Halloween Hot Wheels 2025 - Diesel Duty

 We've come to the finish line for the Hot Wheels of Halloween 2025. Call shotgun one last time as we hop into Diesel Duty.

 

 This one is certainly an eyeful, ain't it? Ol' DD has been around since 2011 and this is only the 10th release for it. I don't know why it's got a sort of shark fin on it but it's cool. This is the only Halloween 2025 vehicle with glow in the dark tires.

 

 The bed has got some interesting detail in it. I'm not going to pretend like I know what any of it is supposed to be but there's a couple of big gears and a horseshoe hitch.

 

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2025 - CUL8R

 We're coming up on the finish line with the next to last Halloween Hot Wheels of 2025.

It's CUL8R, get it?

 

 CUL8R was first released in 2004 and this is the 25th version. Back in 2010 it was part of the Holiday Hot Rods series with two different decos.

 

 

The winter holiday ain't got nothin' on this spider-ific design! The orange highlights and webbing really make the blue spider, and its prey, pop.

 It may be difficult to see but there are two little recesses on each side that make me think of spider eyes. And the fender design looks like fangs! All versions of the car have these same features but I probably wouldn't have noticed them as much without the spider graphics.

  

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2025 - Night Shifter

 Zooming up to the halfway mark, we've got the aptly named Night Shifter.

 

 This is my favorite in the 2025 line up. It's got a great profile and I really like the goofy reaper graphic. Night Shifter has been around since 2016 and coincidentally, this is the 16th version to be released. It's appeared in the 2017 Star Wars Master/Apprentice series and in 2018's Avengers series.

 

From the card back:

Is it a car? Is it a plane? Well, It's got the best of both! Inspired by the raw, mechanical aspects of high-performing race cars and legendary military planes. Night Shifter features twin turbo-chargers as well as two fuel tanks fabricated from military aircraft.  

 

 The best thing about this one is the little circular design up by the window. Inside the orange circle is a reaper head over crossed scythes with the number 31. It would be a cool design for a shirt or hat. I also just noticed the big reaper on this side has two eyes and only one on the other side!

 

I don't know a lot about cars but having those pipes run into the windshield doesn't seem like a good design choice. 

 

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2025 - Haul-o-Gram

 The second entry in the 2025 Halloween Hot Wheels line-up is certainly something interesting. It's Haul-o-Gram!

 

Haul-o-Gram rolled off the line in 2019 and this is only its fourth release.

 

From the 2019 card back:

With an adjustable front spoiler for rocketing through loops, a V16 twin-turbo engine, and a wind-cheating aero cab, this futuristic truck is as fast as just about any race car!

 

The vehicle itself is an odd design. You wouldn't think something with a high profile wouldn't be good for racing, but I don't know "racing physics". What I do know is this bat graphic is fang-tastic!

  

 Here's a view of the back. Again, I don't get the design or why it has the weird foils on the back. I do applaud them for using a primary Halloween color (orange) with a secondary (green).

 

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2025 - Hollowback

 Starting off the 2025 Countdown at high speed with the first of this year's Halloween Hot Wheels. I'm thrilled to say we've got an all killer, no filler line-up! I have to give a shout out to Diecast Garage where I ordered these from.They went above and beyond with packing the cars. They used painters tape around each of the card bubbles to protect them. I've never seen that done before.

 

Before we get rolling, let's take a look at the 2025 card art.

 

 I'd love to see a collection of the "naked" Halloween card art original designs without the printing or logo.

 

Starting us off the line, we've got Hollowback. Insert "Hollaback Girl" joke here.

  

Hollowback debuted in 2005 and this is the 17th release. In 2021, it was part of a 5-pack called HW City vs Toxic Creatures. When the car was being conceptualized, it went by the name Knightmare. And that was before it got a creepy paint job!

 

 

This car just looks like it's going to eat you if you try to pass it. It's a pretty wild design. I think it's some kind of demon/devil head because there are horns coming off the top.

 

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2024 - Street Shaker

 We've made it to the finish line! Here is the final Halloween Hot Wheels of 2024 and tomorrow is Halloween!

Street Shaker was introduced in 2011 and this is the 15th release. In 2017, it was released with Batman deco as part of a Justice League wave.

This one looks like it would be the perfect ride for Slimer. It might not be his exact shade of green but it looks like it's dripping with ectoplasm.

From the Hot Wheels Wiki:

Street Shaker is a high-performance muscle car design, blending classic styling with modern performance. Designed by Jun Imai in collaboration with NASCAR racing driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., the car was originally named Hammerhead (stylized on card as "Hammerhead"), the name being chosen by Earnhardt; Earnhardt has stated that the car's design is based on "an old Chevrolet Bel Air fused with a modern Camaro". Due to copyright reasons the model has been named "Street Shaker" since 2014. 

 

One of my favorite things about toy cars since I was a kid is when they mold the interior of the vehicle. Not only can you see the engine but the steering wheel and stick shift. It's like you can put yourself right in there.

Halloween Hot Wheels 2024 - Muscle Bound

 Zooming along, the fourth week of Halloween Hot Wheels goes Muscle Bound.

Muscle Bound is a relatively new model, having just debuted in 2019. This is the sixth version to be released. In 2023, it appeared in a Batman 5-pack with a Robin paint job.

From the back of the 2019 card:

Eye-blurring acceleration and eye-popping styling come together in this salute to the American muscle car era. The twin 4-barrel V8 engine in this car is so huge, a giant power bulge had to be built into the hood to contain it! 

 

 Hot Wheels design can get crazy and it's good to see a "normal" look once in awhile. It kind of looks like a sports Cybertruck from this angle. That aside, the grinning jack-o'-lantern design along with the 31/Halloween graphic make this a solid entry for the Graveyard Garage. 

 

Halloween Hot Wheels 2024 - '64 Chevy Impala

 The 2024 Halloween Hot Wheels keep on rolling with the '64 Chevy Impala.

This particular variation of the '64 Chevy Impala is called 'Tooned because of the proportions being squished and the comically oversized engine.

The Tooned Impala was originally released in 2004 and this is only the fifth version. Those fins popping out of the trunk are supposed to be quad exhaust pipes.

 

It's not overly Halloween-y but does have a cool spider web design along the sides. The purple metalflake paint really makes the gold accents pop.

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2024 - Barbaric

 Roaring out to rip you a new one, it's the undisputed king of the full moon demolition derby: Barbaric!

This car was first released in 2009 and this is only the ninth incarnation. In 2018, it was part of the Star Wars Classics line and featured a Yoda theme. I'm not sure if this particular model is the best fit for Yoda, but it does look pretty cool.

Not only does Barbaric sport an armored front but it's got a wicked steel rail for carving its way through any opposition. From the wheels to the windshield, the red accents really pop.

 

 And of course that snarling wolf deco really makes it fierce!

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2024 - Madfast

 I'm thrilled to be back with another year of new Halloween Hot Wheels! I was starting to get a little worried as the 2023 line was juts a repackaging of the 2021 line. I'm an opener, not a carded collector, so the repacks steal a little Halloween joy from me when they happen.

I did order this year's wave online because I never know if I'll find them locally. A few weeks after they arrived, I found them all in two different supermarkets. You can never be sure though so I'm glad I secured them when I did.

Let's get to it! We'll start off with a nice closeup of this year's card art.

As usual, the card art is killer. I think the only thing missing would be a few bats. The two cars racing through the haunted forest are numbers four and five so you'll see them here in a few weeks. Our first creepy car this year is Madfast.

Madfast debuted in 2008. The engine piece is plastic now but up until 2013, it was metal. This release is the 13th version, how lucky!

 In 2013, it was part of the Holiday Hot Rods series although that colorway doesn't quite scream holiday season to me. I like this Halloween design quite a bit, it's not overly busy and the orange bubble is a nice splash of color with the black and white of the body.

 

But here's the really cool part: a skull and bones along the...front? I was going to say hood but it's in front of the engine. Is that still the hood? Would that part of the car even open?

 

Because the skull is kind of elongated, I'm thinking it's some kind of demon skull. I didn't even notice until I was taking the pics that the skull says Halloween on it!

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2022 - Super Stinger

 Bringing up the rear of the 2022 re-release pack is Super Stinger.

 

 Super Stinger was originally released in 2020. It's got a white pearlescent body with blue and purple flames which give it a ghostly appearance.

The flame deco and cutouts on the hood kind of make look like an animal skull, don't you think? The best thing about this one though...

 

is that it glows in the dark!

And that brings the Halloween 2022 cars to the finish line. As disappointed as I am that this year was all repacks, I love that they had card art to match the individual cars and hope they continue that going forward.

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2022 - What-4-2

 Retread number four (I'm not bitter) is What-4-2 from all the way back in 2015.

My thoughts from 2015: By far, the best feature on this What-4-2 is the grimacing ghoul on the hood!

2022 pic, in hindsight probably a poor background color choice

2015 pic

Stay tuned next week for the stunning conclusion of Revenge of the Repacks!

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Halloween Hot Wheels 2022 - Muscle Tone

 Car number three is where I started to think I'd maybe seen one of these before. But maybe you haven't seen them when they were originally released, so they're new to you!

Muscle Tone was originally released alongside the 2017 Halloween Hot Wheels. Here are my thoughts at the time:

I don't know if it's the paint job or the word drift on the car but I could totally see this one in a Fast & Furious movie. That, of course, leads me back to thinking about a monster/horror version of the film.

2022 pic

2017 pic

I still really like the way the lighting came out on this shot.

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