of the Johnny Lightning versions do. Here's 

what I mean:

That gap and twist on the hood, as well as the paint loss on the rearward

end of the hood just bugs me to no end. When first opened, you lose a 

little paint. Then you have to "play" with the hood to close it again. I 

do understand that mass producing toy cars will yield some errors, but one

does expect a little better quality in a $3.00 car.

As you may have guessed, both cars feature opening hoods. A very nice detail

from both manufacturers. The Hot Wheels version has a generic motor cast 

into the body structure, and painted to match the body. I would have preferred to 

see a silver motor, in for nothing else than contrast. The Johnny Lightning also

has a motor cast into the body structure, and looks more like a real motor,

and it is painted in flat black. Hard to make out details, but a nice touch.

Both cars have rather mundane interiors, and oddly enough, they look very 

similar. Each features bucket seat, a stick shift, and a nice convertible boot.

All in all, two very good cars, for their respective markets. 

Using the same scale that I've used for other comparisons, this is what my

opinion of both cars is:

 

Mustangs	Paint	Details	Body Contours	Quality	Value	Overall
Hot Wheels Mustang	4	4	4	4	5	4.00
Johnny Lightning Mustang	4	5	5	3	3	4.00

 

Ok, we have a draw. Like I said, both cars are very well done, and the

typical Johnny Lightning attention to detail makes it a good deal

for it's market. And the Hot Wheels version does an equally good job at 

capturing this classic, while keeping the price very low.