The King of “Route 66″ September 1, 2006
Posted by Ron in Music.1 comment so far
Nat King Cole was the first to make Bobby Troup’s now-immortal song “Route 66″ a national hit.
Here is Cole, performing the song in 1950. Cole was known for his ultra-smooth voice, but he also was an outstanding jazz pianist. Here, you can see both those talents on display.
New die-cast cars from “Cars” September 1, 2006
Posted by Ron in Movies, Toys.5 comments
ToyWiz.com is taking orders for the new batch of die-cast toy cars from the Disney-Pixar film “Cars,” including these new ones:
- A Radiator Springs version of Lightning McQueen.
- A young Mater (in teal color).
- A young Doc Hudson (in the Hudson Hornet logo).
- A yellow Ramone.
- The Ferrari.
- A two-pack of “Toy Story’s” Buzz and Woody, in car form.
- A two-pack of “Monsters Inc.’s” Mike and Sully, in car form.
- A two-pack of Luigi and Guido in Ferrari gear.
- You also can buy a special carrying case that holds up to 16 cars.
The site says these new models will ship in January.
Of course, you can also go to the site and buy the first-edition toys.
I’ve heard from several retailers that they and toy manufacturers have been surprised and delighted with how strong the demand has been for these “Cars” toys this summer. I strongly suspect they’ll be a bit more ready for the market this fall and winter.
(Hat tip to Upcoming Pixar.)
“Cars” helps spur new interest in VW minibuses September 1, 2006
Posted by Ron in Movies, Vehicles.add a comment
Call it the Fillmore effect.
In the weeks after the Pixar-Disney movie “Cars” was released, we saw a lot more eBay sellers mention the hippie character in the film when they were trying to unload their Volkswagen minibuses from the 1960s.
“Cars” didn’t have an effect on just minibuses, either. We also saw the value of 1950s Hudson cars, like the Doc Hudson character in the film, jump sharply. Route 66 businesses saw a sharp uptick in business, as it was the setting of much of the film.
It also doesn’t hurt that Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire, who is the unofficial inspiration of Fillmore in “Cars,” drives a VW minibus from event to event on the Mother Road.
The new film “Little Miss Sunshine,” which also “stars” a balky, yellow-and-white VW minibus, also is fueling the interest.
The VW minibus phenomenon is examined by Valerie Takahama of the Orange County Register. Be sure to click on the “More Photos” link to see some more of the VW photos.
In case you’re interested, the best online source by far for VW minibuses is the TheSamba.com site.
