I have all but given up on finding interesting cars in person. My local supermarkets and Walmart’s are disappointing.
But after discussing the malls of our youth, and the appeal of hanging out in the mall when we were pre-teens in the 80s and 90s, a friend and I took a trip to our local mall, LLoyd Center in Portland, OR. We had pizza and smoothies in the food court; we observed the many empty storefronts; we reminisced about the old days whilst flipping through stacks of used CDs; we looked on in shock when a teenager stole a 60-something’s cell phone and ran off into Macy’s, gloating about her audacity.
The malls of our youth are dead. The stores we stalked are now barricaded, or repurposed as DMV offices. Department stores are now discount retailers like TJ Maxx and Ross. But here, in the mall where Tonya Harding perfected her skating years ago, is a toy shop that seems decades out of place.
Toys N More sells modern things like drones, but also has shelves stacked with all sorts of 80s and 90s nostalgia. They even had a few of the 80s splatter-paint Matchbox.
My only purchase was this 2001 Hot Wheels BMW 850i, for $5.
But in addition to the 1/64 offerings, there were shelves of 1/18 from various manufacturers.
Please excuse my terrible photos.
The marked prices are quite extravagant, but all of the 1/18s were $10 cheaper, if I recall correctly.
I am so tempted to snag the Anson Saab 900 Cabriolet.
I have no idea why this store exists, how it turns a profit, or where they source their inventory. But I am happy that it IS.