Two Lane Desktop

  Despite the ruins that are currently going on at Matchbox (from a collector's perspective), there are times that Matchbox still puts out the home-run hits for collectors.  None other is best explained than the newest 5-pack from Matchbox, the 2014 Exotics 5-pack.  So far, unlike recent 5-packs that contain a few vehicles that you can get by themselves for $1, this 5-pack is all-exclusive and properly done.  The sole vintage model of the group is the 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400S in the natural gold color, the BMW Z8 in red, the Lotus Exige in dark blue (both the BMW and Lotus sport the new 5-spoke wheels for the first time), the 2009 Corvette ZR-1 in the eye-catching yellow, and the VW W-12 concept in black.  So out of the five, let's see who is the best: Click for Photo Gallery Exterior Styling Nothing is more graceful than the classic Miura styling with round pop-up headlights behind the slotted eyelashes, the front grille with foglights an...

AMC was late to the pony car wars that the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird started in the mid-to-late 1960's, yet arrived with some eye-catching pieces.  The Javelin was the first vehicle from AMC to go after the pony car competition.  The AMX was the high-performance version with rear seat delete and big-bad colors on a monochromatic look.  The AMX was cancelled in 1971, now merged into the rest of the Javelin line as a performance package. Click for Photo Gallery The classic 1971 Javelin shape Once regarded as 'futuristic', the 1971 Javelin featured a more pronounced long hood/short deck look with the front fenders having a raised look to match the aggressive front-end with headlights now mated into the grille.  The rear has the one-piece rectangular taillights with the integrated rear spoiler.  The interior still carried the twin-cockpit design of its predecessor, now with the information and switches more tailored t...

In the 1960's, muscle cars designed for the track were very popular not only with enthusiast, but with drag racers as well.  Even more so is one that is decked out as a race car straight from the production line!  The AMC SC/Rambler is one of them. Click for Photo Gallery Built for the track! 390 CID V8 producing 315hp. from the AMX, four-speed manual with Hurst shifter, and modified exhaust to give a nice Flowmaster-style exhaust note was just the start for a basic Rambler American model.  The suspension gets enhancements including a stronger drivetrain, anti-axle hop links in the rear, enlarged wheel openings to allow for bigger tires to fit, Magnum 500 wheels on Goodyear tires, and a hood scoop that is open and closed by the engine vacuum-powered flap.  The interior is striped clean with no radio, ventilation, headliner (it's paper thin!), includes Sun add-on tachometer, and seats with red, white, or blue head rests.  Finally the exterior a...

When it comes to classic high-performance muscle cars of the 1960's, the more wild it looks the more attention you get.  Sometimes that's not what you want, you just want to fly low under the radar.  Some basic versions get noticed, while others don't.  One of them is the Rebel Machine, introduced on the Rebel line in 1970. Click for Photo Gallery AMC Rebel Machine: Not always hiding in plain sight The Machine was the high-performance, low cost performance car of the AMC Rebel line.  Unlike the AMX, the Machine has contemporary relatives in the Rebel line.  That means square body lines, grille with quad headlights, and the bumper-mounted taillights.  But the Machine gains enhancements modeled after the success of the 1968 SC/Rambler models, including hood scoop with integrated tachometer, the Kelsey-Hayes Machine wheels, red, white, and blue stripes on white body, and the AMC 390 CID V8 producing 340 hp. and 405 Ib-ft. torque through a fou...

This is the first time that I posted this style of test on my blog, but it won't be the last.  As much as I like to review each vehicle separately, I also like to see how it compares with others related to body-style or whosever is in the same 5-pack of vehicles.  This one involves the latest (well, sort of) of the new sub-compact cars that you can currently buy.  The newest is the Hot Wheels Fiat 500 Sport in metallic red.  Hot Wheels with a 500, yes, but I wasn't expecting anything short of an Abarth!  The next is the 2012 VW Beetle which got it's first redesign since the revival of the New Beetle in 1998.  The next one is the oldest, though still the finest: the 2001 Mini Cooper, and just like the Fiat I was expecting more of the S model than the regular Mini Cooper model when it was first introduced in 2002.  Finally is a wild card, one that has been in-and-out in the Matchbox lineup since 2002, and has made most of it's American appearance in ...