Hey guys… I’d just like to start by apologizing to both of my fans and also to Trish for my EXTENDED sabbatical leave… I wonder if anyone even remembers the Viper anymore. Let me just say that I’m still collecting, albeit at a more relaxed pace. I haven’t managed a Stateside trip in a year or two, both due to financial constraints and trepidation about crossing the border after 9/11.

The good news is that collecting in Canada is getting better and better. We still don’t get as much of the collectible stuff, but the regular line cars are showing up at about the same pace as in the US. I’m still about 30-odd cars shy of completing the 2002 set but they’re showing up bit by bit.

Speaking of, once again Mattel is jumping in on the new year way ahead of schedule. I just hit the mother lode today at one of my TRU’s and I now have 11 of the 2003 First Editions, and I also found my first 2003 TH! Now, 11 FE’s might not sound like much... but that’s a quarter of the 2003 FE’s already! It’s still December! One thing I have to say, I am liking the 2003 FE’s bigtime. Mattel is not resting on its laurels, and they’re continually improving the production. One thing that has my eyebrows lifted are the kewl two-tone paint jobs, as evidenced on the Fish & Chip’d, the Switchback and the 8 Crate. VERY nice.

Oh yeah, the TH Hooligan is SWEET.

Now… here’s to the most interesting thing I noticed today, and the subject of this column. I am sure that things in the States are similar to what’s been going on in Canada, i.e., we’ve all started finding 2003 cars, but in the same packages as the 2002 models. Well, today I think I finally saw the new 2003 packaging. Big deal, you say? Maybe, maybe not. One thing that has always been an issue with me is the difference between US and “MexiCan” multilingual cards. Many collectors Stateside have turned their noses up at “International” cards and I’ve already spoken out on the subject of these “cardboard collectors”. Personally, I alweays wondered why Mattel even bothered, and why they didn’t just go with a multilingual card for all of North America. For instance, Canadian cards have long lacked the Collector Number bubble on the front of the card. Instead, this is relegated to the BACK of the card. Damfino why.

We’ve seen a lot of package changes over the years, from the “blue cards” to the “series” cards that came in in ’95 with the new series car concept. And then there was the business with the short-lived “red car cards” in ’98… hoo boy. And then the whole rigamarole with the missing left corner.. which reappeared at the end of 2000 only to be replaced by the new 2001 cards with the curved cutaway and the Sho-Stopper car. I had been wondering if we were going to see a new card design, and I was also curious as to whether Mattel was going to acknowledge the 35th anniversary or not… I figured they’d try and milk it for what it’s worth, but 35 is not exactly a notable year. Anyway, today, as I was greedily filling my arms with the latest haul, I finally noticed the new “35th Anniversary” cards, with the C# bubbles on the front. Now, my first conclusion was that this TRU had gotten in a few boxes of US card cars, something that has happened in the past. We see US cards occasionally, just as Canadian cards and even short International cards have been known to pop up south of the border.

But. These cartds are in three languages… English, French and Spanish. So… are these merely new MexiCan cards that are a bit closer to their American cousins, or, has Mattel read my mind again and decide to go with a unified card for North America? Anyone could easily see how it would be to Mattel’s advantage to simplify their life with a standardized card… the other upshot of this is that the case codes might just be the same now too! I’ll hope to get some feedback from some of you if this is the case. What are the 2003 cards like down there? These ones I found today sure look like US cards but there’s too many languages! Have you guys been finding similar multilingual 2003 cards? Lemme know! If I’m right, this will be great, as it will make cross-border trading so much better for both sides, with a standard card for everyone. And I won’t have to rag on the cardboard collectors anymore.

Thanks for listening, and I’ll be submitting again real soon. Good hunting!

Viper