Matchbox 2023 Basic Cars
Item No.: Asst. 30782 No. HLC78 Manufacturer:Mattel Includes:n/a Action Feature:Two fronts, no backsies Retail:$1.25 Availability: ca. 2023 Other: Second edition - the first was red
In late spring/early summer 2024 I was going through lots of toy cars to see what was out there, and one of the pegwarmers for Matchbox was the second release of the Push'n Puller from 2023 - but, oddly, it seemed to dry up shortly after I noticed. The gimmick may not be obvious, but it's a rare made-up car in that it's two car fronts connected together, with two steering wheels and two driver's seats combined not unlike the love toilet with a name that Dr. Doolittle fans may recognize as it's most likely a nod to the Pushmi Pullyu, a double-front llama thing that was (I'm told) a beloved licensed toy from before science fiction figures really kicked into high gear.
Looking up people posting on this one, it seems fans don't love it - so of course I find it incredibly charming. Matchbox racks are loaded with cars that are generally short on whimsy. They tend to be things you may have seen in museums, or in the movies, or on the road, or in old family photos. This is not one of those - if it were a Hot Wheels casting it might be a beloved classic. But it's not, and it's the kind of thing you look at and think "Who is this for?" before ultimately deciding "me, it's for me."
Mattel's designers did a good job making this one weird. While technically there's no true front, there is - these cars' fronts face to the left in-package, and there's a star on the sides in the artwork that match this orientation. So, for the picky, that's the front. The car's deco has an "M" for "Matchbox" in the middle, surrounded some perfectly nice light blue stripes and some orange patterns over a base coat of a really gorgeous metalflake blue. I didn't even notice the sparkles in the stores - it pays to photograph things sometimes. The headlights are unpainted, as are the wipers. As is the interior. But that's inflation for you - these things were a buck for decades, and now that inflation and threats of possible tariffs loom on the horizon yet again they're probably not coming down from $1.25 and odds are we're not going to get another quarter's worth of deco. Some paint on the grille would be nice, and I'd love to see headlights, but it was not meant to be on this or many other cars. Matchbox headlights tend to be tampos and some are good and some are a little off-center.
I assume and indeed hope the designers were having fun with this one. The legal department sure had a good time. Flip the car over, and the copyright information is doubled up on the bottom as well - also a tiny elephant, which I am assuming may be a nod to Jumbo the Elephant, an old toy manufactured by Lesney back before (I assume) anyone reading this was born. While the company is defunct, Lesney has been appearing on packaging for trademark purposes above "Superfast," another term used by Matchbox back in the day. These things don't tend to be particularly speedy, though, as Hot Wheels tends to emphasize track compatibility a little bit more than Matchbox which seems to favor improved proportions and realism. You don't get a lot of gonzo colors here and you certainly don't get a lot of graphics on the sides. Some, but not a lot.
This one performed perfectly fine on a race track. I didn't notice anything special in either direction.
I had it as a child I would never let it go. It has personality, nice colors, and is the kind of thing I'd love to say I wish we saw more earlier. And we did, it was sadly before my era. This goofy little car may be dusty and on a peg at Target or Dollar Tree near you. If you see it, pick it up, and give it a look. It'll probably still be there in a week, but just give it a minute and maybe it'll spark something in your toy imagination and you'll go back for it later like I did.
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