Two Lane Desktop

Normally I do not do these type of year in review for each year, but this year was different as 2019 is also the last year of the decade, so it was important to spend the last day looking at the highlights of each brand.  A lot of good was going on, but so was some bad like store closings that include Kmart, Sears, Toys-R-Us, and Rite-Aid among others and thanks to rising material costs some cost cutting was seen from all plastic bodies to less metal in some areas and even the four-part rule implemented at Mattel, but for now let ’s focus on the positives of the 2010 decade and I’ll even highlight some of my favorite castings from each brand; though to be honest it is tough to find a favorite among the many fantastic castings released by each brand for each year. Hot Wheels As always the most popular diecast brand has gone through a lot of changes over the years, some good and some bad, but most importantly is the growth of the collector base and the amount of prod...

One of the U.S. most successful SUV’s in the 1990’s was the Ford Explorer.   The Explorer started life as a Bronco II, a two-door SUV based on the Ranger platform intended as a smaller version of the larger Bronco.   In 1991 the Explorer debut with four doors and improved styling to look more urban and less rugged; in 1995 the Explorer got a full redesign to separate itself more from the Ranger pickup with rounder curves, improved dashboard with dual airbags, and more engines including a SOHC V6 and the first V8 for the Explorer.   Sales continued to increase despite an unexpected rollover recall on the Firestone tires at the turn of the century; today the Explorer continues now as a front-wheel drive unibody shared with the Taurus, but by 2020 returns to rear-wheel drive. Maisto was a leader when they introduced the Ford Explorer in 1993 after a deal with Eddie Bauer launched a new line of 1:24 scale SUV’s and pickups (the F-150) in...

Nissan/Datsun was the first Japanese automaker to sell a small pickup and since then has enjoyed the success as well as growing competition so for 1988 a new Nissan pickup was released and given a new name in the U.S.: the Hardbody. The Hardbody got its name for the boxy and aggressive exterior styling and the double-walled cargo bed, yet in other countries it was still called the Navara and offered a model with a smaller hood and fenders that do not bulge.   The Hardbody also released the first SUV for Nissan in the U.S., the smaller Pathfinder, in 1986 as well.   While the truck was successful competition was growing more and when the next generation truck came out the styling lost some of the Hardbody look prompting a new name in the U.S. called the Frontier.   For Hot Wheels they came out with the Hardbody in king cab 4x4 form with a taller, lifted stance and a more baja-ready look.   The front has that square-style hoodline ...