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Per Mr. Tom Lowe....
Topic Started: Jun 11 2015, 08:15 AM (3,951 Views)
Ricky2400
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It is said that Johnny Lightning & Racing Champions will be back within the next 6-9 months. Mr. Lowe also (he says) is quite unhappy with the way Johnny Lightning has been going in the last few years.
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daniel60
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Wow that's wonderful news. Thanks.
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Barracuda68
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You know I really didn't mind JL and RC being gone. It isn't like we don't have plenty of other die cast company's right now, I have a hard enough keeping up with GL, M2, HW's, AW and sometimes MBX and now JL and RC will be coming back
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Barracuda68
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great...
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toyotageek
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Ricky2400
Jun 11 2015, 08:15 AM
It is said that Johnny Lightning & Racing Champions will be back within the next 6-9 months. Mr. Lowe also (he says) is quite unhappy with the way Johnny Lightning has been going in the last few years.
Okay.
So I'm confused.
JL is dead, right. But I assume TOMY still holds the rights to it or the name.
Tom Lowe is running Auto World.
How can this be?
You've raised more questions than there were before.
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HWJOE
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toyotageek
Jun 11 2015, 10:18 AM
Ricky2400
Jun 11 2015, 08:15 AM
It is said that Johnny Lightning & Racing Champions will be back within the next 6-9 months. Mr. Lowe also (he says) is quite unhappy with the way Johnny Lightning has been going in the last few years.
Okay.
So I'm confused.
JL is dead, right. But I assume TOMY still holds the rights to it or the name.
Tom Lowe is running Auto World.
How can this be?
You've raised more questions than there were before.
LOL Agreed! :blink:
Elaboration please! ;)
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not privy to the info, but I'm wondering if either A: Tom Lowe is buying back JL from Tomy, or B: it is Tom Zahorsky, not Tom Lowe?
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camaro marty
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Does this mean we can expect a release with them every six months too?Kool.
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HWJOE
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juantoo3
Jun 11 2015, 01:53 PM
I'm not privy to the info, but I'm wondering if either A: Tom Lowe is buying back JL from Tomy, or B: it is Tom Zahorsky, not Tom Lowe?
:02: Either way, I'd like more info! JL coming back would be great!
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cody6268
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This is great news! I'm pretty sure it isn't an April Fools prank, like the Kenner Fast 111 joke we had this year. I just bought some JL's at Ollie's yesterday and thought they'd be some of the last I'd ever buy, as they were left overs from 2012.

Racing Champions, I thought was OOB since the early '00s. Any plans to bring back the '59 Ford F-200?

Edited by cody6268, Jun 11 2015, 03:46 PM.
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toyotageek
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Barracuda68
Jun 11 2015, 03:43 PM
One my friends of FB says you guys are knuckleheads, he says Its Tom Lowe - - Not Tom Z buying back JL... Tom Z didn't even own JL


Just thought I'd let you guys know that
Yes, it is known that Tom Lowe once owned JL and sold it.
Don't know Tom Z's exact position while he was at JL, but yes, he never owned it... I guess he managed it? Tom Z was still there when TOMY bought JL. Tom Z was also running Tomica USA for a while, until they folded. Last I heard, he's still working for TOMY, marketing other toys.

So far it's not confirmed that Tom Lowe is buying back JL.

This is how rumors get started.

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Barracuda68
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The unnamed friend one FB asked me to get rid of that comment, I did as best as I could. Oooh he will be most unsatisfied that it can be viewed in that quote
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Barracuda68
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Anyway this friend on FB get his info from a rather reputable person for the info

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jedimario
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I heard from a very reputable source that Swifty himself is buying the Hot Wheels brand from Mattel. Just saying.
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Barracuda68
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Well I guess we can expect some big changes in the near future from Hot wheels then
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Ricky2400
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There is a press conference pending, from my understanding, but someone who knows Tom Lowe says that he is planning a "Round 2" series merged with Auto World. We still have no information yet, but as Tomy is dumping Johnny Lightning, maybe Lowe can merge it with Auto World?
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craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

jedimario
Jun 11 2015, 05:59 PM
I heard from a very reputable source that Swifty himself is buying the Hot Wheels brand from Mattel. Just saying.
At least we'd finally get an AMC Marlin done in small scale. :thumbup:
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Dragnet_Supporter
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Ricky2400
Jun 11 2015, 06:14 PM
There is a press conference pending, from my understanding, but someone who knows Tom Lowe says that he is planning a "Round 2" series merged with Auto World. We still have no information yet, but as Tomy is dumping Johnny Lightning, maybe Lowe can merge it with Auto World?
Okay...if this is true (and right now it's just hearsay from a friend who knows a guy who knows a hedgehog) then I would gladly enjoy the return of JL under the managment of TL and his crew.

If it turns out to be a vague notion or a rumor, what can I say? We better get that hedgehog on the horn and see if he's just talking to his shadow :wave:
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
jedimario
Jun 11 2015, 05:59 PM
I heard from a very reputable source that Swifty himself is buying the Hot Wheels brand from Mattel. Just saying.
See, this is completely and entirely false. I brokered a deal for Hasbro to purchase Matchbox from Mattel... But I bought Yat Ming for myself. That's why I've been so quiet lately but I guess the secret's out now. :P
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Dragnet_Supporter
Jun 11 2015, 07:22 PM
Ricky2400
Jun 11 2015, 06:14 PM
There is a press conference pending, from my understanding, but someone who knows Tom Lowe says that he is planning a "Round 2" series merged with Auto World. We still have no information yet, but as Tomy is dumping Johnny Lightning, maybe Lowe can merge it with Auto World?
Okay...if this is true (and right now it's just hearsay from a friend who knows a guy who knows a hedgehog) then I would gladly enjoy the return of JL under the managment of TL and his crew.

If it turns out to be a vague notion or a rumor, what can I say? We better get that hedgehog on the horn and see if he's just talking to his shadow :wave:
The "Tom Lowe is buying JL back" rumor has gone around multiple times since he sold Playing Mantis to RC2 in 2004. I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now.

1. Auto World is making a name for themselves making true 1/64 scale cars while JLs were made to fit the blister.

2. The last time there were a lot of new JL castings was a decade ago. These may have been state of the art when released but many of the toolings are outdated now because GreenLight, M2, and Auto World have all done amazing things in the years since.

If it's true (and that's a very big if!) I can see only two potential reasons for it.

Either they want a bank of castings they can use for the next few years while they tool up more original designs or they're looking for a budget line of cars. And since we know that when they were last produced JLs were retailing for about $4 that's not very budget-friendly.
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jedimario
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RAWR
I bet some of the castings could be cheapened and pushed out the door for a dollar. Not sure if there's room for another toy die-cast brand though.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Cheapening old Racing Champions castings is one of the ways JL got themselves in trouble to begin with. After the takeover a number of 'new' Johnny Lightnings' were slightly modified RC or Ertl American Muscle tools that all ended up looking lacking when compared to the originals. The AMC Pacer and Mercury Cougar both jump to mind.
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Stangfreak
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No Comment!!!
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Dragnet_Supporter
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A budget line with JL and RC could work. Granted, we had a $4 price tag on the line near the end, but let us not forget they started at $2. A smart business person would creat a stable price between $2 qnd $3 and not become greedy. Well painted castings, even if they had plastic bases and limited tire choice--like AWs lower tire--would bring in revenue.

But doesn't AW have their own plastic based line up? Yes. And this is reaching, I admit, but if we are looking at an inexpensive line of cars that would sell, conside that JL and RC has a huge amount of casting with dies already made.

But then you have to decide on what Tomy is selling them for. If it's a song, then it's a great business oportunity if handled right. If it's a large outlay of cash, then I would say that AW probably would rather make a profit on their own line first before laying out a lot of cash in today's market. So it isn't that the idea is totally bad. If AW had the castings in hand, I'm sure they would do them justice. It just all comes down to money and desirability in the end.
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daniel60
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In short I think it would only increase competition between the manufacturers and we would all benefit from it.
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