anyone know about old tin cars?

[robriley]

Can anyone tell me about this?
I just won it (but haven't gotten it yet) and i know that it was made by alps of japan in the 60's. it's 10.25 inches long x 6 inches high.
it's battery operated, has steerable front wheels, makes"engine" sounds, the body shakes, the radiator steams, and the interior lights up to show the silhouette of a driver inside.
I'm not sure if the one i got works yet or not, but i'm just trying to find info on it if anyone knows anything about these.
I did a search and found that alps made some of the coolest battery op. toys of all time.
they made a cool t-bucket hot rod and one similar to the one i have here but it looks like the tijuana taxi.

[donculley]

Never saw that one before Rob, but it looks cool whether it works or not. I have had a few tin toys like that, but only one was battery operated. It smoked and shook like yours, but it looked like a early 1900s Renault,so I ended up selling it. I would have kept it if was cool like yours !

[robriley]

well, here's the deal....I'm trying to put a date on it, and from what i have read so far these were made in the 60's. But, i have not been able to find an exact date on line.
there are a couple of these exact cars on e-bay selling for around $200.00.
there are also a few at on line specialty stores also selling for around $200.00.
these were never reproduced, so i know that the one i got is an original from the 60's.
There is a video of one on youtube and it's really pretty darn cool. they are calling it an old time taxi.


here's one that looks like the tijuana taxi...look at the price!!
www.ebay.com/itm/Alps-Japan-Racing-Hot-Rod-Limousine-CarMOB5b-/310343599726?pt=Diecast_Vehicles&hash=item4841eb866e