Cast your mind back to 1970 - Matchbox of England and HotWheels of the USA were locked in an epic battle for the pocket money of one 6 year old kid. Me.
And most of the time, Matchbox won. Their cars just looked more realistic. And especially since they introduced tbe Superfast models with metallic paint, they had become my favourites.
And then, something happened. I got a present. Another Matchbox car - joy! And I open the package, and I look inside and...WHAT THE???
Well, that thing went straight to the back of my shelf of Matchbox cars and sits there still. A few years later, about 1975 I guess, another well meaning person gives me another red Matchbox VW...
OK, at least this one's a bit better. But not really my taste either, so I put it next to the Red Baron.
Fast Forward to 2004 or so - and I spot something in the Matchbox section. And I can imagine the the toy designer's thought process: "What's a good colour for an old Beetle? Metallic purple, of course." "And what animals do we associated with Beetles? Sharks, obviously!"
And so I buy it and think "I know exactly the spot where this one will go..."
