As a person who digs cars, the number-one thing I would like to collect is cars. Who among us doesn’t dream of owning a fleet of machines curated to suit their particular tastes and exercising them on the regular?
However, as a person who does not make anything remotely close to car-collecting money, I must instead content myself with collecting car stuff. Along with the expected scale models, toys, and books all about cars and car people, I also enjoy all manner of weird/silly/kitsch items related to automobiles and motorsports. The goofier the better, and I’m definitely more into things that were never meant to be precious (or even good, sometimes) than I am deluxe items meant to be coveted by design.


Here are a few examples of the ephemera that I can get down with, and I look forward to reading about what you’re into in the comments!

This squishy Beetle hits all the notes for me: it’s a Bug; it was never intended to last; it’s a cartoony interpretation of the subject; and the fact that it’s an Enterprise car-rental freebie creates a nice tension between playfulness and fun (the squishy Beetle part) and drudgery and pain-in-the-assness (the having-to-rent-a-car part). 10/10, would squeeze.

Here’s another button-pusher. It’s NASCAR, it’s promotional, it’s a Hot Wheel (a knockoff, most likely), and its Country Time Lemonade. For some reason, the commercial for Country Time has really stayed with me. I’m sure 1979 meant more to kid-me than Alien and Country Time Lemonade, but it couldn’t have been much more.

I like novelty pens of all types, but car pens are the best. I’m almost certainly going to buy this “Wendy’s Rocket Writers orange sports car pen” after I pub this story, because just look at it. Absolutely delightful.

I can also get down with a fancy pen, and this wooden Volvo writer with matching wooden case just feels appropriately Volvo to me. I’m sure it’s just the result of a guy or gal in a far-from-the-top extension of the Volvo marketing department ticking off a bunch of boxes on a Promotional Pen Supply (or something) order form, but it’s giving the right energy.

Watches, don’t get me started on watches. I collect Casios and have a handful of “nice” “timepieces” (to me, this means anything approaching or over $100), and I also like silliness like this Ford steering wheel design (which you can also find with many other car brands). There are a lot of pricey try-hard, tough-guy, car-themed watches out there, which I just find gross. Give me a fun one.

And I need this jacket. It’s exactly the kind of ridiculous I need for happy hour at Applebees.
Your turn: What Are Your Favorite Car-Themed Giveaways And Merch Items?
Oh, wait, that reminds me! We have a bunch of fun car stuff that we’re giving away to Members (click the graphic for a peek). If you’re not a Member yet, join today so you’ll have a shot at scoring some loot yourself!
My collection of matchbox and hot wheels cars are bringing my grandchildren joy when they play with them just like they brought to me all those years ago.
Through my dad I received a M1A1 tank belt buckle that was a General Dynamics employee giveaway. It is way too heavy to actually use as a belt buckle but is an interesting conversation piece.
I am a small car dealer so I love old dealership promo stuff. I have a Honda wall clock from them entering the American Market in the 70’s. It is glass and has the original logo. I also bought a glass from Miatas at the Gap several years ago that I use nearly daily.
That Volkswagen ketchup turned out to be entirely delicious.
I always loved the
Moog NASCAR Champion poster that shows every Cup champ.
My Corvette came with a logo keychain that had such a satisfying weight to it. I’m not generally a big one for company swag, but I loved that thing.
Then I lost it (I suspect it fell out of my pocket at a concert) and the replacement was, of course, much cheaper feeling. Very disappointing.
I’m a firefighter/paramedic and I have a couple of ball caps, a few t-shirts, some pens, and a windbreaker from various apparatus manufacturers. I enjoy collecting malaise-era promo models. The most unique items I have are the flash drives I got from a semi-famous automotive writer friend of mine. He got them from the OEMs to showcase their lineups on an easy to distribute medium. I only have a few but about half of them are pretty unique. I have a Ford one that looks like the logo. Another one from Dodge that’s roughly shaped like the most recent Dart with the name emblazoned on it. Another one from Chrysler doubles as a bracelet.
I work for Cummins and have picked up odds and ends over the years from the trash, our company store, desks after people leave, and plant giveaways. My favorites are the Christmas tree ornaments our plant manager admin has took on as a project. They started out a bit generic, but the past few have been beautiful enameled brass ones featuring either Dodge Ram D001 (first development mule) or the plant itself. Cummins has also sold some nice ones through the company store, too.
I also have several badges (including a prototype one from our 100th anniversary that’s much nicer than what was produced), a ton of mugs with our different logos/milestones, stickers, a couple of little model engines, brochures, etc.
While not quite merch, I’ve also collected examples of every iteration of our breather/valve covers for the Dodge/Ram product, including some prototypes. They’re all hanging up in my garage.
They have a lot of good stuff. I have the qsk 95 genset foam model thing and a little red alarm clock that’s shaped like a man too.
That Wendy’s car pen hit me in the millennial nostalgia feels. I gotta go through my childhood desk to see if I have those bad boys still. Kept them for years until I think one wore out the pull-back.
I have a decent collection of ads (mostly Jeep) from old magazines; my oldest is a page of ads from a 1906 Motor Age, one of which features an announcement from the J.N. Willys Company regarding an upcoming auto show. I also have a little book published in the 1920s that features biographies of various automobile company executives and founders.
I do have dealer brochures/info books for a couple of my Jeeps, but I’m not sure I could be considered a collector of those (yet).
I got one of these about 6 years ago. It’s a Jim Beam decanter from the 1980s that had bourbon it it. The bourbon itself was really good and I’ve got this displayed in my basement. It’s a great conversation piece too. There’s several different models out there too.
https://auctions.leski.com.au/images/lot/3196/319624_xl.jpg?1685061861
I just recently found these vehicles made in Madagascar. The shop I got them from closes today and I got the last of them. No idea where else to find them. Not sure if the link will work.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMLlKkYTMI3v9AimuI1t9uvbYsytJ43A_PfLRPk
I liked the Chevron techron car toys. I have the first 4 with boxes.
I have a sizeable collection of die-cast, focused on the ’80s & ’90s, along with some other vintage car toys such as Penny Racers.
I still have a shelf of DVD’s, and the open areas of the shelves contain various models of movie cars from Back to the Future, Cannonball Run, James Bond, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, Smokey & the Bandit and The Blues Brothers.
I also collect audio cassettes, and last year at a thrift store I found a Chrysler-branded tape of patriotic music, intended to show off the abilities of the Chrysler-Infinity sound systems of the late 80s & early 90s.
I collect vinyl LPs, and I have a Chevrolet Golden Anniversary Album from 1961. A collection of what I imagine were popular songs of the day, though they might be gunning for a nostalgia angle based on the track list:
Tommy Dorsey – Yes Indeed!
Rosemary – Clooney & Perez Prado – Ball Ha’i
Artie Shaw & His Gramercy Five – Summit Ridge Drive
Larry Clinton – My Reverie
Louis Armstrong – I’ve Got the World on a String
Charlie Barnet – Cherokee
Helen O’Connell – Green Eyes
Bunny Berigan – I Can’t Get Started
Duke Ellington – Solitude
Benny Goodman – Sweet Sue-Just You
Guy Lombardo – Bel Mir Bist Du Shön
Glenn Miller – Moonlight Serenade
My Soul Red Mazda mechanical pencil I bought from the Mazda museum in Hiroshima. I use that sucker every day. Their omiyage cookies were also quite delicious.
I have a Hot Wheels-size Kenny Schrader Schwan’s Dodge Intrepid somewhere around here. Schwan’s Home Service had a giveaway back the early 2000s. I don’t remember the details, but a bunch of us in the office took them up on their offer and ended up with these models. It helped that the company was partnered with Dodge at the time, and the car took up residence on my shelf next to a Bill Elliott Dodge Intrepid of the same vintage.
Good times.
Working in the business, I have tons of apparel; my favorite being this Subaru Trapper hat
Well, I had a Corgi James Bond DB5 dinky car with an honest to gosh functioning ejector seat.
And I had a larger Corgi James Bond Lotus Esprit with functioning (read: spring loaded) missile launcher, rudder wing and dive planes. No danger of taking a missile to the eye at all…
And I had the MPC Dukes of Hazzard General Lee model. The big one.
https://www.modelroundup.com/product-p/mpc-r2-752.htm
I have a coat rack in my garage that looks like a bunch of shifters…
The other favorite is my neon check engine light from Blipshift.
Same here, and the base is Cragar wheel. I hang my extension cords and face shield on it.