In this economy, hardly anyone is buying frivolous products. People are hoarding cash. As a consequence, the scale model car market has taken a nosedive that will even take AIG stock holders' breaths away. If you can spare a few dollars a month, this is an excellent opportunity to pick up some raging deals.
Here are my three favorite stores, in no particular order.
- EWA. This is an East Coast outfit. They have a huge selection and its website is very easy to navigate. They have a 30% off everything 30th anniversary sale. I just got an IST Uaz 452 and a Minichamps Alfa Romeo 159 today. More on that later. The packaging/shipping has always been top notch.
- Not A Toy. An outfit in Michigan run by a really nice and helpful guy. Though there is no sale going on now, their prices are always low and extremely competitive.
- Scale Cars. This business has a physical store in Napa. The owner is really cool and lets me at his cars whenever I stop by. I really want this place to succeed. If you go to the store, check out the helmet signed by every F1 driver (save DC) at the USGP a few years ago.
Buying a few cars a month (or even more) will not only keep the manufacturers in business, but it will keep these American small businesses going. Go for it. You know you need a 1/43 model of that obscure car only you and three other people in your time zone covet.
As for what I got today. First, I got an IST
UAZ 452. It was advertised as an IXO. IST may well be a subsidiary of IXO.
IST has its own website and it is a virtual Garden of Eden of 1/43 Soviet/Warsaw Pact goodness. It's got UAZ, Volga, EMW, Barkas, Melkus, and even ZAZ! The 452 I got for $17 rivals in detail with $40 Minichamps models. I am very happy.
The other car I got is a Minichamps
Alfa 159. Since I can't buy the real thing in America, I might as well settle for a 1/43 version.
CKY
I just had some anchovy-stuffed olives for the first time. The concept sounds weird and a bit disgusting, but the flavor is both familiar and unique. Salty and sweet are too broad terms for these snacks but that's just how they are. I highly recommend them.
VH Noodle House at the 99 Ranch Market complex in Richmond sells the best all purpose hot sauce anywhere. I use it on fried rice, burritos, poached eggs, even French fries. I go through a 6 ounce bottle every two to three weeks. It is that good. The ingredients--chili peppers, cottonseed oil, garlic, sea salt, MSG, "spice"-- are pretty vague. I guess it's all top secret.
The three door hatchbacks are South American-built Fiat Spazios.
The four door sedans are South American-built Fiat Regatas.
I just finished The Pluto Files. It is a light-hearted and serious account of how astrophysicist Tyson of the Hayden Planetarium single-handedly demoted Pluto's status as a planet.
South African ad (new price is about $44,500 USD)
Audi-inspired Hongqi
Lincoln-inspired Hongqi
A few days ago, Hugo Chavez was seen giving Obama a book. What was it? Some Communist manifesto? A rambling diatribe by El Presidente himself? No, it is Las Veinas Abiertas de America Latina (Open Veins In Latin America) by Eduardo Galeano. Given the recent publicity, the 38 year old book is now #2 on Amazon.
Back in college, I read Galeano's Memory of Fire. It was intense, personal, and raw. A few years ago, I read it again and realized that it was a part of a trilogy. Faces & Masks and Century of the Wind were almost as powerful as Memory. I understand that I did not read Galeanos's actual words as I read the English versions. 
If you had asked me to identify this car from this profile, I don't think I would have been able to do so correctly. Alas, this was the last Alfa sedan to be sold in America. 
Then, in 1975, Volvo bought DAF. Aside from the Volvo emblems, it made a number of upgrades, all in the name of safety. These changes included: larger bumpers, seats with headrests, safety steering wheel, and side impact beams in doors.
Luxurious Volvo?
Spartan interior (1).
Spartan interior (2).
CKY
CKY
I am doing research on Dutch-built Volvo compacts. While looking for stock images of the Volvo/DAF 66, I came across this picture of a Citroen CX taxi cab in the background. Intrigued, I then found this picture, taken in 1985 in China, of a cab driver washing his CX cab, complete with monoblade wipers.
CKY
The above are the Chinese characters for the city of Shanghai. The word on the left is shang and the word on the right is hai.
Here is the track. Rotate it 45 degrees clockwise. It is the word shang.
What first caught my eye were the THREE (3!) Merkur XR4Tis facing the sidewalk on the lot. Three Merkurs, next to each other. What are the chances?
What was more shocking came later. I decided to go to the lot this morning at 7am so that no one would bother me. I found three more XR4Tis in the side lot! Six XR4Tis. In. One. Lot.
After I recovered from my Merkur-induced shock, I noticed the other automotive oddities on the lot.
These three Volvos were cool. The red P1800 looked sinister and ready for a brawl. The Amazon wagon wedged between the P1800 and PV was absolutely pedestrian...
...next to three more of these PVs.
I wish this picture turned out better. I sneaked a peek into the garage. An old non-descript car was on the lift but there was another one underneath. A third car was parked in the interior stall to those two cars' left. As I looked in and took the picture, you can see the reflection of a pick-up truck that was parked outside on the window pane.
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