Purple Passion
Lowriders, hot
rods. Pinstripes, Velour interiors, flames, side pipes and a pavement pounding
V8. Frenched headlights, taillights and door handles. The image I just painted
could go 2 different ways and that is why I paused. I know there are pictures
but what did you picture as you read that description? Well, to clear the image
up a little bit, we are directly focusing our attention on an entire car
culture and its implied icon, the Leadsled.
The real-life car it is cast in the likeness of
is a 49-51 Mercury Eight. I state it this way because there is no indication, I
could find that the casting refers to any particular car, more of a
representation that sums up a mixed style of car cultures. Quite possibly a
tribute to something the designer (Larry Wood) [1] had witnessed along his
journeys. It is an expression of art in automotive form. At car shows, this is
always one of the cars that everyone stops at and takes a picture of. When it
comes to customizing cars, this one is the original that everyone looks for. It
started the craze. Now, it is very rare unless you are at a large-scale car show
or maybe in the southern California area to get to see one of these treasures
slide on down the road. The “Leadsled” refers to a couple makes of the same
time frame (49-51) and refers to the weight of the steel body. The sled portion
refers to the style of lowering the car enough so that it resembles the car sliding down the road rather
than driving. The fender skirts also help complete this look. They were not
meant to be speed demons; they are meant to ride low and slow and in stylish
fashion. I really enjoy seeing these cars at a car show as there is no limit set
for the creativity of the builder and there is always a new interpretation of
the culture and the elements that make this style such a personalized expression
of art and vision. With so much body to work with, it also implies a real
dedication of the builder.
And now,
we focus this week on what I like to think is an absolute icon in Hot Wheels.
It has been featured so many times that there is something for everyone to have
in their collection. The casting is spot on for the image of a decked-out
lowrider, hot rod, showstopper. It is cast in the imagery of a 49-50 Mercury
Eight. The grill is perfectly detailed. The frenched lights and body molded
license plate area are present and the chopped roof just gives this casting the
lifestyle it resembles. The side pipes tucked under the rocker panels with what
we assume is the flipper style exhaust gates seen on this type of custom. The liveries
this car has had also tells a clear story about the casting to the hardened
collector. The assortment of paint jobs has included heavily flamed to subtle
pinstripes and it pulls off every one with style. Only very rarely has this
casting donned a wild paint job. This tells me that there was a level of
respect for this automotive style that was meant to remain even into the Hot
Wheels culture. The pink version was a mystery car from 2010 [2]. The purple version with the white walls is a first release from 1990. It was also featured
as a treasure hunt in the 2005 series and was a 10th anniversary of treasure
hunts and bears a special logo on it with real rider tires and beautiful black
with red / orange flame job livery.
The casting
remains in the lineup because although there have been several lowrider
releases in the A2K (after 2000) years, none of them have stood the test of
time when it comes to just cool car to collect and with over 99 versions [3] to
find, there is bound to be something to elevate any collection. White wall
tires are pretty cool, but I feel like they don’t seem to fit the imagery of a
lowrider / hot rod of this type. The Black wall versions are great, and the
lace wheel versions are second only to the treasure hunts wheels, not because
or rarity or value, just that the real rider wheels fit the image of the hot
rod style perfectly. Flame paints have been complimentary to every version and
the pinstriping is spot on for the car culture it represents. All in all, this
casting has too much to offer and serves as a direct link to an entire car
culture that spans several styles. Just the same as it is an expression of art
in automotive form, the Purple Passion is an exemplary example of cool cars
which is exactly what the Hot Wheels castings are directly founded on.
I started this
blog for a similar reason. When I started collecting, it was born out of the
love for the self-expression of hot rods. I love cars, I enjoy seeing different
interpretations of them and this type of car is just that. If I had a garage
full of cool cars, this would be high on the list of one to have so I keep my
eye on the pegs when I know it is part of the lineup. I can hear the trumpets
and that infamous song playing in the back of my mind as I wind this review
down. Slide into the sunset big daddy with that jam a playin….. Low-ri-der.
As always, although I own the diecast pictured in these
posts, all artwork, logos, car names, paint descriptions and wheel descriptions
are copyrights of the Mattel toy company.
Mercury is a trademark of the Ford Motor Company.
I know I have a version of one of these somewhere in my collection...
ReplyDeleteCool story bro
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