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How many of you have ever driven a mini van as your main car? For several years I did... it was due to necessity, not because I wanted to... and while the main vehicles in Cars are Cars, some of the more popular secondary vehicles are mini vans... Mini, Van, and Leroy Traffik... What made those characters so popular? I think it's because many of us could identify with them because we drove one... In this installment of Respect the Classics, we'll take a look at the mini van with a doughnut tire and a mattress tied to the top of his vehicle, Leroy Traffik.
World of Cars Leroy Traffik
The first release of Leroy Traffik was during the World of Cars series... looking at him in the packaging he doesn't seem special... except for the mattress on top... in the past I'd driven a van packed with furniture and belongings... and I've driven with a mattress tied to the top... it's not glamorous... but when you need to help a child move you do what it takes... what made Leroy Traffik special was the doughnut tire for the back right tire... but as you can see it wasn't visible in the packaging.
Here's a picture showing the small tire - why not show it that way in the package?
Here's the back of the WOC Leroy Traffik card:
There are some great Cars shown on the cardback.
The production code of my WOC Leroy Traffik is 1868EA.
Race o Rama Leroy Traffik
Leroy Traffik was released early in the Race o Rama series... the production code was 3098EA... Same mini van... packaged in the same direction... we didn't see the small tire.
The back of the US ROR version of Leroy Traffik shows Hank Halloween Murphy... if I remember right, the international version of ROR Leroy Traffik shows Leroy.
Leroy looks like he's seen his better days in both the WOC and ROR series.
Night Skyline Deluxe Leroy Traffik with Snow Tires
Leroy Traffik was released in the Night Skyline series as a Deluxe Car... instead of 3 regular tires and a doughnut tire, a complete set of snow tires... and a new paint job... I liked this Leroy - he looks like a new Car:
Here's the back of the Deluxe:
Notice that it shows Chuck Choke Cables even though Chuck was not released in the US on the Night Skyline series... Chuck was just released for the first time in the US in 2014 case H.
The production code of my Deluxe Leroy Traffik with snow tires is 3620AZ - made the very end of 2010 from a different factory.
And that was all we saw of Leroy Traffik until just recently.
Radiator Springs Classic Leroy Traffik
Leroy Traffik was released in the Toys R US Radiator Springs Classic series... A TRU exclusive, this was the first version to show Leroy's doughnut tire... Note that the RSC card shows Disney World of Cars - Pixar has been dropped from the card... When the RSC Leroy was released, prices of the WOC and ROR versions dropped... if you're a collector in need Leroy Traffik, you'll save money by buying the RSC version.
Unlike many new releases of Cars, the RSC version of Leroy Traffik is still a two-piece Car - I was hoping they'd upgrade him to a unibody... the production code on my RSC Leroy Traffik is 2693 EAA - yet a 3rd factory.
Here are photos showing Leroy Traffik out of the package:
Rear view showing the license plate:
Deluxe version:
I think it's a different license plate:
Here's a comparision photo:
It looks like the mattress is larger in the Deluxe version.
Where does Leroy Traffik appear in Cars? If you're like me, you may need to watch it again to find out...
Thanks for reading... as always, I appreciate your comments.
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