PB 308 new page 14-18.indd - Plymouth Club
PB 308 new page 14-18.indd - Plymouth Club
PB 308 new page 14-18.indd - Plymouth Club
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<strong>Plymouth</strong> Miniatures<br />
Hunting the <strong>Plymouth</strong> taxi<br />
Regular readers of my column<br />
well know that I enjoy writing<br />
about miniatures and other segments<br />
of <strong>Plymouth</strong> memorabilia, especially<br />
that which I think folks may not<br />
have seen or have had an opportunity to<br />
view up close. Hopefully, they will take<br />
delight in just knowing that these<br />
<strong>Plymouth</strong> items are out there, somewhere<br />
in this vast world of ours. And<br />
who knows? I may also inspire some<br />
readers to get out and search for similar<br />
<strong>Plymouth</strong> items. There is fun<br />
to be had in the hunt, and the<br />
trophy, to my way of thinking,<br />
is every bit as exciting to<br />
have, mount and brag about. I<br />
guess bragging about what I<br />
track down in the realm of<br />
<strong>Plymouth</strong> “animals” is what I<br />
like best in doing these articles.<br />
Talking about our old car<br />
hobby is, well, about as good<br />
as gets.<br />
Hunting down rare and<br />
exotic species from nature can<br />
get a person in a whole lot of<br />
trouble in the real world – as<br />
it certainly should – or it can<br />
take up lot more time than it<br />
is worth. Sometimes that is<br />
even the case for inveterate<br />
(and retired!) trackers like me.<br />
Occasionally it is safer, easier<br />
and just as pleasurable to go<br />
out looking for a <strong>Plymouth</strong><br />
item, in this case a miniature<br />
that is readily available in an<br />
accessible location and will<br />
not cost you much when you<br />
are able to net it.<br />
Our easily seen prey this<br />
time is a 1967 <strong>Plymouth</strong> Fury taxi,<br />
made by Johnny Lightning, a maker of<br />
1/64-scale diecast vehicles familiar to<br />
many of us. I am sure you have spotted<br />
it by now in the pictures accompanying<br />
this article. I wouldn’t say it’s as common<br />
as the squirrels in your local park or<br />
that sparrow insisting on building a nest<br />
in the eaves of your garage, but if you<br />
get out once in awhile for a little shopping<br />
at the big box stores and stroll<br />
through the die-cast toy aisles, you are<br />
likely to catch a glimpse of this red and<br />
white <strong>Plymouth</strong> taxi. It’s guaranteed to<br />
bring a smile to any harried, weary bargain<br />
hunter hoping to get back soon to<br />
his or her garage to polish up the vintage<br />
<strong>Plymouth</strong> for an upcoming cruise.<br />
What’s more – and while we all ooh and<br />
ahh over the <strong>Plymouth</strong> muscle cars,<br />
sporty ragtops and racy hardtops – I, for<br />
one, like to recall the days when our<br />
favorite car earned its way in the world of<br />
automobiles as a sturdy and reliable taxi<br />
in big cities and small towns. Can you<br />
remember your last ride in a <strong>Plymouth</strong><br />
taxi? I can.<br />
The heyday of Johnny Lightning<br />
production was about five or so years<br />
ago when the Johnny Lightnings (along<br />
with Hot Wheels, of course) practically<br />
dominated the die-cast section of the toy<br />
and big department stores. Like me, you<br />
may recall going into the toy shop in the<br />
-44-<br />
mall and coming out with three JL vehicles<br />
for only $5.00 plus tax. The asking<br />
price was so low, and the cars so downright<br />
nice, that the purchase became irresistible<br />
– and more than likely you were<br />
able to pick up a <strong>Plymouth</strong> or two in<br />
your batch of three. Not bad, especially<br />
if you hadn’t wanted to be in the mall in<br />
the first place. From that five-year<br />
“moment” of Johnny Lightning joy, the<br />
road has been downhill for<br />
the brand. Johnny Lightning<br />
vehicles became fewer and<br />
fewer to the point, which I<br />
recall in the summer of 2009<br />
at my local Wal-Mart, when I<br />
did not see a single one on<br />
the shelves. I was able to<br />
locate a few at flea markets<br />
during this period but the discussion<br />
among toy collectors<br />
and car folks was on the mystery<br />
of what happened to JL?<br />
The company did change<br />
hands at some point, and<br />
maybe the brain trust ran out<br />
of ideas for <strong>new</strong> vehicle production.<br />
Raw materials needed<br />
to make die-cast cars<br />
jumped in price about this<br />
time, and the collector market<br />
for toy vehicles changed. All<br />
of these factors may have<br />
contributed to the demise of<br />
JL in one way or another.<br />
Johnny Lightning did<br />
attempt a weak comeback in<br />
late ‘09/early ‘10, and it was<br />
possible to find a few them,<br />
plus some factory leftovers,<br />
on store shelves. However, as<br />
serious die-cast hunters now know, the<br />
company is only a shadow of its former<br />
self. The variety of <strong>new</strong> models is currently<br />
very limited and the packaging is<br />
smaller (that’s fine from an ecological<br />
and storage point of view), and it looks a<br />
bit on the “el cheapo” side when compared<br />
to previous JL offerings from the<br />
golden days. This last gasp from JL<br />
continued on <strong>page</strong> 46…