Corgi Toys @ 60: another VW1200 and Corgi's first Rolls Royce

 

It's May 1966 and there are two new models on the local toy shop shelves. The first is Corgi's second  issue of what will prove to be a very, very long list of Volkswagen 1200s. Indeed, I shall have to survive until 2037 in order to remind you about the very last, which appeared in October 1977! This one is the East Africa Safari Rally car in a new paint finish, a beacon on the roof and some stickers to convert it into what is described as a 'European Police Car'.

Just like the earlier model, this is fun to play with, with its excellent steering. The bonnet and rear engine cover open as before, not that we tended to bother with that a great deal as there was no room in the front to put anything. The clever use of a bright metal base to provide shiny bumpers remains, as do the two jewelled headlamps. Whereas I believe some late editions of the #256 had the jewels replaced with chrome inserts (although I have never seen one) all the #492 models seem to have jewels.

They all seem to be left hand drive too, unlike the #256 which can be found with either left or right hand drive interiors.

There are two quite hard to find export editions of the #492 model. One is the Dutch edition in all white and with POLITE on the bonnet and an emblem on each door. The other is a Swiss version with POLIZEI stickers on the doors and on the bonnet.

The other release in May was the last individual Corgi Classics model, the #9041 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost (apologies for the error in the first edition).

I found these models totally at odds with Corgi's range at the time. They couldn't really be played with, lacked suspension which made them awkward to move around a layout and this one, with its nasty plastic main body section, felt cheap - and that is despite the massive jewels in the headlamps, lots of chrome and pretty wheels.

This was actually Corgi's first Rolls Royce too. As a teenager in the 1960s, a Rolls Royce was simply something that you have to have in your collection, to park outside the big Bayko House. It was 'the best car in the world' and we all wanted one, having to put up with the Dinky model at the time. This was not what we wanted, though, and whoever bought them probably just put them on a shelf or in a cabinet, older people, not children. The Classics series was not pursued after this and now you can buy a mint example in a bubble pack for £20 or less. I have several and can't even give them away.

I have spotted a few oddities on these models - few seem to have wheels all the same colour, with combinations of gold and steel colour. The rear wheels have a different deign to the front and sometimes they're mixed up at the factory. There are different colour exhausts too. None seem to have any significant value.

You will see the model get reused for the Hardy Boys issue in June 1970 in a ghastly multicoloured finish and accompanied by the characters in a TV group that no-one in the UK had a clue about at the time, and is probably not a great deal wiser now. Because that one had very paltry sales it does have a high price tag now but this silver original release will cost you a lot less than the equivalent of its price then. 14/11d, (or nearly 15 shillings, three quarters of £1). Remarkably, you could have bought a Monte Carlo Gift Set 38 for less!!

Update on Corgi Model Club issue plans

 Here are the next few months' models, as proposed by the Club:

492		VW 1200 European Police Car (Dutch edition)
107		Batboat + Trailer
334		BMC Mini Magnifique (green)
430		Bermuda Taxi
348		Ford Mustang Flower Power
1126		Ecurie Ecosse Racing Car Transporter
270		James Bond's Aston Martin (silver grille)
270		James Bond's Aston Martin (gold grille)
233		Heinkel Economy Car
248		Chevrolet Impala

and here are two further issues to be added to the list:

268 The Green Hornet's 'Black Beauty'

416 RAC Radio Rescue Land Rover

The earliest dates that anyone will have received the #406 Land Rover in yellow with a black roof will have been mid-June so add a month for each row and that'll give you an idea of the when you should see these first appear.

So there may be some lucky people getting an Ecurie Ecosse Racing Car Transporter for Christmas!

With the Batboat will be the device issued originally to connect to the first issue of the Batmobile, fitting over the flame-thrower at the back. These devices are very hard to find as originals as you can imagine how easily they can get lost so expect sales for this little boat to soar. It will, of course, also attach as normal to the second issue which is also available from the Corgi Store.

The two silver Aston Martins are expected to be issued at the same time in January, members getting the one with a silver grille and the other version being available for anyone to buy from the Club Store. As for the matt black Batmobile, expect to see several appear at high prices for the member editions as they will be in comparatively short supply, certainly at first. The matt black Batmobile still sells quite easily at £100.

The Mini will be a green edition of the blue one issued in November 2023. I rather suspect that it will be no more than a fresh coat of paint at the factory with the sliding roof remaining with narrow bars and not the wider variety, so you'll still have to search for an original of that one!

The Dutch edition of the VW Police Car is all white and a good-looking model that is hard to find and usually expensive if you do. It's a model I have never had myself so I won't be able to do a side by side comparison. It will, no doubt, be just the May 2023 issue with different paint and decals.

The Bermuda Taxi will be the November 2021 issue with some fresh paint, a change of driver and a funny roof. That could be a useful addition as many collectors will have lost the driver and roof from the original or may even need the roof for a Ghia Jolly. There appear to be two different drivers for the Thunderbird in its Bermuda Taxi guise so it will be interesting to see which survives through to 2025.

The little 'Bubble' car was issued in a few colours: red, shades of mostly pale lilac, metallic blue and orange with either fixed smooth wheels or free spinning cast wheels. I have only seen the orange edition with both types, the other colours having only the fixed smooth type. I wonder what the model club will provide us with? 

I am a big fan of the coffee and cream Impala so look forward to that one. The Club are certainly making the most out of the split casting but one can hardly blame them. I just hope the price reflects the fact that they have had a lot less work to pay for in its production (although I would be delighted if they changed the wheels for some cast ones). In contrast, however, the Ecurie Ecosse Transporter, their first Corgi Major, will have cost a veritable fortune, even in Chinese yuan. So that's not going to be cheap but perhaps by charging the 'normal' £30 or so for the Impala and some other relatively cheap variations the price of the Transporter will be reasonable. Needless to say, I see it being extremely popular and is typical of a model which many of my generation will have had on their Christmas lists for a few years but not received.

There are many variations of that model too but these are early days. There will be some previews in a while but my money is on the darker shade of metallic blue with yellow lettering and a lemon interior. As for the extent of silver paint around the front, I have no idea and can hardly recall the different editions as I write! My guess is that the precise silver paintwork will be like none of the originals at all.

Update 5 July:

I have just noticed two more proposed issues that I have now added to the text above.

Black Beauty is probably one I shall not be too concerned with although I can see it will be poplar amongst the Film and TV-related model collectors, especially if the grille stays closed!

The Land Rover casting gets another outing with what appears to be the early edition of the RAC Radio Rescue Truck. Now, will it have a headboard? Smooth wheels or will we finally get to see some fixed shaped wheels? A clean and well-shaped tin canopy will be useful to replace a worn one, or more often missing) on an original!

Some interesting Corgis

 

A couple of interesting Corgis arrived this week. Firstly this delightful VW1300 Corgi Driving School car in really lovely condition. The blue paint on these is very prone to chips and even a strong draught can take it off if you're not careful!

The interesting bit is that this has the base with 1200 on it whereas the vast majority of models you'll find have a raised plate with replacement text including 1300 as the second illustration below shows.

The '1200' version is quite scarce so I shall hang on to it as part of my own collection unless someone persuades me to part with it for a vast sum. The early issue in April 1974, when it was #400, may have used the base that would have been around from the #373 and #383 production (although a silver base was not a common feature amongst those issues and this is substantially different). I am not convinced about that, though, and just reckon that this was the first base produced for the model and, for some reason best known to Corgi, it got changed to 1300 pretty soon afterwards. Maybe someone noticed that the box read 1300 and they had to make a quick adjustment!!

I would love to get the German version (or any other if there are any?) some time if anyone over the Channel can help. Incidentally, I am pretty sure the German edition is still Right Hand Drive!! That's a little surprising as they took the trouble to produce two versions of #256 despite there actually only being one version of the East African Rally Car! And I am sure #492 must have been Left Hand Drive?

The next one is an old favourite, although this one does look a little worse for (play)wear.

I find these #248 Impalas difficult to resist. they just look tremendous when they're in top condition, the colours so Corgi and 70s (although it was issued in the 60s, I know.) The thing about this one is, of course, the cast wheels. The model was not available for very long anyway, not much more than a year, and the cast wheel version seems to be particularly scarcer than the shaped wheel version.

Even with chips here and there, this is still quite a valuable model.

Lastly, I don't know what to make of this Triumph Herald. You can see straightaway that the bonnet has a different shade of gold to the body. I hadn't seen that in the photos published by the seller which were not very clear and it was not mentioned in the description. So when it arrived I queried this but I'm still waiting for a reply. The chap said he'd think about it.

There is absolutely no sign of the model being tampered with underneath. These are phenomenally difficult to put together anyway and this one is original in that the two rivets are untouched. The base is the same colour as the main part of the model. I can understand that the bonnet could have been painted at a different time to the body and so it is possible, I suppose, that there was a change in paint supply and this model got an unfortunate combination of one and the other. That being the case I would have expected to have seen a few of these over the years but I haven't.

Neither this being all original nor someone somehow being able to paint just the bonnet without some paint going somewhere it shouldn't around the engine or hinge areas in particular seem likely, yet one, presumably has to be the case.

It only cost me a few pounds so I am not worried too much. If it is some after-sales work by someone then the chap can have it back as I wouldn't want to sell it or keep it. If it is original, though, then I'll keep it as one of those oddities that I have so many of!

On the subject of Triumph Heralds, what I am trying to locate is one of these in white and gold (ideally the same shade throughout!) but with shaped wheels rather than smooth. They appear from time to time but they're definitely not very common. Similarly, I'd like the blue and white one with smooth wheels if that exists. Maybe it doesn't.

These re the sort of things that make Corgis forever interesting.

Corgi Model Club on East African Safari!

 The good folks at the Corgi Model Club have done it again. Their latest issue is a superb version of the 256 Volkswagen 1200 in East African Safari trim. Box, tray, rhino, packing pieces, steering card - it's all there and looks fabulous.

The car's great but the box is a little disappointing as the colours, other than blue, seem rather dull. The original was quite a lot brighter and more red than orange-brown. I am a little surprised this passed the quality control at the Club and the scene on the tray background is similarly washed-out. Looking at others offered on Ebay, they all look the same so it seems not to be just my bad luck. 

Putting the shade to one side, though, the model itself and the presentation is otherwise superb. The car is a very bright red, brighter than I remember my original being but that may just be my fading memory! I don't have one to hand to compare.

The '18' and bonnet decals are accurate. If anything the bonnet one sits better as it seems slightly thinner than the original sticker which tended to lift where it wasn't well stuck down. The 'NAIROBI' sticker in the rear window is a decent copy.

The car is the left-hand drive edition and has a bonnet and engine compartment cover which lift and stay up, unlike most originals I have had in the past! the engine and bits and pieces in the front are well reproduced too. I particularly like the use of silver for the base and extension to form the front and rear bumpers. This was a great idea and helped the model to stay looking fresh even after a few collisions.

The rhino is excellent and, like the tray, without any specific sign of its Chinese origin, I can see annoying dealers treating them as originals for unsuspecting collectors seeking replacements. (Tip: this tray does not have the semi-circular tabs of the original). Not sure about the rhino.

I would like the club to find a source of better jewels. All the models so far that have had jewels have had the quite dull plastic type when I am sure a glass or better quality plastic could be used at precious little extra cost.

Overall, though, this is a great model and the original was one of my favourites, appearing in December 1965. To be able to steer it round my layout was so good. Yes, we had had the Austin A60 18 months earlier but its small wheels and almost non-existent ground clearance made that difficult to steer on anything other than a very flat hard surface. This VW you could use much more widely and the wheels looked right. And, of course, it had a wheel on the roof, not some huge round red thing which I never liked.

Corgi went on to change the colour and decals, pop a lamp on top and call it a European Police Car after another 18 months in May 1966. Perhaps that will be another we can see in due course and, who knows, maybe even the ridiculous-looking 400/1 Driving School edition one day!

I should add that the packing pieces are not the same as the original (which had just one piece of folded corrugated cardboard as they used universally for this purpose). This also does not have the model-specific leaflet. Whilst it would be nice to have the leaflet, the original included the Corgi Membership Club Form and related information which, understandably, can't be reproduced or some office in Wales will be getting a whole pile of unwanted mail. What the Model Club might consider, however, is producing a sheet on the same size and type of paper and reproducing the model information, instructions and the like but substituting their own details for the form section. Now that's an idea.

Transition and export edition in 1971

 

Two lovely models arrived from Germany today. Each illustrates how the words transition and export edition add massively to the value of a Corgi model. And they each happen to come from the same era around 1971.

I now have two of the 'transition' 387 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray models available. Both are the metallic blue colour. I have still to find one in pink, the one in my collection just having the rather sad 'blobs' in the holes

One is now for sale, therefore. A very scarce item and in superb condition with both plastic roof panels in place.

From my friend in Germany also comes this super VW 1200 ADAC edition, only available as an export edition in some European countries for a short period in 1971. This one is in very nice condition and has all the original stickers, which have usually fallen off or become damaged over the last 50 years! 

Both these models arrived today and, despite having the dreaded Whizzwheels, will find a place in my display cabinet!

There were no rhinos in Australia

Mrs Peel is delivering this Lotus Elan S2 to the white cottage you can just about see in the distance. However, Google StreetView stops here so maybe she's waiting for Steed to help her find her way across this huge and lovely looking estate near Alloway in Ayrshire.

This orange VW 1200 certainly brightens up the neighbourhood in this street in Dublin where it landed this week.

A collector in the totally unpronounceable Llwyngwril in Wales tells me he is really pleased with the International Rally edition of the Rover 2000 I made, seen here with the correct red interior. Looks like some colourful birds have come out to check it over too. 

James Bond appears to firing at some poor kid in Sun Street, Stoke where Akiko Wakabayashi has parked his old Toyota 2000GT, which they sold to someone there. That'll annoy the neighbours and let's hope no-one steals the gold bumper.

Meanwhile, Cityview, Victoria may now have the only rhino in Australia as the Chipperfields Circus Crane and Rhino Cage set complete their journey across the planet, protected en route by a nice, almost as new, box too.

The trouble with yellow

I shall have to start a tin canopy business. I now have two 416 models that require covers but I have little hope of finding the right one for either.

This is the Belgian equivalent to our RAC service Land Rover. I don't think there were many of these produced so it's a nice rare find, for which I have to thank my friend Andreas in Germany who seems to be able to spot an interesting Land Rover from several hundred miles away with distinct ease. I didn't expect to be able to afford it but, fortunately, it was not very prominently advertised and I expect most people in Belgium didn't really see what was particularly special about it.

Even if I can find the right colour cover, or get one made, the chances of finding the TS transfers are next to zero. Maybe someone over there in Belgium can have a look round for me? There'll be a toybox somewhere in a loft in Antwerp, Bruges or Châtelet with just what I need.

With it came, as part of the deal, this odd-looking car transporter.

On arrival I could see that the cab was actually a different shade of yellow to the rear car section but I wasn't too bothered as it was essentially a free addition with the TS Land Rover. The rear section in yellow was part of 1101, the first type of transporter, and would have had a light blue cab which is what I now have to find somewhere. Then I need to find the right thing for the yellow cab to be attached to. That could only be a 1100, the very first Low Loader. The chances of my finding one of those with a blue cab, however are slim as most, if not all had red. So that means I shall have to find something that has a blue cab that could also have had a red cab!

I am not at all sure I can solve this conundrum without acquiring a string of trucks and lorries and trailers! 

Another yellow item arriving this week was this delightful VW1200 in German ADAC colours. The stickers are pretty worn but the paintwork is excellent. another unusual item that I thought would be hard to find and just popped up unexpectedly.

Working Title: How To Train Your Dragon To Drive.

I am often impressed with where my Corgi Toys are headed when they move on from my village in Northamptonshire. This VW Beetle seems to have found one of the best places yet.

This is North Hobart Boulevard in Los Angeles and everywhere looks stunning. The lady who lives here tells me that she had one of these many years ago and just wanted to revive some memories. I am pretty sure she could have afforded a real one but this will be a bit easier to park indoors.

It is one of several Whizzwheel VW1200s from Corgi. They had started in 1965 with a lovely East African Safari model that had opening things, jewelled lights, mud flaps and steering too. By the 1970s nothing opened, the lights were silver paint and, apart from one odd Driving School edition that appeared when everything else Corgi then made was 1:36 scale, you could forget corners. There are orange ones with yellow seats, orange ones with red seats, several police cars, a rally edition, an ultra rare Swiss ADAC edition and this, the 'Flower Power' one.

It's in great condition so I am sure the lady will be very pleased. I am also hoping she might feature it in the next film she produces. Or, even better, make a film that needs bundles of my advice and input on these model cars! A cameo role would always be welcome, too.

Working Title: How To Train Your Dragon To Drive.

The last one

I finally managed to find a VW 1200 Rally version, the very last of an era. This was the final 1:43 scale model by Corgi before everything ended, coming out in October 1977 and only around for less than a year. That might account for its scarcity as it has very seldom appeared in the auctions or sales I've been watching and, indeed, almost every one that I have found has been across the Pond.

That does make me wonder. Prices over in the States are low - in fact shipping costs more. That's really odd for something so difficult to find here and I guess it won't stay that way for long. I am certainly not parting company with mine, which is as new and so is its box, for any bargain price. I have a feeling I will regret selling it whatever I get unless I can source a replacement or two first.

What's strange too is that this should appear in later 1977 anyway. The previous 1;43 scale model was also the VW, this one in Driving School guise which came and went in 1975. Everything else, bar some oddities, was then 1:36 so quite why these VWs were still appearing is a bit of a mystery. You could sort of understand the Driving School one which could be played with on its own, and it was quite a smart-looking version too with pretty shiny wheels and blue metallic paint. This one, though, had nothing going for it at all. In fact it looked almost exactly the same as a 1971 saloon with the orange repainted blue and three stickers applied.

As featured in a previous article, the cast is still being used and in 1998 this yellow one was in the Corgi Motoring Memories collection No. 67901.

And, of course, from 1965, where it all began.

More Beetles

383

As Corgi rolled out the Whizzwheel VW1200s with all the features dismissed and just various shades of orange being offered to attract buyers in the early 1970s they didn't even bother to change the number from one to the other.

It is quite a clean and, if you can get over the colour and forget about the East African Safari edition being charged by a plastic rhinocerous and the green and white European police car with steering and all sorts of goodies, then this would be quite a pretty little model. It doesn't do anything but it sits prettily on the shelf.

383 'Flower Power'

I found this yellow one, though, recently and can't quite figure out where it has come from. The casting is identical to #383 but it has much more realistic wheels, fine detailing in the paintwork and the later Corgi logo with a doggy on the base.

It may well be a Corgi Classics model #67903 and the lack of Made in Great Britain on the base is a bit of a give-away to an Eastern origin. There was a model made specially for a drinks company called Yoohoo and this would be exchanged for several vouchers and some dollars. Usually, in those promotions, the dollars were all the thing cost in the first place but I reckon kids would have got a reasonable deal with this.

My example does look just like this and the base is the same too. I just don't have the stickers and wonder whether Corgi Classics produced models without the promotional guff. That would seem pretty likely but a first search doesn't show anything. I'll just have to keep looking but I guess this isn't what we'd call a 'real' Corgi being dated from the late 1990s I presume. Where the cast is clearly identical, though, I do like to add them in. I have a feeling I may well find a lot more. That could be a whole new ball game and collection! Hopefully, they'll all be really cheap.

Thanks to Nigel's World for this information and image.

VW Beetles

There are some Corgi models that I really didn't want to get. A VW1300 with a very big, very odd-looking and slightly scary gold steering wheel on top is one. But having got the photos and ticked the stock list hopefully someone will buy it and I can wait until someone has a special request before getting another in. It is almost the last 1:43 model from this era, being released in 1974 and only staying for a year as #400 before being replaced by what appears to be an identical car but numbered #401 in 1975 and that only lasted a couple of years more. 

I shall have to research further as to what the difference between #400 and #401 is. They both came with bollards in the box and both are, I believe, inscribed VW1300 unlike previous models which were VW1200s.

The car itself isn't bad if you can ignore that steering wheel. The bright metallic blue suits it and the interior is a cheerful yellow. Despite being from the Whizzwheels era it has bright gold cast wheels similar to one or two earlier models that are attractive and have real tyres. And, despite losing its steering in 1970 as a 'Flower Power' model, this has returned. I guess they must have had some parts to use up. This particular example comes in an original box that is a bit scruffy round the edges but overall it is now quite hard to find these, and I'm still looking for a #401.

The #383 'Flower Power' version was also short-lived, being out just for a year in 1970/1. It is a very basic version with nothing that opens, the ubiquitous wheels of the time and just some paper decals to cheer it a little. The green 'chrome' is very strange. I thought it was the plastic beneath chrome that had been worn away but no, this is how it is supposed to be!

The Police version lasted a lot longer but was just as basic as the 'Flower Power' car.

In contrast, the #256 and #492 seem most luxurious and well-featured models of a different class completely. They had opening bonnets and boots, even if each had exactly the same content in the trunk! I have always liked the mudflaps fitted to both these versions.

There are two mainstream VW Beetles still to arrive: the #401 Driving School one, assuming that it is different. If not, and it is just some odd box numbering change then I shall not bother as we could simply swap them around and no-one would know which they had in the box. The other is the very last 1:43 model, a VW1200 Rally which looks pretty dreadful and is devoid of any features and probably orange. It is number #384 and appeared in 1977 for a year or so only. Another very short lifespan which makes these a little hard to find but they are still inexpensive and, in my view, really quite good investments purely because so few are around and people get confused with so many variations.

A complete set of VW Beetles would be a nice thing to aim for and then you might need to get some variations - #400/1 had a French version with a French sticker on the doors. There may be Dutch, German and others perhaps. Another quite rare variation is the Dutch Police Car version of #492 which was all white. I think there may be different types of the green and white one too but haven't seen any yet.

Lastly, don't forget that you need the left-hand drive as well as right-hand drive versions of #256! If this was supposed to be a real No.18 East African Rally car then surely it was one or the other? One day someone will find a right-hand drive European Police Car!

Plenty to keep us occupied here anyway. Pity about the huge gold steering wheel...

Police Camera Action

461 Range Rover 'Vigilant'

I am always looking out for Police cars. Well, on the road, that is. Not so much in the Corgi stocklist really as they have never particularly inspired me. The best was the Commer van that had a bulb poking through the roof and a battery inside the removable rear section. I liked models with lights but there were very few. That almost turned me to Spot-on. A school friend had a Rover with lights that lit up and looked so cool at night. Just remembered that as I write and now I must see if I can find one. Back in the mid 1960s Spot-on were pretty expensive. I did buy a Hillman Minx as my dad had one and Corgi didn't make that. That was all.

Anyway, back to Police cars. The very last Corgi Police vehicle (in my series) is the Range Rover. It's a nice model. It was around for a long time and is still very cheap to acquire. I like the signs and things that fold out very realistically and everything packs up nicely into the opening rear. You try doing that with the surfer or skier that come with other models.

373 VW 1200 Police Car

There are lots of VW 1200s or, possibly 1300s, as the shape first seen as #256 in East African Safari guise in 1965 is still being used right up to the very end with a Driving School version appearing in 1974. Here is the next longest lived version, a much stripped down model in Police uniform. No steering, no opening boot, no opening bonnet, no jewelled headlamps and not even any mudflaps.

492 VW1200 European Police Car

The 1966 green and white VW may have been a Politzei Auto rather than a Police Car but it was such a better model to play with.

402 Ford Cortina MkIII Police Car

Another late entry to the Corgi 1:43 list, this came in 1972 but also lasted well, surprisingly so as the MkIII was generally regarded as the worst of the Cortinas and there would be a squarer and more modern MkIV out by the time this was nearing its end. This is based on the 'Graham Hill' model - a normal saloon + chin in the box - with a strange siren affair slapped on the front bumper and the box and lamp on the roof. Unlike the VW, strangely, the Ford retained its jewels.

237 Oldsmobile Super 88 Sheriff's Car

From the States came the excellent Oldsmobile model in black and white. Nothing opened but this was very well made and still compares well on display to its modern counterparts.

223 Chevrolet Impala State Patrol Car

Also from the States are the Impalas type 1 and 2 in Police style.

481 Chevrolet Impala Police Car

209 Riley Pathfinder Police Car

The first Corgi Police Car was the lovely Riley Pathfinder. Sheer class and seeing a real one will cause heads to turn still today. That was when Police Cars were black and had bells.

506 Hillman Imp 'Panda' Police Car

No policeman in his right mind looked forward to driving this one - a Panda car as it was called, possibly deriving from the days when a small roundish car was painted black and white. The Hillman Imp wasn't that fast at the best of times. This cast was actually from the Sunbeam made for an earlier rally car but it was a Hillman that the Police used. It's a pretty little car for all that and apparently has 'glow-in'the-dark' side panels. I'd prefer a lamp that lights up.

464 Commer County Police Van

This old-fashioned blob of a vehicle has that saving grace - a working lamp on top!! I must replace the battery and see if mine still works.