Its wanted by four or five distinct groups of collectors, and yet it seems (in its various scales) to be underproduced. My vendor, in sending me the Elite, said I was lucky to have placed the order early, for they were oversold. I imagine only the uber-price keeps the Super Elite from selling out just as fast. To my mind, the 1/64 should have proven that the 1966 was a mold for making money, yet the hunts continue. I was shocked when the Manhattan TRU actually had multiples of the standard last night (and they still have the cheap 1/18 cases most TRU's no longer get). Was this, IYOs, a determination not to overproduce and flood the clearance aisles, or just a huge underestimation of a product's desirability?
I think it's a combination of both. They knew that people would want to buy it (why else make it), but they also weren't sure if some of that desire had died down or not and they don't want thousands of units of product on some clearance aisle at Wal*Mart. I think that it's a combination of the two.
My hobby shop guy says he just can't get them. He never got any of the 1/64ths. I found only 1 at TRU. Yet my wife found me three of them on the supermarket checkout. I had to order my 1/18 thru Amazon, I never saw one in a store.
Hot Wheels really doesn't have a clue what people want and in what level. Some bamobiles are gobbled up by the public. The 1966 one. The 1:18 scale 1989 style Batmobile has become so rare, I just sold mine on e-Bay for $100 bucks the other week. While other batmobiles sit on the shelves - I see the 1930's stuff everywhere, and the Tumbler doesn't seem to sell too well, either.
The 1966 TV show version is the only one I wanted. Got the standard and elite and have the super elite on order. The elite is good, but carried over the mistakes of the standard as well. August 15 is the supposed date that the SE samples are sent out. Hopefully we'll get a good look at that one soon. You could get three elites for the price of one SE. I don't understand why the cars are being underproduced. Batman is the #1 most requested DVD release not currently available. Some think that when Hot Wheels license runs out that another company may get it and make a more accurate and detailed version. The major think that I am disappointed with is the secrecy that HW has kept about pictures, release dates, and details.