[Closed] I think I discovered the reason that Hot Wheels lost their Ferrari licensing...

I think I discovered the reason that Hot Wheels lost their Ferrari licensing...

... I recently ordered and just received one of Hot Wheels' "foundation" Ferrari 458 Italias and, let me just say up front that it EXUDES cheapness!

When I first received it, I was pleased as punch! It actually looks great... in the box! Once I removed it, though, the quality (or lack thereof) issues began to reveal themselves; first, I noticed immediately, that the "steerable" wheels would only change direction very slightly (I'm guessing, but I'd say probably no more than maybe three to five degrees). Next, as I was trying to loosen the wire securing-tether on the hood (or is it the trunk? The one in the front, anyway), I discovered that it's made of a very flexible plastic! I guess this really shouldn't surprise me, since I've owned one or two of their foundation Ferraris that had plastic engine covers. This one just struck me as odd, though, because I had never seen any diecast model with a plastic hood/trunk/whatever! The engine cover was, not surprisingly, also plastic, but I expected that.

Next, and before I even had a chance to recover from the plastic hood disappointment, I opened the doors and... YOU GUESSED IT! They're ALSO plastic!

At this point, I was looking for a magnet to use in testing the body to see if it was plastic as well. Fortunately, though, it is diecast metal, so that was a relief!

Now, inside the car, the interior was a very plasticky-looking solid black. There was no color, whatsoever, to indicate different materials or trim, etc. Not even a decal (yuck!) to indicate the gauges in the instrument panel! The one-and-only exception to the sea of black plastic was a single yellow pinhead-sized spot in the center of the detail-less, black, plastic steering wheel, posing as the familiar "prancing horse" emblem.

Although the SILVER plastic wheels actually look pretty good, I was somewhat dismayed to find that the black-plastic brake discs do not rotate with the wheels. I then realized that the brake discs and calipers are each a single molded piece of... black plastic! So, if the discs were to rotate, the calipers would rotate right along with them!

I guess the last disappointment that I discovered was that the center-positioned exhaust tips were actually formed as a single piece of CHROMED plastic! This actually wouldn't have been such a bad thing, since this is, after all, a "foundation" piece, but then I noticed a clearly-visible spot of missing chrome where the plastic piece had been tactlessly removed from the sprue! Can anyone say "QUALITY CONTROL"??!!!

Okay, I know what you're thinking... "This guy is expecting 'Elite' quality at a 'Foundation' price!" Well, that's true, to an extent, but here's the deal:

I would have bought an Elite to begin with, if I had been able to find one. I wasn't! I had been searching for one for about eight months (on the 'Bay and elsewhere) and never saw a single one! As a matter of fact, this Foundation model that I bought was the only "street" 458 I've seen of any type! So, I figured I'd better get it while the opportunity was there! Even IF I had been able to find an Elite, I'm quite sure that it would have been going for a BBR/CMC price, which I can't afford.

So, I ended up paying $55 (plus S &H) for a model that really should have been priced at about $20, from a quality-only standpoint. Now, I know that things like licensing costs and so forth can cause prices to skyrocket (e.g. the Barris Batmobile), but poor quality and cheap materials is, by no means, an encouragement for future purchases... which brings me to my point; I have to believe that Ferrari wants its automobiles represented in a fashion that might, to some degree, reflect the quality and desirability of its own product line. If one of their executives happened to, on a whim, pick up a Foundation 458, I cannot, in my wildest dreams, imagine that he (or she) would be pleased.

While the quality of Hot Wheels' Elite line actually grew by leaps and bounds, after they initially secured the Ferrari licensing rights, I personally believe that, for the most part, the Foundation line quality level decreased. Sure, they do have a few quality strongpoints (realistic door hinges, for example), most of these quality-boosters are the direct result of the model having been initially designed as an Elite, with many of the Elite features being toned down for the Foundation models, as opposed to them having been designed as foundation level models and then having quality boosters added for the Elites, which is how they started out when they obtained licensing.

So, after this long rant, I'll say this too; I don't regret having bought the 55 dollar- twenty dollar Ferrari. It was, after all, the only opportunity I've had to obtain a representation of the 458, which is one of my (many) favorite Ferraris. If I could get my hands on an Elite, though (or something better), I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat and sell the Foundation model! Until then, I'll just live with the imperfections.