(6-3-01) It is with regret that we must report that the person who has been responsible for this website's updating and maintenance (since the beginning back in Nov. of '99) and our Club's webpage (also since the beginning back in Nov. of '98) will no longer be able to do so as of June 30, 2001. We hope that we'll find a person who'll be willing to step-in and take over the responsibility. We'll keep you updated about this and during the first week of July a 'new' look may appear.
Thank you, Jim, for all your time and efforts. You'll be missed.

NEW VEHICLES:
Mainline -- The first half of this year's Final Run series are all out. The six vehicles are:
Mercedes-Benz Unimog
'55 Chevy
Gulch Stepper
Ramp Truck
GM Ultralite
Porsche 911

(6-14-01) Be careful when you come across a 'white' Ice Cream Truck.
The 2001 version is almost identical to the Virtual Collection vehicle. The differences are:
1. The body color is a little darker.
2. The interior plastic is blue (2001) as compared to red (VC).
3. The clown face & ice cream cone are 'clear' (you can see the body paint 'through' them on the 2001) as compared to them having a 'solid' plain white (you can't see the body paint through them on the VC).
4. Most obviously, the 2001-136 version does not say "Virtual Collection" on the side, it only has "Ice Cream Truck".

Treasure Hunt -- BIG NEWS! The 72-pack cases with the codes of "BBB" and "BBE" are the last ones that will have 'designated' THs in them. From now on (and who knows for how long), THs will be randomly placed in cases. This means that one "XXX" case might have a TH in it while another "XXX" case won't.
(6-3-01) As far as we know, case code BLP is the first case with randomly placed THs. The TH is the Blast Lane. Some BLPs will have the Blast Lane, some won't.

Multi-vehicle Set -- Harley-Davidson 5-pack (but no cycles!).

Grand Prix 5-pack

"Willy's Gassers" 2-car set has been found at Target. The A/GS Willys are John Mazmanian's '41 and Jack Coonrod's '33.

Monthly Series -- nothing to report at this time {see 2001 page}

New Stuff -- In the clear square plastic 'box' that have a monster truck inside line, "Bulldozer" is new and has horns on the leading corners of the roof.
(6-14-01) Two new ones have been seen.
1. yellow Wild Thang 'car'
2. red-orange Prowler truck

Adult Collectibles --

(6-7-01) Three new models have been seen.
1. red '57 Ford Fairlane convertible
2. orange 1933 Willys
3. orange Pro Street Camaro

Limited (including Exclusives & Special Editions) -- KayBee Toys Surf Crate 2-pack.

Chuck E. Cheese pizza 2001 Fat Fendered '40.

(5-17-01) Thought the white one is already available, Jiffy Lube will have a yellow Blast Lane available in late May.

(6-7-01) Target exclusive 4-car set in the "Drive-In" series titled "Staring Elvis." Though there are two different pictures and 'marque' captions, the vehicles are the same in each set. One picture is a colorized picture from Elvis' movie "Jailhouse Rock" and the other is a color picture of Elvis playing a guitar (ukulele?) super-imposed over a background picture of Diamond Head on the Hawaiian island of Oahu from the movie "Blue Hawaii." The 'marques' have the name of the movie that corresponds to the picture.
the four vehicles are:
1. metallic blue & white So Fine
2. black & white '32 Deuce Coupe
3. metallic sienna & white '40 Ford
4. white Shoe Box

International -- nothing to report at this time

Hot Wheels Racing --

The monthly 4-vehicle sets done in NASCAR racing team graphics that have been released so far are:
Tail Dragger (January? 2001 - 12 of them)
    NASCAR #s - 5 (Kellogg's), 6 (Valvoline), 7 (NationsRent), 12 (Mobile 1), 17 (DeWalt), 22 (CAT),
    33 (Oakwood Homes), 43 (Cheerios/STP), 44 (HW), 45 (Sprint), 55 (Square D), 99 (Exide)
Blimp (February? 2001) #s 12, 17, 32 (Tide), 99
Deora II (March? 2001) #s 12, 17, 43, 99
Tail Gunner (April? 2001) #s 10, 33, 96
Demon (May? 2001) #s 40
Twin Mill (June? 2001) #s 22
2001 THs - Rig Wrecker (10 of them) -- already out are: Daytona 500; Darlington Raceway, Talladega, California Speedway, Watkins Glen, Phoenix Raceway

Planet Micro -- nothing to report at this time {since there has been nothing to report for so long, it's possible that the Planet Micro line may have been discontinued}

Haulers -- nothing to report at this time

NBA -- nothing to report at this time

Scale sizes -- (6-7-01) There have been several 'old' models in new color designs released along with new models based on the 2001 FEs.

(6-14-01) Two new 1:18 vehicles appeared in a Target ad (dated 6-10-01) and have been seen. The vehicles are:
1. a tricked-out '63 Split-Window Corvette done in red with silver blown engine, rear spoiler, and other accessories
2. a 'Hammered Coupe'-like vehicle done in purple and grey with 'rail' front wheels and mag rear wheels (this one is extremely cool!)

{see Misc. Stuff below}

Mechanix -- nothing to report at this time

X-V Racers -- nothing to report at this time

Slot Cars -- nothing to report at this time

McDonald's -- nothing to report at this time

Avon -- nothing to report at this time

NEW SETS:
Mainline -- "Hot Rod Boulevard Set" comes with a dark blue '57 Chevy and can connect to other HW World sets (which use the hard grey plastic 'track').

Electric / Slot -- nothing to report at this time

CHANGES -- nothing to report at this time

VARIATIONS -- nothing to report at this time

RUMORED VARIATIONS -- nothing to report at this time

PACKAGING / PRICING -- The design on the blisterpacks of the "Monster Jam" vehicles has been slightly redone.

UPDATES -- nothing to report at this time

HARD TO FIND -- Obviously the newer 2001 FEs; any of the second-half (8) of the second set (16) of KB Toys' Cop Rods; any of KB's "Fire Engine Rods" (2001); the March 4-car Rat Rods series; the April 4-car Anime series; the May 4-car Rod Squadron series; the June 4-car Skull & Crossbones series; and, still, most of the NASCAR monthly series.

NEW 'TOYS' -- A couple of new boxed jigsaw puzzles for children have been seen.

The 100-car carrying case has had its telescoping handle redesigned and the cover has the smaller vehicles in 3-D relief.

(6-7-01) Don't know how long they've been out, but there are three HW 25-piece jigsaw puzzles with large pieces on a thick cardboard backing with a 'frame.'

Also, there are some new HW party favors made by Tara.
Roller Stampers - 4 vehicles: Audi Avis(?) in red & blue and Deora II in grey & orange.
Whistles - 4 vehicles: red Audi Avis(?), grey Deora II, blue Sweet 16 II, and orange Commodore(?)
All are plastic.
(6-9-01) Also found are new party accessories -- paper plates, cups, napkins, etc. -- with a new design on them. The new design is similar to the new design on the 2001 blistercards.

Included among the new items out are sunglasses for children. The sunglasses are in two basic styles. One style is the standard-looking sunglasses; the other style has the mirrored finish on the lenses.

Back in December of 2000, it was posted that there was a new HW micro scooter for children, teens, & adults. Now there is a new three-wheeled one for younger children 'called' "Hot Wheels Fun-Ride Scooter." The front has a single wheel while the back has two wheels. This gives more stability for the rider. Retail at Toys R Us is $ 39.99.

UPCOMING -- According to the 'new' 2001 Mattel catalog that the reps just recently got, there are a few things to be on the look for.
1. Cyborg City Playset - the central part looks like a robot's head, but it's more of a 'factory' setting (kind of like HW's version of a "Terminator" movie set). It has a slime pit (set comes with the slime) but no vehicle.
2. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth - 4-vehicle set featuring a F-100 Pick-up, the Mysterion, the Outlaw, and the Road Agent.
3. Bugs & Buses - 4-vehicle set of two VW Bugs and two VW microbuses. The Bugs are regular and a convertible; the buses are with and without windows. This set should be extremely popular! Tentative release is late 2001.

(5-17-01) 4. In June, the 4-vehicle set called "Rock 'N' Road."
5. In July, the 4-vehicle set called "Haulin' Heat". The set is designed by Larry Woods and features a 1956 Ford COE with sprint car in back towing a 'Hauler' that has a '63 vette in it.

6. Later this year, "Airstream Dreams" featuring a Caddy Woody and an Airstream trailer.

ON THE InterNet -- Check out our webpage to see what EVENTS our Club has planned. Even if you're not local, your interest just might be piqued.

Here at this site, there is a page where you can order Wheels Of Fire club items. To see what we've got for sale, just click on over!
Basically, check out every page at this site to see if anything new has been done or added.

The Hot Wheels website has been revamped a little.

The second vehicle in the HW "online only offer" in the Harley-Davidson series is now available. It's a '56 Ford Pickup.

(5-18-01) Coming soon from Hot Wheels is "HotWheelsCollectors.com" and you can vote on how the initial site will look. Just click here and you'll be taken to the HW website and a window (frame?) will open where you can vote for one of three styles. After you vote, the voting percentages are given for each style.
Take a look and VOTE!
(6-22-01) The voting is over and a design for the new website has been decided on. Check below for a preview.

DISMAL NEWS -- nothing to report at this time

MAIL-IN OFFERS -- (6-3-01) It's been a while since Little Debbie Snacks has released any HW vehicles, but they're now available. The three-pack contains a yellow 1970 Chevelle SS, a red 1969 Mustang Mach I, and a white 1970 Road Runner. All three vehicles have 'Matchbox' wheels.

You can get the set two ways.
One - Buy a package of Little Debbie snack with the HW offer on it and mail it in with the right amount of money ($ 10.95).
Two - Go online and order direct with a charge/debit card. To do this, click here. Once there, click on "Special Offers," then click on the HW logo. You'll end up on a page showing the HW set and giving you the opportunity to order online. You'll be asked for a "product code" that can only be found on packages with the HW offer. The code to enter is: P1HC4C9W. The cost is the same ($ 10.95).
Supposedly, you may order as many sets as you want.

(6-22-01) JC Whitney is at it again. This time their summer catalog (#650J-05) features a Custom Chevy C3500 Pickup that is free with any order of $ 75 or more, or you can order it for $ 16.95 plus S&H. The Chevy is white with black bed cover (tonneau), extra wide wheels with chrome hubs, the "JC Whitney" logo on the doors & tonneau, and red & blue lines near the bottom on the sides. The interior is white with clear windows. It's very nice looking.

'OLD' NEWS -- The last vehicle in the Virtual Collection series will not be done. At the revamped HW website, the Shadow Jet II (which replaced the Sweet 16 II) has been removed from the list. This means that there are only 34 vehicles in the Virtual Collection series.
(5-23-01) OOPS!!! Jumped the gun a little in the above statement.
The Virtual Collection Shadow Jet II has been found on the 2001 card (but don't currently know screen saver code and the vehicle is still not listed at the HW website). The collector number is 2000-153.
The vehicle has a red plastic body, dark tinted windshield, with purple & grey tampos.
(6-7-01) Screen saver code is 2QWK4U {Too quick for you}.

As of this update date (5-23-01), the following 2000 collector numbers have not been seen:
147, 153, 170, 181, 182, 184, 185, & 186
And since the Shadow Jet II is #253, there has been no sign of 251, 252, or any 2000 collector number higher than 253.

(6-3-01) The racing car that came with the "Thunder Roller" handheld electronic game (mentioned last year) does not have any Hot Wheels information on the chassis. Only the tampos on the car body let you know that the vehicle is an HW diecast.

MISC. STUFF -- (6-14-01) Seen only at Wal-Marts so far --
Some of the newer released 1:10 & 1:18 Scale-sized vehicles is an attached side 'package' that contains a Hot Wheels wallet. Unfortunately, all that can be seen is the wallet color of black; so don't know if there is any HW logo stuff on it or what colors it might be.

'JUNK HEAP' -- Other stuff that doesn't fit into any of the above . . .
With a few exceptions, most Junk Heap items can now be found at the "Miscellany" page.

Until next time, may your searching be successful!

NOTE -- If you find anything of interest (or any errors on this page), please let us know!

REMINDER -- This NEWS is in addition to Wheels Of Fire's printed monthly newsletter. If you'd like to get the regular monthly newsletter, come to a Club meeting or Join today. Since this page is in addition to the Club's newsletter, we strongly recommend that you print out a copy.