O F F - T H E - S H E L F

The following editorial reflects the personal thoughts of Doug Breithaupt relating to our common hobby of miniature cars. It is intended to generate discussion
relating to 'Tales of Toy Cars'. Your letters are welcome and may be submitted via e-mail.

Time for a change



Bergstrom's sits on a quiet Port Townsend street

The windows are full of automobilia
Tales of Toy Cars - now has a retail connection. Port Townsend, Washington boasts one of the more interesting automobilia stores in the Pacific Northwest. Bergstrom's Antique Classic Auto & Other Collectibles has been housed for the past 27 years in a former Buick dealership. The store is a cornucopia of all things automotive, from hubcaps to Hudson owner's manuals. It is a wonderful place to lose an hour or two and has become a local landmark. Robin Bergstrom, the owner has always had a few toy cars to be found but it's not his area of expertise. Now, in association with TofTC, Bergstrom's offers over 100 vintage diecast cars at any given time.

I've always thought about having a place to sell toy cars. Now, my former Timex display case and about 100 1:64 scale cars are a new feature at Bergstrom's. All I have to do is provide a percentage of each sale to Robin and keep the case full. We may add some pegs for current models in future but for now, I'm just trying to see what sells best. Tales of Toy Cars is also advertised at Bergstrom's and I have cards with the Web address for folks to pick up.

Inside the store are an amazing mix of auto parts, literature and now, toy cars for sale. The large five-shelf display on the right holds over 100 1:64 scale cars.

If you are ever in the area, Bergstrom's is a required stop for lovers of things automotive.

Your comments are always welcome. doug@breithaupts.com. You may have noticed that this issue of 'Tales of Toy Cars' (TofTC) is no longer part of the whaticollect.com (WIC) Website. Due to financial restrictions, WIC is closing their Website as of the end of August, 2002. TofTC has moved back to independent status. We would like to thank WIC staff for all the help they provided during our association with their site.