Going Old School: The New Target-Exclusive Retro Series

Old is in.

This is the Retro series that has just landed at Target stores throughout the nation. A set of 8 cars, designed with nostalgia in mind, and wrapped in a pretty neat package. Take a look:

That card art alone will have many collectors in awe. I agree, they are nice, definitely better than the what you see on the mainlines. There's one problem though: I don't collect cardboard. I'm all in it for the cars.

Out of the set of 8, five are licensed castings. Those are the five that I picked up. A purple Toyota truck, a white VW, a grey Olds, a pink El Camino, and a bright green Plymouth funny car. They're priced at $1.29 apiece, which is about 30 cents more than a mainline. I'm fairly certain no one will be scoffing at the price hike because collectors are all about nostalgia and exclusive releases. These don't have special wheels or special paint, but what they do have is your attention. Let's take a good look at each of them individually!

First up is the '87 Toyota Pickup. I assumed this one would be the most popular release in the series. I mean, when has a Japanese model not been popular recently? Well, I was wrong. At my local Target, this one was quite plentiful; it was the Volkswagen SP2 and the Hurst Olds that were scarce. Nonetheless, I'm sure this one is high on the want list for many folks. Deep purple paint, half-flames-half-tribal deco, lime green windows, and monster truck wheels.

Then there's this Plymouth Arrow funny car. A casting that has virtually no detail, yet it's my favorite of the bunch. Its greatest flaw is also its greatest asset. This one, of all the models in the set, actually screams old school, with its simple casting, metal base on metal body composition, and retro-style flames. Plus, like all proper funny cars, you can lift up the body to reveal the undercarriage. Fantastic, fantastic model, and one that I'll be gawking at quite often from now on.

How about this '84 Hurst Oldsmobile? At first, I thought it was a Monte Carlo until I read the label on the packaging. I really don't know the difference between the two, but that didn't stop me from picking this up. I love both of them anyway. I also love the color combo on this one, and it feels appropriately retro. It's the kind of model that Hot Wheels saves for its premium lines, such as the Cool Classics from yesteryear. Luckily, you can pick it up at your local Target right now!

A pink El Camino. Anything pink already has my attention and is an instant grab, provided it's a casting of a real car. And it is, a great one at that. This Elky is part of a long line of variations of that Hot Wheels has produced for this model, the difference being what's sitting in the back. Sometimes, we get a flat truck bed. Other times, we get one of various types of engines. I've even got one sitting on my desk with a giant spoiler plopped on the back. On this one, we get an exposed engine with old school air intake stacks, and I'm a fan of it. I'm also a fan of the orange flames running through the bodywork. This is what retro should look like.

Lastly, we have the Volkswagen SP2. While I'm sure this one will be popular amongst pretty much everybody, to me, it's the misfit of the entire series. It has no retro feel whatsoever. Racing liveries look good on most cars, but not this one, at least to me. Something simpler would've made this one look better. If you disregard its placement with all the other cars here, it's actually a fairly decent model.

So that's 5 of the 8 of this set. And I fully except these five to be the most popular. We also know that there will be a second wave of models to be released in the summer. If you haven't already, head on over to Target to grab them! You should expect to see an endcap of these as you stroll down the toy section.

Good luck hunting!