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Stock #24384 |
CB's Die Cast Review: November 23, 2000 |
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2000 First Editions #23
One of the late First
Editions to surface this year is Metrorail, a funny car dragster based on the
1950 Metropolitan 1500, which in turn was patterned after the 1950 Rambler.
Metrorail will remind the long-time collectors of 1971's Bye Focal, which was a
1970 Dodge Challenger with a stretched hood. The current car is lighter and less
stable, but it might give the older Redline a run for its money on the orange strip.
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Auto manufacturer Nash introduced in 1950 the Rambler two-seater, recognized by many
as America's first compact car. In 1954, Nash and Hudson, another manufacturer,
merged to form the American Motors Company. The Rambler line became so successful
that the Nash name was dropped, and Rambler became its own brand in 1958. A sister
vehicle was manufactured in England to Rambler specifications by Austin-Fisher Ludlow and
named the Metropolitan. Interestingly, the Metropolitan was imported into the United
States under the Hudson brand, and was as popular as the Rambler. The first Ramblers
/ Metropolitans were powered by a 42 horsepower engine that produced an economical 41 miles
per gallon at 35 miles per hour, and 24 mpg at 61 mph.
The Metrorail is a chopped version of the 1950 Hudson Metropolitan, stretched into a rail
dragster. The majority of the "stretch" takes place between the nose and firewall, as
the dimensions of the car from the firewall back are close to the actual Metropolitan.
The die-cast body is painted in `50s aqua enamel, with the sides below the belt rail tamped in
white. The name of the car is tamped on the white section in purple, emphasized with a
double underline tamped in green. The chassis is chrome-plated plastic, and includes the
accurate front bumper and grill. A chrome-plated plastic insert includes the blown motor,
single-seat interior and rear bumper. A pair of wheelie wheels, part of the chassis,
protrudes from underneath the rear bumper. The car rides on standard five-spoke wheels and
was manufactured in Malaysia.
This is an interesting vehicle. In spite of the stretched nose and chopped roof, the
details of the model are extremely faithful to the real Metropolitan. The profile of the
fender covers is excellent, even with the front end riding closer to the ground. The
interior includes a dragster-style steering wheel and a detailed seat, although there is a
difficulty seeing this due to the smoked tinted glass. Blue tinted or clear glass would
have allowed a better view. The Mattel engineers chose to design the chassis as a
side-to-side smug fit into the body, even though the underbody detail clearly indicates the
intention that this is a rail dragster. Since the interior is a separate component, it
seems that the chassis could have been designed more accurately, as on the Firebird Funny Car
from 1997. In one aspect, it's too bad this isn't 1975; it would have been nice to see
the body swing up to reveal a detailed engine and cockpit. There is a little bit of float
in the axles, but the center of gravity is low and the car has enough weight to run extremely
well on the track. It may have some trouble in the loops due to the long wheelbase and
proximity to the ground, but it should perform well on the other stunt sets.
