Eyes glazed over? Heart racing? Tears streaming? Time to change your pants (and you’re older than 11-months old?)

So, here’s a short shopping guide for the week of October 1, 2008.

Still looking for R CASE?

Leroy Traffik
Lightning McQueen with Bumper Sticker (“Stickers” – CHASE)
Roman Dunes (Chief No Stall)

Most of the big retailers (WM, Target & TRU) have either received it or they bypassed it. If you live on the West Coast (mostly), be sure and check out Mervyn’s:

Yea, they mostly sell clothing but they have expanded their toy section for the holidays and they bought a slew of Mattel stuff. Everything is discounting 25-40% though they have also marked up a few things to then discount but 3-packs are $7.19 and they even have the Mini’s 9-pack for @$17 (cheapest price by far). So, if you’re an opener, getting Roman Dunes & the Pitty for $7.19 (plus No Stall) is not a bad deal. The singles are the only non-deal at @$4 each but people have found ‘stickers’ McQueen there so take a look.

While they are not likely to be awash with CARS, I have found a ‘stickers’ McQueen there so it’s worth a look – again, a little more costly ($4.39?) but not a bad deal for ‘Stickers.’ You can also try other drug store chains such as Longs & RiteAid but I think Walgreen’s has the better CARS selection. It is hit or miss because they don’t get full cases  – they only get 4-6 CARS at a time so you never know … not worth a specific drive but when you’re there …

Also NOTE: Roman Dunes & Leroy are included in the WM endcap so new ones have arrived (keep reading).

Still looking for T CASE?

Axle Accelerator
Fred with Bumper Stickers (CHASE)

Oddly enough, most people seemingly are having a tougher time finding CHASE Fred – why, because distribution got sidetracked. I don’t have all the details but it might be that since WM had an endcap coming plus a pallet drop, they told Mattel, we’ll pass on CASE T … so Mattel might’ve sent the rest of T case to JC Penney, Kroegers and other third party companies that deliver to supermarkets and drug stores … I’m not sure if these have left Mattel’s warehouse but they will be there soon but it will take a few days to a few weeks before they begin to re-appear on the shelves of these smaller stores … maybe not even for 4-5 more weeks as they get set for Christmas AFTER Halloween – so if you are missing CHASE FRED, don’t worry as in another 5 weeks, we should have plenty to go around … they are all just resting in boxes for the time being.

This is NOT to say that every Kroger’s supermarket brand will get CARS (other than Fred Meyer) … but if your store current carries toys, or it looks like they are setting up a holiday toy section, you might just find CASE T & CHASE Fred.

Arriving in a Few Days or Next Week – 2009 CASE A

Axle Accelerator
Impound Lightning McQueen (CHASE)
Ron Hover (helicopter)
Spinout McQueen

For those looking for Axle & Spinout McQueen, here is another opportunity to get one. The 3 big retailers should all get this one …

The Kmart CARS? October 18, 2008

Edwin Kranks
Fred (re-scaled)
Shiny Wax
Sparemint
Sputter Stop
Transberry Juice
View Zeen

Note, these are NOT exclusives – they are just first to Kmart (in theory) – CASE B has Edwin Kranks – not sure when CASE B will ship but maybe right around October 18th?

Arriving in October? – 2009 CASE B

Edwin Kranks
Impound Boost
Jerry Drivechain (Tank Coat Pitty)
RPM Crew Chief

For those looking for Edwin Kranks, Jerry Drivechain & RPM Crew Chief, here is another opportunity to get one. The 3 big retailers should all get this one …

Arriving in October/November – The WM Pallet Drop (separate from endcap display CARS) is believed to contain:

Jerry Drivechain (Tank Coat Pitty)
RPM Crew Chief
Edwin Kranks
Bernie Banks
Fred (Re-scaled)

THIS WM pallet drop LIST IS NOT 100% CONFIRMED but seems to be correct …

So, as you can see, a lot of CARS are repeated in other CASES or in other retail configurations. What important to note is that NONE of the CARS are exclusives … because of the transition from WOC to WOC: Race O Rama, some are packaging exclusives only by appearance default (from the release schedule pattern and changing design) but NO CARS are exclusives … unlike the WM8 CARS of last year, none of the CARS have a card design that is exclusive to a retailer …

AND you can widen your search this year by November to include JC Penney, Mervyn’s (maybe) Kohl’s, (probably) Sears, Kmart, KB, Walgreen’s, Fred Meyer and some supermarkets … and of course, Target, TRU & WM … not to mention CTC 🙂

And of course, this only covers about 20% of what’s coming out in the next three months. So clear room in your house, liquify your hard assets and build a hidden room in your house while the spouse is away …We have a new recap post page that should link you to the other lines within CARS … and oh yeah, there’s another one coming … you probably think I’m kidding but yep, MORE COMING than you thought 🙂