Die Cast X Winter 2021

This issue’s two big feature stories have a common underlying theme, and one that is particularly relevant as we say goodbye to 2020 and roll into the new year. That theme is change—and how unexpected it can be. That’s a good theme to close out what has been the most unexpected year in many of our memories. But looking at these two stories we are reminded how change—even unpredictable change—can be a glorious thing. Take our story Bargain Muscle Cars on p18. It chronicles how, when Detroit introduced their first affordable compact cars in 1960, that performance was the furthest thing from their minds. And yet, within just 2-3 years, some of those uninspiring econoboxes had evolved into a new enthusiast niche. Within 5 years every one of those manufacturers…

A Silver Screen Giant in Giant Scale Eaglemoss Die-Cast Club Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 1:8 scale | $950 (est) The Aston Martin DB5 that first appeared in the third installment of the James Bond franchise has been touted as the most famous car in the world. Certainly, it is the most famous movie car, and it has returned in various forms to appear in seven more Bond films (including the forthcoming No Time to Die.) But it is the first version, from Goldfinger, that collectors love best—both for its classic British looks and for its brilliant array of gadgets. This 1:8-scale kit-built DB5 from Eaglemoss’s Die-Cast Club has both of those virtues too. Like the Willys-Jeep featured on page 62 the Bond Aston is a build-it-yourself kit that arrives in a total of…

Throughout most of the 1950s, as America’s economy boomed, the auto industry’s fortunes soared right along with it. Record-setting sales numbers were accompanied by a growing consumer appetite for larger, more stylish, more feature-laden cars that projected prosperity. Domestic manufacturers were happy to ride that wave of success; advances in engine technology and the proliferation of large, powerful V8s meant that performance became a luxury commodity—available to customers who could afford the premium it commanded. But as the decade drew on the economy started to soften. In 1957 car sales slowed as recession loomed; just about the time the ‘58 models started arriving at dealerships, the bottom fell out. Many of those big, extravagant models now sat unclaimed on dealer lots. Execs at the Big Three realized they had been…

1970 was a big year for big-engine, big-money muscle cars, and Detroit’s Big Three were locked in a power struggle. Halo models like the Hemi and Six Pack Mopars, the GTO Judge, Ford’s Bosses and Cobra Jets, and Chevy’s new big brute the SS 454 fought for bragging rights on the streets, at drag strips, and, in the allimportant dealer showrooms. High horsepower was key, but increasingly the battle was as much about image as timeslips. Panache mattered at least as much as performance, so graphics got bolder, equipment lists got longer, and sticker prices skyrocketed as fast as horsepower ratings! That and increasingly hefty surcharges from insurance companies were pricing many customers right out of the muscle car game. Affordable alternatives were sorely needed. One of the first to answer…

The Corvette is known the world over as “America’s Sports Car.” With eight generations spanning seven decades, the Vette has a lot of history behind it and there is much to learn—and much to celebrate—about this iconic machine. As the title of the book by Mike Mueller makes plain, The Complete Book of Corvette: Every Model Since 1953 is here to help readers do both. Newly revised and updated to include the 2020 C8 Corvette, this volume provides excellent context on how the Vette has evolved into the world-class supercar that it is today. Many of us are familiar with the broad strokes; how the Father of the Corvette, Zora Arkus-Duntov, took Chevy’s stylish little 6-cylinder runabout and honed it into a proper performance car with the addition of the small…

Few automotive redesigns have been awaited with as much anticipation—or as much controversy—as the 8th generation Corvette (the C8 in Vette-speak.) Enthusiasts eager to see “America’s sports car” finally be able to take on world-class exotics on even footing heralded the C8’s revolutionary design feature: an engine that has been relocated behind the driver. Purists saw such a move as heresy—abandoning 65 years of American tradition of carrying its thumping V8 in front. Ultimately engineers and marketing strategists chose performance over heritage and swapped places between man and motor, mirroring the mid-engine layout favored by marques like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren. But mimicking greats does not automatically make one great; Chevy still had to execute on the new design philosophy, and at the same time imbue the new car with…