Human FAT Trafficking Ring In Peru

Note to self:

1. Hit the treadmill before I go on my overland journey through Peru.

2. NEVER drink Inca Kola again.

My Diecast Collection Travels Around the World

All the backgrounds are from Lonely Planet's big, glossy, and wonderful The Travel Book.

Matchbox Air France Airbus A300B flying over Peru.

Matchbox Ferrari 308 GTB at Venice's Piazza San Marco.

Hot Wheels VW Sunagon at Yosemite.

Tomica VW Microbus in Botswana.

Matchbox Audi Quattro in Liechtenstein.

Humain, Trop Humain

I just watched an extraordinary movie about cars. It's Louis Malle's 1974 documentary Humain, Trop Humain. The 70+ minute movie was mostly shot at a Citroen GS factory in Brittany. At the factory, there is no dialogue. There is no monologue; there is not even narration. The film just shows the workers assembling the car from start to finish. It's mesmerizing and shows how man and woman have become an integral part of the assembly line machinery. It's not a good fit. The eyes of many of the workers are glazed over. You can literally see the soul being slowly sapped out of them.

There's also a nice snippet from a car show. Apparently, not all French people were impressed with French cars and their eccentricities.

What did I learn? It took a lot of cigarettes and hammers to build a Citroen.

(It's available on Netflix.)

The Play Between Cal & Stanfurd (Enhanced Video)

Well, it's been yet another disappointing season for Cal. At this point, I don't even care if Jahvid Best plays again. I just want that kid to be healthy and graduate. But what will salvage this season is if we win Saturday's Big Game. Leland Stanfurd JUNIOR University is favored by a touchdown.

Here is an enhanced version of 1982's The Play, undeniably the greatest single moment in college football history (with Joe Starkey making the call).

Matchbox Tow Trucks

In my make-belief town, cars broke down. Fortunately, everyone had AAA tow coverage and I had three tow trucks on-call.

My favorite of the three was this Matchbox Freightliner.

Here it is towing a temperamental Matchbox Citroen CX.

This Matchbox Foden tilt cab was an odd duck. As its name states, the blue cab tilts forward 90 degrees.

Foden carrying a Tomica Fix It Again Tony X 1/9.

This Matchbox Leyland truck was a mystery to me. I never knew what the two holes on the bed were for. I used to get those toothpicks from club sandwiches with the colorful plastic on one end and stick them in the holes. Kids.

Going back to the unreliable French theme, here is a Matchbox Renault 5 getting a ride to the shop. I understand the scales are way out of proportion, but hey, I was eight!

Tomica's Off Roaders

These are my off road Tomica models.

First, we have a yellow Mitsubishi Jeep. It is tiny. Probably the smallest vehicle in my collection. I don't know how the solid plastic rear tire became "flat". Did I leave just that tire on something hot and it melted?

I also have a Toyota FJ40. I can read the license plate number, but the wording on the doors is ineligible.

And here is my third Tomica off-roader-- a Lamborghini Cheetah. It was the prototype of my favorite SUV, the LM002.

Matchbox Superfast No. 60 Holden Pick-Up

I was inspired recently to look in my closet, dig deep, and unearth my childhood toy collection. In one of the boxes, I found my diecast car collection. They consist mostly of cars made by Tomica, Matchbox, Hot Wheels, and Majorette. Vintage-wise, they range from early 1970s to early 1980s.

As a child, I prided myself in how I took care of my cars. But as I look at them today, they are in varying states of decay. My other surprise-- the eclectic nature of my collection. I've got everything from Chevy Citations to double decker buses to dune buggy cop cars. What was I thinking?

I encourage all of you to look for your childhood toys. The rush of memories is incredible.

Over the next few weeks, I will post pictures of interesting cars from my private collection. I've never taken pictures of small objects close-up before so the quality should improve.

The "500" sticker held up nicely.

Classic Holden lines.

Note the plastic tow hook.

The motorbikes come off!

More Japanese Tomica Stop Motion Goodness

I was first introduced to Luxe37's work by Jalopnik earlier this year. His latest film stars a non-Tomica (I think) Firebird Trans Am, a Skyline, and a Fairlady Z. With more experience now, you can tell he is using more sophisticated techniques and shots. And look for a Toyota Carina at 1:41.

Mercedes W123 Promotional Video

W123s were a dime a dozen in 1980s Southern California. My neighbor, a sheriff's deputy, had a side business importing grey market Mercedes and always had at least three or four small-bumpered (and rectangular headlighted) W123s parked in his driveway. Today, you'll only find smelly bio-fuel lovin' hippies and cabbies from non-oil-exporting Middle Eastern autocracies driving these bad boys.

This promotional video has it all: muscle-bound guy, W123 hoonage, and even rally footage. The scariest part has to be the 0-100 km/hr time for the 200D: 31.0 (!) seconds.

Button to McLaren; Heidfeld to Mercedes GP?

Well, it's official. Jenson Button is going to McLaren. Watch for drama to ensue when Lewis and Button fight for the number one spot in Woking. This means of course that my hope of Heidfeld going to McLaren has been dashed. It seems like he is on the top of the list to go to Mercedes GP. Apparently, the new team will be announcing its driver line-up soon. This is less than ideal, as I think McLaren is more like to have a competitive car next year than Brawn/Mercedes.

As for Kimi, I think he's just going to sit out the 2010 season and make a comeback later.

Update: Yup, Kimi is taking a sabbatical in 2010.