Home » Mattel Disney Pixar CARS

Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: The Golden Age is Over

I was putting it off but I suppose it’s time to close the first chapter.

Martin Arriola has been reassigned from the CARS Design Team to WWE.

Of course, this makes no logical sense no matter how you slice it.

We could spend the next week 24/7 going over all the things Mr. Arriola has brought to the line – especially his creativity, his art, his passion and even his time …

It’s not by sheer chance that this is the greatest diecast line ever … someone had to be at the helm. Pixar may have designed great 1-dimension digital characters (and a great movie on these characters) but someone had to be at the helm of a team to bring them to 3-dimensional diecast life …

Nevermind the weird and wonky Disney Store or other Mattel examples of CARS gone awry … all you have to do is compare to the Tomy Tomica CARS of Japan – Tomy-Tomica does some amazing diecast cars – as good as anyone on the planet but their McQueen … just off …

Not horrible. Not bad … just not as good … just not good enough …

Contrast & compare …

mcqueen-155

Yea, that’s the thanks he gets and that’s the thanks we get …

Unlike a consumer-sales decision, there’s not much we can do about this since it’s just an internal decision.

So, protesting or calling won’t do much … plus they don’t really care that we care.

Of course, Martin and his team have already done all of the work for 2009 & most of 2010 so there will still be his handiwork, his passion and creativity for the next 6-10 months … but as with any good King who reigns over a just and benevolent kingdom, once he is gone, the Golden Age is gone and all the remaining minor princes will try to grab a piece of the action and unless order is restored, the rest of 2010 will be CARS: The Fractured Warring States so who knows what will happen.

Yes, it seems odd and frankly, idiotic to remove a constant – nevermind a constant that is a cornerstone of the quality and greatness of this diecast line but even the timing is certainly strange as nothing is inked for CARS2 merchandising … maybe Mattel would rather Martin work on a sure thing – the WWE license that is signed versus possibly not winning the CARS diecast line?

Normally, I would try and apply logic to the situation but this is either like the Matrix remake starring Carrot Top or Alice in Wonderland backwards …

So, I can’t really add anything because I’m at a loss at to their decision making process.

It’s not really enough to say – thanks Martin & your team – whatever happens next, you know you brought joy, fun and wrung together a community of millions who appreciated, revered and admired your art, your passion and your creativity to get every detail right and to achieve what Pixar & Disney has managed to – breath life into the inanimate. That is not just hard, that is rare so thanks for the good times and the fun times and we’ll struggle on from here on out.

Of course, we wish you personally the best – thanks for everything!

Be sure to drop in whenever …

As a slightly better writer once wrote,

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us …”

«  »
31 July 2009 Mattel Disney Pixar CARS 121 Comments

121 Comments

  • Wow…I did miss a lot this weekend. I’ve been trying to catch up reading all the posts today and just now got to reading this one. This is such sad news!

    All I can say is my family and I have truly enjoyed all of the fantastic pieces of “rolling art” that you and your team have created.

    We wish you all the best Martin and we will miss you.

  • LightningMcSteven says:

    Martin, I hope you are cool with this. Matty sucks, Mattycollector really sucks, and this move sucks.

  • NJdevsfan says:

    Martin –

    Congrats on the new challenge! WWE is not my thing, but hopefully Met with keep us “posted” with your new handywork.

    All of these posts should tell you what we hope hope you already knew -how much we appreciate your work and as well as your communication with us.

    We hope you have “groomed” a successor well. And any chance you have to introduce him/her to us would be great. Of course, if you were never given input into the next “Head of the Family” and your boss is anything like Poopsy, then send us his personal e-mail privately and we will make his life hell.

    I hope the benefits of the new job at least include dinner with Hulk Hogan and Jimmy “Superfly” Snooka.

    Peace and sincere thanks from NJ!

  • acuransx7 says:

    Hey guys this is martins son, seriously.

  • buckland-blowouts says:

    PS – Matty still sucks…

  • Martin,
    While we are all so sad to see you go from the Cars line, we all know that anything that comes out within the next 6 months to a year has your fingerprints on it.

    Having said that, I know that your brilliance will shine through on the new WWE line, which I am sure is why Mattel decided to put you there. Why not take the best they have to oversee a new line? It just makes sense.

    And because WWE has such a large fan base I am sure it will be a product line that I will carry so I am sure we will keep in touch.

    Best of luck with the new line and God Bless.

  • racerguy says:

    I think Mattel thought since Martin designed items for a line that became successful (Cars), he could help another struggling line (WWE). Now, even though Martin is an awesome designer, no matter how good these figurines look, I am not buying WWE stuff. And now, Cars will (probably) get progressively worse. By trying to help one line, Mattel has probably just stabbed both. 🙁

  • buckland-blowouts says:

    Dear Dude-Martin-Dude,

    I love what cars are to us, what cars were to us when we first laid eyes on each other, and what they will mean to us in the generations to come…

    As far as your career is concerned, we wish you all the best and know you will only succeed in the end, because you are so talented. (With that said, we hope you will be able to take with you most of your Cars-Creatin’ team who helped you build the best toy line that ever was.)

    Now, although I have never been a huge WWF or WWE fan for that matter – Although my Mammy was!!! – I guess I am goin’ to have to make room in my basement for a new collection of WRANSBURG WRESTLERS!!!!

    (not)

    Peace Dude,

    The Bucklands

  • Ferrari Lover says:

    Jake,aka lil bro 🙂

    Old habit’s never seem to die amd I can’t stop reading this site 🙁

    Hey, it was fun meeting you and kicking it @ SDCC, we did it.

    I love your passion and how you were able to talk the Mattel peeps into all the fast passes you needed. There’s a Marketing Monkey in you somewhere 🙂

    I wish you the best with your B to B site, I’m sure you’ll do well. Let me know if you ever need some WWE Colectablea as I’ll be doing my best on that line.

    Go Divas, go WWE 🙂

  • Ferrari Lover says:

    HTB and Ladies & Gentlecars,

    Pretty much my last comment here folks and all can say is thanks for the thanks.

    As I have always said, it’s been a wild ride and I’m just glad you let me into your world.

    Now that I’m not so metally drained by the time I get home I think I’ll get back in to my Fine Art. It has been too long since I have painted and I must get back to my passion.

    http://www.martinarriola.com is my website and I must get back to what I am. An artist, not a pawn in the corporate world.

    Met, you are a true gentleman and it was fun at my last hurrah at SDCC.

    Jake, Kevin T and Kevin Nascar, good luck with all you do.

    Kevin T, Car Cares. I will call you about the Watercolor. Just can’t seem to get behind it right now 🙁

    I will miss you all, you are all a class act.

    • iamspeed says:

      As expected, some beautiful artwork from a talented artist. Good luck to you, sir.

    • Shelby says:

      Who are you???

      You posted many comments above about how much you respect Martin and enjoyed meeting him at SDCC 2008 – and now you ARE him?

      I feel like this site is full of imposters tonight.

      (MET: The internet is fun 🙂 If he has a Red Ranburg for sale … 🙂 ).

      • hostile takeover banker says:

        yeh, agreed. this is just getting more bizarre. And then I have my own greeting too. Am I not a gentlecar? I have tons of respect for Martin and if this is some imposter than I am severely miffed.

        (MET: No, what happened is Martin’s friend used his computer to leave a comment and of course, didn’t clear the cache so when Martin added new comments, it was still his friend’s login … but to avoid confusion, I ‘unpublished’ the other comments which was really Martin).

    • chuki_mama says:

      The news of you being removed from the Cars line 🙁 saddened me so much. My heart is broken from what Mattel did to you! My biggest regret at SDCC was not being able to spend more time with YOU, MET, and the other T5ADers.

      Thanks for the wonderful Cars designs that you have produced! It has been a wild ride trying to get my hands on each one of these. Thanks also for the He-Man designs as well as the art book!!!!

      Even though it is my throat that is choked up, it is difficult to type into words how much I admire your work and wish that the news was VERY different.

      Hoping now you can enjoy more free time to do you wonderful watercolors.. 🙂

  • The Pit Stop says:

    I was saddened to here about this a couple days ago by my personal friend/and the Big bro I’ve gained…Martin, but I do believe any line he gets his hands on, turns to gold, so he’ll be fine…Like he said “I still have a J-O-B to do”. But really, I’m more sorry for Mattel than I am for him, in my opinion he is irreplaceable…That’s a big position to fill!!!. Do you know how big his fan base was??? Casting HE-MAN’s since the 1980’s and so on!…Some of you weren’t even born then…He is and always will be the “REAL DEAL”! I hope to whomever it may be replacing him understands that. He has been a great Mentor for us all. A line like WWE and whatever that no namer brand he told me about really needs someone like him to hopefully boost sales up, but why MR. Arriola MATTEL??? Do you not have anyone else? After all he has done for the line, then taking that from him f-in suks! Just a bunch of politics and B.S. if you ask me. Martin, let’s hope Mattel wakes up and puts you back in the SpotLight! It’s never a Goodbye, but you WILL BE GREATLY MISSED! Tell your Lady Thanks for bringing those W/P Mcqueen pics you signed too. Anything Arriola signed should be worth a Gazellion now!!!LOL & TC… Your Lil Bro, “PitStop” of Las Vegas.

  • hostile takeover banker says:

    Martin,
    As I have stated before I love collecting these as they are little peices of art and perfection combined into one little diecast car. You will remember no doubt me scoffing at customs with their sloppy paint. This is testament to the brilliance and job you and your team do. Met put my thoughts brilliantly into words and with everyone else saying their peice there is not much left to say. You will never know how prized your autograph on all those RMs are going to be now. Gee, I was just glad you were going to sign a badge for me. So I guess it is thanks for all the good work (you have no idea how thankful), good luck with the WWE (they sorely need it and you would be the man for helping turning them around) and goodbye (the hardest to say).

    Mattel/Pixar:if you think Martin has no idea how much he will be missed, then you guys have no idea how big you stuffed up. It’s going to take massive skill to replace a guy of that calibre in a line where sales are apparently dwindling. How many people are going to buy WWE figures to put on display because they look cool? Further how many will keep them in their original packaging for display/resale/collecting? Cars artistry was the one area you were clearly succeeding, and it was creating new collectors who wanted them for a purpose far different from what WWE figures could ever imagine. Now that the best in the business is gone, I am wondering if you gave the job to the guy in charge of putting Cars in distribution cases?

  • Jeaks says:

    It is obvious that Mattel has promoted Mr D’oh the guy in charge of International marketing & distribution to a senior mamangement role and this is his first decsion. This promotion is in line with Mattel policy of promoting people to their level of incompetence and the International marketing & distribution guy has done so well with his incompetence levels that his performance indicator was marked as “exceeds expectations’.

    It is clear that the exsceptional performance of Mattels international section justifies the prmotion. Just look at the second quarter
    ‘highlights’

    – Domestic sales down 12% but international wins as sales down 26%
    – Worldwide sales for: Barbie down 15%; Hot Wheels down 10%; Fisher-Price down 13 percent ;

    Instead of condeming the move we should congratulate Mattel on yet another fantastic strategic decision. they have vision, foresaight, are in touch of their customers needs and undertstand us – Mattels international customer service vision will be now adopted for all of mattel following the promotion of Mr D’oh –

    We are not listening – We will tell you what you want

    Martin thanks for your work you leave a legacy that can not be matched for the future but at least we can enjoy your past work for the future

    See ya later Cobber. If you come to Perth (Australia) me and Matt (aka Hostile Bank Takeover) will throw a snag and chop on the barbie (not one of those bloody plstic things but a great big steel thing). We don’t throw Shrimps on the barbie, hell we don’t even call then Shrimps, we call them prawns. Right now we’d call the knobs at Mattel Raw Prawns (Aussie insult)

  • LiamsMom says:

    Sad! Thanks for all your work and dedication, and know that your creations are loved and appreciated by so many!

  • BMW says:

    Never say good bye. Always say so long til we meet again.

    He is not going away, he is moving to a new assignment. He graced us with his brilliant designs for at least 2 years I believe. I saw an interview of his saying that Blu Ray was his first Pixar Car? I could be wrong here.

    Met, can you post a tribute page to Martin and a history of his work with the Pixar cars line?

  • Chris D says:

    Martin, thank you for the joy your creativity has brought to my little boy and myself. Good luck in whatever you do!

  • heinz57baby says:

    Goodbye Martin, you will be missed.

    Hey, why was anyone talking with Poopsie? It doesn’t look good when conversations end up in the toilet…

  • Mariela says:

    Good luck Martin..and thanks for signing the boxes!!

  • iamspeed says:

    I’m going to intentionally steer off-course for a minute, if no one minds?

    TARGET is putting out the TOY STORY (3) merchandise as we speak!!!

    I couldn’t resist walking out with what’s called the Rocket Escape Adventure pack.

    It’s Buzz, Woody, and the rocket that actually straps to Buzz’s back while he holds on to Woody! Voices are the REAL DEAL….Tim Allen and Tom Hanks!

    “Hey Buzz, you’re flying!” “This isn’t flying….it’s falling….with style!”

    The rocket flame actually illuminates while the various phrases play out.

    Met, I’ve got a photo of it if you’d like to post it.

    • Micky says:

      We bought that Toy Story toy today too. And the Buzz Space Ranger in the box shaped like a space ship (just like the one at SDCC only much bigger). My husband is a fanatical Toy Story collector so he went nuts when he saw the new toys. We saw the 3 in 1 playset but didn’t get it. Way too expensive at $49.99. He is waiting to get Rocky Gibraltar and the little alien action figure. Now we’ll have to split the toy budget between Toy Story and Cars. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to learn to share LOL.

      • PirateDad says:

        We saw the little Toy Story figures, found an unopened box, and got one of each out…they did not scan at the price checker, but when we got to the checkout they were $10 each…that is $5 for a little teeeny tiny Buzz…we had to pass…just no extra money for a toy that expensive, wood WAY rather have a Pixar Car!!! NOW if they go on sale!!!

  • TarheelBill says:

    Thanks Martin for dedicating you talent, creativity and passion to the Cars line. It is no doubt the best diecast line ever thanks to your vision and passion. Plus, it is unheard of these days for someone in your position to actually care about those of us who are purchasing the product. That along with your hard work and passion for what you do set you apart from the rest. Blessings to you for the future!

  • Ferrari Lover says:

    Thanks all. Goodbye.

  • Matt B says:

    WOW..this is a shocker!! It just baffles me at some of the decisions that Mattel makes. But lets be honest folks, I am sure the people that made this decision are the same people that think 8 Lightning McQueens in a case is a good idea. Best of luck Martin!!! The line will definitely take a hit because of this change! UGH

  • Brown Fury says:

    It’s nowhere near April 1st! Well, tomorrow is August 1st…. August Fools?

    Thanks Martin, you will be missed!

  • Micky says:

    Martin,

    So sorry to hear that you’re moving to WWE 🙁

    Best of luck to you in your new position at Mattel.

  • 5oclockshadow says:

    Well obviously no one else could hack it on WWE, so they called in the big guns. I hope you kick a$$ on the WWE line and have as great a following with them as you do with the Cars line. I hate to see you go, but I look forward to seeing how these come out.

  • ScoobyDoo says:

    Martin,

    Let me join in with everyone here and THANK YOU VERY MUCH for this great collection of cars. Please stick around on T5AD !

  • iamspeed says:

    Met, I think we need a “bright and cheery” new post, something we can look forward to finding in stores soon that will bring a smile to our faces remembering who was behind it!!! (RED is all upset and knocked the stack of tires over AGAIN!)

  • Ferrari Lover says:

    This is an injustice…I am a big fan of the Cars line and met Martin at ComicCon 08. He was a very cordial gentleman and even signed my 5 Cars products. I wonder if the climate of Mattel has not changed in our new Obama Nation. I try to keep up with the toy world, toy blogs, and toy figureheads and I also wonder if Mattel is too “VANILLA” for its own good!
    You(Martin) were obviously a great asset to the line n hope that whomever takes over for u can actually produce half the greatness that you have manifested. I believe in karma sir, and the A-hole(S)
    that are responsible will surely feel bad karma from making such a rash decision!
    Best Wishes Martin
    Ferrari-Lover

  • Monica says:

    I am stunned. I don’t know what to say. I am so sad.

    • Flik'sFriend says:

      I am just down right distraught!!!!!! I second and third everyone’s well wishes and support!!!! I was a pleasure to meet you and I hope you still pop in from time to time….
      Take Care and God Bless,
      Lyndsee

  • DaddyO says:

    Say it ain’t so!

    Thanks Martin for all the hard work and creativity that you put into this line which has brought my family so much joy. Best wishes to you for continued success in whatever you do.

  • Scandell says:

    How do you figure Pixar made 1-Dimensional characters??? They were quite 3D…and I wouldn’t be surprised if Pixar provided Mattel with the actual 3D models.

    (MET: Well if you actually read what I wrote – it is in reference to physical dimension and not in its metaphorical usage – in this world, actual 3-dimensional are objects with mass … while movies are often called 3D, they are not actually 3- dimensional. Movies are 1-dimensional (as are anything on screen – though the monitor or screen itself is 3-dimensions) and “3-D movies” at best you might be able to argue is 2D but definitely not real 3D since even though they appear to protrude off screen, they have no mass … since the IP address of the commenter is from DreamWorks Animation – you may make your own jokes here 🙂 ).

  • Indykjt says:

    I spoke with Martin a few nights ago, and I can promise you that this has upset him more than most of us know. He put his heart into this line, as is evident with all that we see and love about it!

    Not only was his heart in this line, but his passion was contagious. A few months ago, I almost ended the Cars Cares program, as I didn’t really have a clear direction of where it, or the Cars line was headed, much less any idea what kind of support I could maintain.

    Martin talked me out of giving up on my passion, and his fire and intensity has shifted me into overdrive with Cars Cares, instead of putting it in park. If you look closely at the Cars Cares logo, and you notice that detail in the heart at the center of the logo, that came from Martin. To me, that added “feeling” to the logo, and made it more personal.

    He has offered words of advice and encouragement, and has been more of a friend to me personally than he may realize. I think this change is an awful decision by Mattel, and don’t understand it at all. That being said, I am also thankful that in these times he still has a job, for him and his family.

    I am also thankful that we still have yet to see quite a bit of his work, and now I anticipate it even more!

    Best of luck to you Martin, but I won’t say goodbye… I don’t think we need to!

  • BMW says:

    Just can’t get over this. Mr. Arriola, Mr. Cars. Designer of Blu Ray McQueen. Red Ransburg McQueen, and so many Cars ideas we have never seen come to fruition. Toys patent holder. Mr. He Man.

    25 years and they assign him to WWE? Please someone tell us this is a nightmare, and we will wake up soon.

    • John in Missouri says:

      I think the WWE toyline needed a swift kick in the pants, and this is the man you call! And then, maybe he’ll come back for Cars 2 — still 2 years away, right?

  • GotFrank says:

    Thanks for the No2 boost to my collecting Martin & team!

    WWE that’s wrestling correct..?
    Or is it saving panda bears… I gets confused.

  • LUCA says:

    It will be not the same…………Thanks Martin!

  • Mikey says:

    Martin,

    You will be missed a ton. Thanks for everything that you have done with the cars line. They wont know what they had until its gone. Good luck with whatever your future may bring. I’m sure no matter what your next project/s will be (WWE), it will be as successful as what you have done with cars.

    Good luck and thanks for everything. You will certainly be missed.

    PS Mattel, what were you thinking?

  • bmc says:

    Just like Saluting Sarge………we salute you, Martin!!!!!!! Yes, you Are the man, the Cars man!

  • Terri says:

    Thanks for everything Martin. I wish you the best in all you do. I am so glad I got to meet you at SDCC.

    Change is never easy but, I really hate this change. Why????

  • iamspeed says:

    One of our “customizers” needs to creat a CARS vehicle to honor the talents of Martin, maybe with his autograph on the hood, his name over the doors, all of the cool details that we’ve come to expect from Martin’s clever mind, but this time celebrating HIM.

    THE 37th CAR, sort of a “missing man formation”.

  • Tizmanian says:

    Well that just plain sux. I am doubly miffed now that my planned trip to SDCC this year got killed. Just hang in there Martin. You know how Mattel is so hang in there and you may just get reposted back to the line in time for 2011 toys from Cars 2.

    Dude…

  • iamspeed says:

    Martin, all of your efforts will live on in the homes of countless numbers of TRUE “Cars” fans throughout the world in the metal works of art that you’ve brought to life for us all. You ARE the man, the CARS man!

  • Steve AKA: Poppa says:

    I just hope the design team continues to turn out fine castings true to the movie and cartoons. I hope there are no hair brained schemes to crank out bizarre toys playing on the Cars name! I’m sure the design team is already privy to the characters and situations of Cars, the Sequel.

  • bravo1616 says:

    Martin,

    Your passion of the Cars line will surely be missed. Thanks for everything you have contributed.

    Hope you will stick around on T5AD.

    Best wishes,
    Amy

  • cars-in-your-eyes says:

    Thanx Martin for everything you have done and I wish you the best in your new venture – just sad that your genius won’t be poured into something I so dearly love.

    Go Disney Pixar Cars !

  • TJH-AZ says:

    Good luck Martin. I’m sure the WWE line will vastly improve now that they’ve moved one of the top artists over. Hopefully, the Cars line will not suffer the consequences of this move however. You’re one of the good guys Martin. Please check back and post once in awhile. There are plenty of us on here who would love to keep up with you and your work. Hopefully, once you get the WWE line up to speed they’ll move you back in time for Cars 2. My fingers are crossed.

  • LoolarMcQueen says:

    W.W.E.?

    More like W.T.F.

    You will be missed… and hopefully reassigned back to CARS when the sequel deal is inked.

  • L8rM8r says:

    Yeah I am stunned as well. I kinda feel like Sheriff when he thought that McQueen had left without saying goodbye. Tonight I will raise my glass and drink to Martin and maybe pour some to the ground for our hommie 🙂

    _.._..,_,_
    ( )
    ]~,”-.-~~[
    .=])’ (; ([
    | ]:: ‘ [
    ‘=]): .) ([
    |:: ‘ |
    ~~—-~~
    Thanks for your passion and for you craft and attention to detail you will be sorely missed. I wish I had the opportunity to meet you at this years SDCC. I wish you the best.

  • Shelby says:

    Ladies and Gentlecars – this sucks! Sorry!

  • Nascarfan says:

    Martin.

    Thanks for the Cars stuff.

    I dont know what to say.

    I did send you some RRms to re-autograph.

    Take care bud

  • Shelby says:

    I’m stunned…and very sad. I don’t know what to say. People who aren’t into CARS just don’t understand what a huge loss this is. I’m sorry….

    🙁

    • Mia, Tia and NJM says:

      Shelby said it all. My sentiments exactly. Makes my SDCC Rescue Mater even more special with Martin’s autograph. We salute you Martin and all of your team. Best of luck in everything you do. Don’t forget us!

  • CaptainChunk says:

    Ugh, WWE as in those godawful wrestling toys? WTF Mattel. W.T.F

    Martin, it’s a crying shame that you’ve been moved on to such an unworthy line, thanks for everything you’ve done to make the Cars toys so fantastic.

    As always it’s nice of Mattel to ever so gently remind us that they truly don’t care about their customers.

    • Aaron & Jeanne Scriven says:

      hmm i was thinking pretty much the same thing in your first sentence lol.. Thanks martin for everything you have done! If the cars line sucks after they are done producing everything that you have created..THEY WILL KNOW WHY because it is you and your teams creative genius that not only helped create this line in the beginning but have also continued it with such love and dedication. I’m seriously bummed. And i have no interest in wwe.. seriously wwe???? couldnt they have put you on a new toy story line or something that people really like lol.. BUT AT THE SAME TIME i really do hope you are successful in any section of mattel which i am sure you will be 🙂 I’m also glad to hear you are still with mattel, since i was expecting the worst 🙁 Thanks for everything martin!

  • nikko says:

    Martin. I just wanted to say thank you so much for what you have done for the pixar cars line. I wish you the best of luck. Take care Martin you will be missed. Go pixar cars.

  • Albert Hinkey says:

    I should have said creative genius. The pictures above are the perfect example. The Mattel Lightning is perfect in every detail possible on a 1:55 scale, but the Japanese version pales in comparison, although on its own not a bad reproduction.

    Thanks again from me and my son! If it wasn’t for the perfection that you and your team brought to the table we wouldn’t have built half the collection that we have.

  • PirateDad says:

    I have a PRIZE for the guy who decided to move Martin off he cars line…you can collect it here…

    http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/bozo.jpg

    • racerguy says:

      I don’t know PD, that doesn’t seem like enough right now….

    • Hello PirateMan & All HighFive Readers,

      First, I am “the guy” who decided to move Martin off the Cars line and into the exciting world of the World Wrestling Federation, er uh, Entertainment. Based on the current state of the economy and budget cuts at Mattel, I will be doubling my duties, and will be in charge of designing Cars from now on. From “Liking McQueen” to the “Moped Speedway of Lasalle, you will continue to see products you have come to know and love.

      Second, thank you for the prize, but when I go that website, I not sure how I put that button on my shirt. It looks like a button that I should put on my shirt, but I cannot get it off my computer screen. I even looked behind my computer monitor for the pin, but it was not there. It is very fitting however, as my secretary often calls me a “Bozo” (and “Moron”, “Idiot”, and “Chester the Molester” – not sure who that is).

      Finally, I would also like to have that nickel, since my colleagues always stop during meetings and announce “Oh look everyone, Poopsey is going to give his five-cents worth!”. I don’t know what that means, but like I said, the nickel would be nice for these meetings.

      Second, I look forward to sharing product updates with everyone on this site. I’ve already sent an email to Net introducing myself to him, and look forward to sharing future product with this HighFive-a-Day online community (assuming the layers of attorneys at Mattel let me of course).

      Sincerely,
      Poopsey Monkeychunks IV

  • acuransx says:

    Ken,

    As always your support is everything. I will miss you all and what you have built…………..

    No matter what, Go Disney/Pixar/Cars.

    Goodbye 🙁

    • Blake from MN says:

      Super sad news! I am sad. Hopefully they can bring you back after these toys are done and more need developing! Ta Ta for now. I won’t be reaching for WWE but good luck!

    • MiaSenorita says:

      What a loss this is Martin! Nothing compares to having the connection we all had with the designer of the toys we love so much. You have inspired and excited us over and over again about this line. It won’t be the same without you at the design table for Cars. Thanks for everything you have given us Martin!

      go Pixar/Disney/Mattel Cars and Go WWE!

    • BMW says:

      No! This is sad. We love your designs, Martin. I will buy all your Cars just to have them.

    • racerguy says:

      I can’t believe this. These are by far the best designed diecasts ever made; no wonder they are so popular! I hope you continue collecting and I hope you enjoy your new job. Be sure that everyone here is going to miss your designing greatness. Thanks for what you have built Martin: I hope the Cars diecast line can stay popular, but now I don’t know.

    • cac1959 says:

      Martin,

      You have done an absolutely awesome, brilliant, job of designing the Pixar Cars items that we’ve come to crave and love. You put yourselves in our shoes and made sure that the finished product was perfection – that it was what we, the customers wanted. Thank you.

      I used to watch a lot of “professional wrestling” back in the late 1980s through the late 1990s… I’d watch WCW and tape WWF (now WWE)… Now the WWE is the only game in town and I don’t care if I watch the product on TV or not; I’d just as soon watch HGTV or my favorite movie (Cars)… WWE toy sales are down, not because of the quality of the toys, but because much of what is shown on TV is not worth watching… I don’t find WWE TV shows to be entertainment, let alone sports entertainment… Better quality WWE toys won’t make me watch the TV shows or order the Pay-Per-View events.

      Mattel – what were you thinking?

      Thank you once again, Martin. I have the one-of-a-kind Faux Wheel Drive that you autographed that I won in a Cars Cares auction… I will treasure it always. Thank you for your support of Cars Cares. Thank you for bringing joy to lots of our lives – my grandchildren and I love our Pixar Cars.

    • John says:

      MARTIN!!!!!

      NOOOOOO, I cannot believe this…..

      Martin, we remain loyal to you! No matter what dude, keep strong

      stay awesome!

    • Lorri says:

      Hopefully you will still visit take5! Youre the best!
      Your designs have made my kids very very happy. They do have good taste.
      Best wishes on your new path.

  • John in Missouri says:

    Well congratulations Vince McMahon — this is the ONLY thing you could have done to improve the WWE.

    BEST WISHES MARTIN!!!

  • jestrjef says:

    Martin, you are our man no matter WHAT you design. Please continue to COLLECT and post here . . .we love you.

    You work and interest in the Cars line motivates us all!!

    If you bring HALF the love and attention to detail to WWE that you brought to the Cars line . . . WWE should be incredible!

    Best of luck to you!! Don’t be a stranger!

  • PirateDad says:

    Well that was way better than the things we were imagining…thanks for the update MEt…Martin, my friend, I am happy you are still working and I never thought I wood say this, but might jsut have to buy some WWE figures now!!

  • samurai60 says:

    Thanks so much Martin for making Cars diecast a piece of art. Don’t forget us here! Good luck with the WWE line!

  • Albert Hinkey says:

    Be sure that we’ll miss your creative influence Martin. Hopefully you have some say in your replacement!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.