Before collectors went nuts for Hot Wheels Car Culture, there was Boulevard. Mattel's first attempt at a Car Culture-like line was full of missteps, but produced a ton of gems. Here is a look at some of the most memorable.
Thanks for sharing. I was idly jotting down model names as the video progressed, and it convinced me that for my peace of mind, I get them, and sharpish. I now have a list long enough to warrant a nasty letter from my bank after I have bought them all. Cheers. 👍
Enjoyed the nostalgic look back at those Boulevard models. I still have a handful of samples that I chose to pick up all those years ago LOL! I consider Boulevard as having paved the way for the more refined model selections we see these days in Car Culture.
I would collect hotwheels boulevard but everyone kept beating me to them, thus i only found one and I’m not willing to pay a whole bunch on eBay just for one.
My favourite is probably the 993 but there's just so much good stuff here! Not a single model I dislike. And its almost impossible for me to get these now because 1) they were never available in my country and 2) they've just become expensive af on ebay. So this video is the closest I'll get to see these.
There are some nice castings in the boulevard series. I had a mustang Mach 2 in highschool . What a p.o.s , fast though. It was basically a pinto with a 302 shoved into it. I'm amazed It didn't kill me. Gotta love car culture ! Cheers!!!
Would you please consider adding (maybe to the blog) a list of the showcased models? Year released, casting, model series, for those of us who wish to track down a particular one?
I was able to obtain some models of the boulevard series thanks to a friend of mine who brought them to me every time he visited the United States, beautiful cars
‘58 Fury, Grand National, GTO wagon, GTO, AMC Rebel/SC Rambler, I’m forgetting one, the Vector is alright and a few others caught my interest. That Astro Van was nice too.
im european, and i really like classic european cars... but, i collect hotwheels for the nice muscle cars.... there are some nice ones in the boulevard series, like the trans-am, camaro, cuda and the awesome AMC and GTO.. that vector and chrysler turbine are awesome BTW
I don't consider Lamley reviews "Hype," they are his opinions influenced by his personal preference and ascetic tastes. There are a hand full of reviewers that I respect and Lamley is at the top of that list. I like drifter D's site as well (noticed his comments below) and respect his opinion also.
I don't think Boulevard was ahead of its time, it just didn't have you creating a frenzy over it. You really mold the way these cars are looked at in the states as well as many other English speeking countries. Any time a new set is about to hit I hear tons of talk about your reviews. For good or bad you are at least half the reason these set do what they do.
Lost it on "Gran Tourismo version they did for Forza"! I'm definitely one of those guys. Not offended at. Just thought that the self-realization was timed well.
Why don't they make more 'regular' cars like a Nissan Maxima or ford Taurus? people love having models of 'their' car. I really think they'd sell. I know I'd buy! also ol cars you think they'd make but I can't seem to find: international scout, 69 ss Chevelle, Plymouth satellite, duster, just a few. Chevy van was an astro.
While there were plenty of models in the series I really like the Lincoln Futura, I thought Boulevard overall was a step down from Hot Wheels Garage in quality. HW Garage 2011 was fantastic with a whole subset of Ferraris (okay, just six of them but some of them came in multiple colours) and, while not all the cars got the headlight and taillight tampos, a lot more did than either Boulevard or Car Culture (up until 2018). Hot Wheels Auto Affinity split cars into themes way back in 2004.
I have the DeLorean :) swapped front tires with the Ed Helm? Ford mustang. Anyway the ford mustang mach 1 blue and white from the vintage racing series
18:02 i have this car, the fangula, and the whatta drag, but in the gt i lost a front wheel and i wanna play with it again but it bugs me that its missing a wheel help
I collect old Matchbox, I don;t mean ones from the 90's I mean the 50's and 60's, the really collectable ones, these Hot Wheels look fantastic!!! But, I can't get a hold of them, even if I wanted to, they dont sell these in Australia
I wish stores would say "we don't want it" in regards to all these fucking theme cars that sit there for months. "This is one of the great Boulevard models, the Vector *ANNOYING FEEDBACK* .
Because going to *ANY* Walmart within 30 miles of me and seeing 80% of the pegs or bins filled with *FUCKING* theme cars that have been released for months, if not YEARS (Beatles), is really, REALLY *FUCKING* annoying. It prevents new shit from coming in for so long.
I never understood why they didn't paint the Honda Civic's tail lights....fully...they brought this casting back for the Honda anniversary series but it sucked...no head or tail lights...or real riders....the Garage series had some nice models, too....like the 57 Bel Air , 34 Ford coupe, 70 Mercury Cyclone, and 69 Ford Mustang GT Fastback...most of those cars have more detail than the ones you showed...metallic paint jobs and real riders too!
I been collecting diecast cars 1/64. Since 7 years. I was a big fan og hotwheels specially 2008 2012. It was great. But after that. Instead moving up as time is more exciting and the demand is high. They travel back to 70's which the details is ugly. Its show of neglect in the part of hotwheels management. Coz simply they enjoy so much about the high sales or convert that to huge income. Now japanese. Expand there market globally. I can smell hotwheels is in BAD shape. Sales was terrible. The dont bother or cares about the people behind there succes now what. Lesson should be learn from this. Good luck. But i swicth my collection to japanese brands. They are far far ahead to you guys.
While there's so many great cars in this series, the entire line as whole is just littered with junk. Same with the followed Heritage line. Some of them were just absolutely awful. The series had ones like the Hot Tub, Rigor Motor and Whatta Drag. They just didn't fit in at all with absolute gems like the Porsche and so forth. Some of the licensed castings they picked were good choices but were killed with terrible deco. It s a bit of a shame.
