Matchbox 2000 Time Capsule of the Day

Yes I am aware I was hooked on the New Beetle hype as yet again in this time capsule I have another VW Concept 1 casting, but good news that this is the last one of the capsule and this is the unique D.A.R.E. police car for Bellevue police department.  As mentioned before the D.A.R.E program was designed to teach kids to avoid alcohol and drugs with flashy posters and events with first responders, and most of the D.A.R.E. police cars used are not only unique from a standard Crown Vic or a Caprice but are also seized from a drug dealer before being converted into a showcase police car.  This Concept 1, on the other hand, was likely done by the Bellevue police department based on the New Beetle hype as I see no drug dealer wanting to tool around in this car!  The white with black front and rear fender design is a nice touch with D.A.R.E on the hood, sides after the rear doors, and on the rear window with Bellevue police and Officer Bob on the doors.  The front h...

Back in the 1990’s Avon was all the rage with women who were either housewives or wanted a catalog to look at for work, and this was before the internet shopping age we are in today.  Despite the catalog being catered toward women there were other items that were focused on men and kids, and with the popularity of Avon it was normal for Hot Wheels and Matchbox to cash in with some specifically unique models to sell in the catalog.  One of those items shown here is the Avon Coca-Cola 2-packs that consisted of two vehicles (usually a then-and-now pairing of brand models) and I always liked trucks so this Ford truck set was a nice one to get.  The 1956 Ford F-100 has appeared in the time capsule many times before and here it sports a two-tone red with white fenders and a vintage advertisement in green on the hood, while the 1998 Ford Expedition that also has appeared in the time capsule before, appears here in white with the glass Coke bottle on the sides.  The l...

2020 is not only the 20 th  anniversary of the Matchbox 2000 1-100 line with this time capsule that I present, but also this is the 20 th  year that Matchbox and Disney have partnered up with the annual release of this MCI coach bus for sale at Disney World parks.  Over the years the colors have changed, the package design has been updated, and even the wheels changed over, but the overall bus casting still remains unique to the Disney theme parks.  The MCI bus company is one of the charter bus companies catering to transporting groups and teams across the nation with these fleet of buses, such as the E-4500 with its wrap-around front windshield and side glass to the rear-mounted I-6 turbodiesel making 435 horsepower.  Compared to the last coach bus that Matchbox released, the Ikarus Coach back in 1987, this is three times bigger allowing the correct size and dimensions of the bus really stand out.  The front has oval headlights with lower foglights ...

On one Saturday in November, back in 2000, there was a store promotional going on when the doors opened to any Target at 9 a.m.: either get a free camera or this Volkswagen Concept 1 from Matchbox.  I went to one store opening and got the Concept 1, thankfully, and there was two variations on this model with some having the regular 5-spokes and others the new-style 5-spoke wheels, all on short card blister design with a coupon for a Matchbox set in the back.  Each store got at least 1,000 beetles to give away and all were painted red with some light glitter applied to the clearcoat with Matchbox logo just behind the front doors.  As mentioned and showed many times in this time capsule the Concept 1 Beetle was introduced in 1996 based on the 1994 concept car that previewed the next Beetle that would be front-engine, water-cooled, based on the VW Golf platform and would enter production in 1998 as the New Beetle.  It wasn’t until 2000 that Matchbox released a pr...

Over the years there has been Olympics promotional models in diecast, though none has been so large as this 5-pack that Matchbox made for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and since Matchbox created a few segment series specifically for the Australia line it was fitting to do so.  With the exception of one vehicle all others are based on models from General Motors with three from Chevrolet and one from Opel.  The Sea Rescue Helicopter is the only non-vehicle of the group in blue with yellow base and rotors.  Like I mentioned before this was a perfect vehicle to a civilian helicopter than using the military chopper that Matchbox has been using for other uses in years, and here it works to bring aerial coverage of the Olympic games.  Matching the blue is the 1997 Chevy Tahoe SUV that debut in 1998 and is the only vehicle here to serve duty with more passenger space and off-road capability.  Only one in a peachy orange color is the 1998 Chevy Camaro SS convertible w...

This was more of a kid-oriented 5-pack of the bunch, but I got it because I felt this 5-pack was valuable for the two Volkswagen’s inside: the 1962 Beetle in orange and the 1967 Transporter in black.  Yes were popular at the time, though this was not one of their best outfits.  Joining them is the Chevy Blazer 4x4 in black complete with whip antenna, the Mercedes TV News Truck in green with detailed control monitors on the sides, and even working TV and antenna stands.  The last one is the 1997 Ford F-150 that debut in 1998 in white as an extended-cab fleetside pickup.  It was a bit late to the new 1997 F-series party in diecast, but it was nicely done with detailed front grille, smooth front and rear bumper designs, and a deep cargo bed in the back.  The interior has the detailed front and rear seats with the smooth dashboard layout and two-spoke steering wheel.  The dashboard tends to stick too far back from the base of the windshield at times, lea...