Cars Die-Cast Line

In April 2006, Mattel began releasing 1:55-scale die-cast models of characters from the Disney-Pixar film, Cars. Mattel has released these toys in a number of Series.

="Cars" Original Series (Series 1, 2006)=

While not the official name for the series, the initial wave in the Cars line has come to be known by many collectors as the "daytime," "desert", "original" or "classic" series.

Releases- 2006, Wave 1.5
The following 3 vehicles were added in case assortments:
 * Dinoco Lightning McQueen
 * Leak Less
 * Nitroade

="Supercharged" Series (Series 2, 2007)=

Due to their wide popularity, Mattel continued to release cars inspired by the film in a new series, widely referred to among collectors as the "Supercharged" series.

Releases- 2007, Wave 2.5
="The World of Cars" Series (Series 3)=

In December 2007, Mattel continued the die-cast line with a new series entitled "The World of Cars."

="The World of Cars - Race O Rama" Series (Series 4)= In late September 2008, Mattel released yet another series to keep the Cars line going. These Cars (singles) have tickets with the name of the car as the label for their packaging, and on the back there are codes for the new World of Cars online game, where you can receive power-ups, new parts, new paint jobs, new collectibles & 10 "Car-Coins".

=Cars Toons=

Expanded Universe "Cars Toons"
These vehicles are based on the animated short series by Pixar that airs on the Disney Channel, Toon Disney, and ABC Family. Its first broadcast was on October 27, 2008.

"Mater's Tall Tales: Rescue Squad Mater"
The vehicles in this series are scheduled to be released in the summer of 2009. They will be based on the first short in the Cars Toons series of shows, "Rescue Squad Mater".

Singles

 * Burnt Lightning McQueen
 * Crowd ("CAR")
 * Nurse ("GTO")
 * Nurse ("Kori")
 * Orderly Pitties (2-pack)
 * Reporter
 * Scared Lightning McQueen
 * Trooper ("Axle Accelerator")

4-Car Box Sets

 * 1 - Burnt Lightning McQueen, Dr. Mater, Nurse Mia, Nurse Tia
 * 2 - Nurse ("GTO"), Reporter, Rescue Helicopter, Scared Lightning McQueen
 * 3 - Dalmation Mia, Dalmation Tia, TBD, TBD

"Mega Size" singles

 * Ambulance
 * Dr. Mater
 * Fire Engine Mater
 * Helicopter

"Mater's Tall Tales: El Materdor"
The vehicles in this series are scheduled to be released in the summer of 2009. They will be based on the short in the Cars Toons series of shows, "El Materdor".

Singles

 * Priest ("Chuck Manifold")
 * Matador Lightning McQueen

4-Car Box Sets

 * 1 - Altar Boy Pitty, Matador Lightning McQueen, Matador Mater, Priest
 * 2 - Bulldozer, Matador Mater, Señorita Mia, Señorita Tia

Playsets

 * Cars Toons Canyon Jump Playset

(CHANGE TO TABLE)

=Future Releases= These releases have been rumored from leaked images, solicitation information sent to retailers, and other sources.

=Exclusives=

Red Ransburg Lightning McQueen
On October 27, 2007, the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation (CAAF) auctioned off many items as part of a fundraising effort, including a one-of-a-kind set of Cars die-casts in a specially-designed case signed by Cars creator John Lasseter. The set included a Blu-ray Lightning McQueen, the as-yet-unreleased Richard Clayton Kensington, and a unique metallic red Lightning McQueen, eventually dubbed "Red Ransburg Lightning McQueen". This car was made distinctive by its red metallic paintjob in the style of "Ransburg" paint application process. There is only 1 of this particular vehicle in the world, which was given away at this CAAF auction. The case was won for $13,000 by the president of Toys "R" Us. Another version of this Red Ransburg Lightning McQueen was given to the attendees of a "brainstorming" meeting in the Fall of 2007, which included employees of Mattel and Disney-Pixar. These vehicles are referred to as the "Cars Team '09" version, as they have this designation on the rear spoiler of the vehicle. Mattel only produced an extremely small number (possibly as low as 50) of this Red Ransburg Lightning McQueen die-cast. This version differed from the one created for the CAAF auction in that the color was a red-orange instead of having an actual red "Ransburg" look, white headlights, painted hood bolts, and the "Cars Team '09" on the rear spoiler as previously mentioned. Because of the small quantities produced and the internal distribution of the die-cast, authentic samples of the Red Ransburg Lightning McQueen have become highly sought-after collectibles and are quite unlikely to be found at present on the secondary market. There were no other authorized version of this car ever made, and many "fake" ones can be found for sale (there was not a group of 150 for any other meeting or anything like that...these are either fakes or part of a group of some unauthorized vehicles that leaked out of Mattel). Note: This car never appears in the movie.

Blu-ray McQueen
In October 2007, Disney released a limited-edition Lightning McQueen free to purchasers of Cars on Blu-ray. According to the Disney redemption website, there was a total of 15,000 units to be redeemed. This promotion finished on January 28, 2008. Note: This car never appears in the movie.

Lightning Storm McQueen
At Comic-Con 2008, Mattel offered a specially packaged version of a metallic Dinoco Blue "Lightning Storm Lightning McQueen", which was limited to 5,000 pieces. A version similar to this was released in stores, in "World of Cars" Series packaging, as an "oversized" vehicle. The version released in stores was not metallic, had no rockets on top, and had less rockets beneath Lightning McQueen than the Comic-Con version.

"2006 Factory Sealed Set"
This was a Hot Wheels Red Line Club exclusive.

It included: Lightning McQueen, Dirt Track McQueen, Dinoco McQueen, Mater, Rollin' Bowlin' Mater, Sally, Ramone, Ramone (Green), Flo, Doc Hudson, Fillmore, Sarge, Lizzie, Red, Stanley, Luigi, Guido, Sheriff, Tractor, The King, Chick Hicks, Boost, Wingo, DJ, Snot Rod, Nitroade and Leak Less.
 * Boost

The "Motor Speedway Of The South" Set
This set was a Hot Wheels Red Line Club exclusive. Its release date was 20th May 2008 it had every race car in the opening scene. There were only a limited number of 1000 sets with a unique and random number on a letter that people that bought the set received. According to the information from the description of the set each set had a unique and random number on the packaging. None of the sets did and Mattel apologised for this problem and stated that the description of the set was incorrect. Mattel have also stated that some of the racers in this set will be exclusive to the set but this could easily change. The sale for this set sold out in 2 hours and 26 minutes.

Included with this set is: Lightning McQueen #95, The King #43, Chick Hicks #86, RPM #64, Nitroade (Aiken Axler) #28, Mood Springs (Chuck Armstrong) #33, Shifty Drug (Kevin Racingtire) #35, Easy Idle (Ruby "Easy" Oaks) #51, Transberry Juice (Lee Revkins) #63, Apple iCar #84, Retread #79, Gask-its #80, Shiny Wax #82, Bumper Save #90, Lil' Torquey Pistons (Ralph Carlow) #117, Clutch Aid #121, No Stall #123, Fiber Fuel (Brush Curber) #56, Trunk Fresh (Dirkson D'Agostino) #34, View Zeen (Ryan Shields) #39, Faux Wheel (Johnny Blamer) #54, Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8, Octane Gain (Billy Oilchanger) #58, Tow Cap #4, N2O Cola (Manny Flywheel) #68, Sidewall Shine #74, Re-Volting (Davey Apex) #84, Tank Coat (Eugene Carbureski) #36, Leak Less (Claude Scruggs) #52, Vitoline (James Cleanair) #61, Gasprin (Floyd Mulvihill) #70, Rev-N-Go #73, Vinyl Toupee (Crusty Rotor) #76, Sputter Stop (Murray Clutchburn) #92, Sparemint (Ernie Gearson) #93 and Tach-O-Mint (Greg Candyman) #101

US Sidewall Shine Promo
In 2008, Toys "R" Us offered a mail-in offer to receive an exclusive Cars character, Sidewall Shine, in special packaging. The offer was to buy 5 Cars at a participating Toys "R" Us, from the approved list of UPCs, between August 18th, 2008 and September 30th, 2008, and mail in the original receipt along with the 5 cardbacks and UPCs from the bought cars, and $5.00 (US). The car was packaged in a clear display case, with a black base, "Sidewall Shine" sticker on the front, and the "World of Cars" emblem sticker on the right side.

US N20 Cola Promo
In late 2008, Toys "R" Us offered a second mail-in offer to receive another exclusive Cars character, N20 Cola, in special packaging. The offer was to buy 5 Cars at a participating Toys "R" Us, from the approved list of UPCs, between October 26th, 2008 and December 31st, 2008, and mail in the original receipt along with the 5 cardbacks and UPCs from the bought cars, and $5.00 (US). Like the "Sidewall Shine" car, N20 Cola came packaged in a clear display case, with a black base, "N20 Cola" sticker on the front, and the "World of Cars" emblem sticker on the right side.

UK Faux Wheel Drive Promo
In late 2008, Mattel UK offered a free collector car by submitting codes from 6 Cars with a special sticker on front. From October 1st, 2008 through January 31st, 2009, the codes from the 6 Cars' packages could be submitted via the Cars UK website or via phone, and in return the customer received a die-cast Faux Wheel Drice Car.

UK Vinyl Toupee Promo
In the UK, Mattel placed stickers on some of its Cars merchandise as part of a promotional campaign that encouraged customers to purchase Cars items, collect stickers and redeem those stickers for free items:
 * 1 sticker = sticker book
 * 6 stickers = Vinyl Toupee (Exclusive single-car release previously only available as part of Target-exclusive "Dinoco 400" set in the U.S.)
 * 12 stickers = Race Case and Track

This promotion ended on December 31, 2007.

Best Buy DVD Release
In 2006, Best Buy released four cars with the purchase of the "Cars" Widescreen or Full Frame DVD. The four cars included were: Lightning McQueen, Mater, Doc Hudson and Fillmore. Also included were bios on the four cars.

Radiator Springs Display Case
Auctioned off with over 50 different cars at Comic Con 2007.

Darth Mater
At Comic-Con 2008, a special "out of this world" car was shown, & that car was called "Darth Mater". On October 25th, 2008, this car was auctioned off for $10,000 to help Children Affected by AIDS (CAAF). The display case was signed by George Lucas and John Lasseter. Note: This car never appears in the movie.

=Other Information=

"Short Card" Singles (a.k.a. "Lane Mates")
"Lane Mates" are the same 1:55 scale diecast cars on smaller cardbacks, ideal for hanging on checkout lane pegs.

The following cars were released as "Lane Mates": Lightning McQueen, Dirt Track McQueen, Dinoco McQueen, Bling Bling McQueen, Cactus McQueen, Cruisin' McQueen, Tongue McQueen, Mater, Brand New Mater, Sally, Doc Hudson, Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Fillmore, Ramone, Lightning Ramone, Hydraulic Ramone, Sheriff, Chick Hicks, Dinoco Hicks, The King, Dinoco Helicopter, Leak Less, Nitroade and Wingo.

Sarge recall
On August 14, 2007, Mattel recalled Sarge die-casts released in the "Supercharged" series because of lead-based paint used in their production by the die-cast's Chinese manufacturer. This was part of a major series of recalls for Mattel and one of numerous recalls of Chinese products in 2007. Sarge has not yet been released again within the die-cast line.

Fillmore Popularity Shoot-Up
In June 2008, due to the death of actor George Carlin, voice of Fillmore in Cars, people everywhere were looking for the Fillmore die-cast. This popularity shoot-up was similar to the Batman, The Joker action figure after the death of actor Heath Ledger.

Recognized Variants
Note: To be considered a variant, it has to occur in sufficient quantity. Otherwise it is deemed an error.

Packaging Variants

 * The "Walmart 8" and 19 of the first new releases to the "World of Cars" series had packages with and without the "New" emblem.
 * Impound Boost - In the "World of Cars: Race O Rama" series, this Car was packaged with both confetti blister cards and non-confetti blister cards.
 * Fillmore - In the "Desert" series, there is a variant with Fillmore spelled wrong as "Filmore" on both the front and back of the card.
 * Fillmore - In the "Desert" series, there is a variant with Fillmore spelled wrong as "Filmore" just on the back of the card.
 * Lizzie - In the "Desert" series, there are versions with and without "promotion information" on back of the card.
 * Sarge - In the "Desert" series, there are versions with and without "promotion information" on back of the card.
 * Wingo - In the "Desert" series, there are versions with and without "promotion information" on back of the card.

Cars Variants

 * Bling Bling McQueen - The Bling Bling McQueen released in the Dinoco Dream Gift Pack has eyes that are shifted from that of the Bling Bling McQueen single. The version in the gift pack has teeth painted more like that of Dinoco McQueen.
 * Boost - There are versions of Boost that were made in Thailand that have a more lavender color, especially under bright lights, while the version made in China is more purple.
 * Dale Earnhardt Jr. - The single of this Car varies greatly from the version in the "Motor Speedway of the South" exclusive set. The set version has a different body (No Stall/Nitroade body), aggressive facial expression (both eyes and mouth) rather than smiling, "JR" logo on trunk area is larger and thicker, rivets on front of spoiler, and the taillights are triangular instead of rectangular.
 * Darrell Cartrip - "Supercharged" series and the first "World of Cars" series versions of this Car have a white mouth with some red in the center. Newer versions have a normal looking black mouth with white teeth.
 * Fabulous Hudson Hornet - In the "Supercharged" series, this Car first was produced with white/light gray rims, but eventually this was changed to red rims.
 * Fabulous Hudson Hornet - After switching to red rims, there are two versions of this vehicles. One has more pronounced eyelids and frame around the eye, and also deeper and more pronounced lines on the bottom of the Car.  The other version has these features less pronounced.
 * Fred - There are versions of Fred with and without the "Fred" license plate.
 * Fred - In the "World of Cars" series, Fred was rescaled to a much smaller version.
 * King - The version of this Car made in Thailand have a differently shaped rear wheel-well than that made in China. On the version made in Thailand, the front section of the rear wheel-well is 1mm further away from the tire than the version made in China.
 * Kori Turbowitz - In the "Walmart 8" exclusives of the "Supercharged" series, Kori Turbowitz came in two versions: one with an angled press pass sticker, and one with a straight press pass sticker.
 * Leak Less - In the "Desert" and "Supercharged" series, Leak Less was more yellow, but sometime during the "World of Cars" series, Leak Less began to be painted with a green-tinted yellow.
 * Lightning McQueen - In the "World of Cars" series Lightning Fast Speedway Track Set, Lightning McQueen had a two-piece body, much like the other McQueen's, such as Tongue Lightning McQueen. The two pieces are the main body and the mouth area.  All other Lightning McQueens to this point were single-piece bodies.
 * Piston Cup Pace Car/Charlie Checker - This Car comes in two versions: one with red taillights and one with yellow taillights.
 * Sally - The version of this Car made in Thailand has a thicker font for the word "Carrera" on the back, than that of the version made in China.
 * Sarge - Sarge has the famous variant in which his paint contains lead.
 * TJ - In the "Walmart 8" exclusives of the "Supercharged" series, TJ came in two versions: one with a "TUF GUE" license plate, and one with a "TUF GUY" license plate.

Trivia

 * Some cars such as "Leak Less", "Nitroade", "RPM #64", "Lightning McQueen", "Race Official Tom", "My Name Is Not Chuck", "Stacy" and "Wide Chick Pitty" are re-painted to make new cars.
 * Some of "The World Of Cars" car have a yellow & red route 66 sign that says "New!"
 * Dudley Spare is a repaint of My Name Is Not Chuck, but the forklift that appears on his background card is not Dudley at all. The forklift on the card is a repaint of Stacy.
 * Chuki is a remake of P.T. Flea (painted pink, minus Flea's hat, and with a different mouth and eyes.)
 * Fabulous Hudson Hornet originally had white rims, but they were changed to red rims on later production runs.
 * Mario Andretti has yellow rims although in the film he has red rims.
 * Darell Cartrip has "DWstore.com" printed on the back of the car.
 * There is proof on a YouTube Video that there are 217 different Cars.