Who is your favourite Autobot Car?

[GoktimusPrime]

Which Autobot Car (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Autobot_Cars) is your favourite? This poll is also asking about the Cars as toys rather than characters. Which Autobot Car did you love the most playing with as a kid? ;)

Due to limitations in poll options I've decided to collapse characters who share a common core mould as the same poll option. Feel free to make a post if you want to clarify exactly which toy is your favourite.
e.g. my favourite is Bluestreak, so I've had to choose the Bluestreak/Prowl/Smokescreen option.

[MayzaPrime]

My vote was for Prowl. As a 3 year old I loved that he was a Police car.

[DaptoDog]

As an adult I'd say Hound because I've always wanted him but will wait for the inevitable MP.

However, I'll take a similar approach to MayzaPrime and vote on what I felt as a kid. To this day I remember when I was five my Aunty asked me what Transformer I wanted as a present. This was to be my first Transformer toy and I asked for Jazz. So that's who I've voted for. But funnily enough, my Aunty must not have been able to find it so I was given Skids instead! I was initially disappointed but that little D grade character with the blue Honda City Turbo alt mode was so much fun to play with.

Thankfully a few years later I got the G1 Jazz Classic reissue so I finally got my wish. I still have it to this day, broken windscreen and all.

[CHILENO20]

Sideswipe, real easy to transform & very sturdy. Very handy for a 9 year old :D

[Ultra Mackness]

My vote went to Prowl.

Although Wheeljack was my first TF, as a kid I was put off a bit by how he didn't have any hand held weapons. I also had Optimus as a kid, but I always found his transformation a bit simple. There was always something satisfying about Prowl's transformation and his colour scheme just had the right proportions and contrast - just bloody fantastic! And he was the Autobot second in charge. It's all pros and no cons!

[Deonasis]

I would pick Outback if i could. I have only transformed 1 on that list. :o

[GoktimusPrime]

I would pick Outback if i could. I have only transformed 1 on that list. :o
Separate poll for Autobot Mini Vehicles is here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=22907). :)

[Stug]

The only car I had as a kid was Ratchet so voted for him. Went to Myer to buy Hound but couldn't find him and had to walk out with something so got myself Ratchet. Didn't get any others until I started collecting. Still really like him and quite like Trailbreaker now too.

[UltraMarginal]

I loved Jazz on the show and I loved the toy, it was a little more complex than a lot of the other cars and it was a Porsche.

My first was Skids who I also found to be a whole lot of fun, except I could never quite get all his guns to sit well on his arms.

[Paulbot]

Prowl. He was the first Autobot Car I purchased. Great alt mode, fantastic head design, and a transformation that was fun. Quite a bit fragile (wings, roof, back windows) but it didn't bother me.

Ratchet was my first and a present, and I have a soft spot for the character, but that toy...

[BigTransformerTrev]

My top 5 in order:

Inferno
Tracks
Wheeljack
Hound
Sideswipe

Soft spots for Blurr, Kup & Mirage as I had them as a kid. All others acquired as a teen or adult

[M-bot]

Hound, all the way. Wheeljack probably second.

[5FDP]

Prowl FTW!

[GoktimusPrime]

Prowl FTW!
.......H
Not Moist? :p
.......^

[5FDP]

.......H
Not Moist? :p
.......^

Nah, don't own the figure, just his box :p

[Zommael]

I thought long and hard about this before voting Hot Rod. The poll was specifically asking about favourite Autobot Cars from childhood, and while I had an Autobot who turned into a car (Flash) I didn't have an Autobot Car as a kid. But when I turned 18 and started collecting Transformers properly, one of my first acquisitions was a reissue "Rodimus Major" i.e. Hot Rod. I do have a bit of nostalgia attached to that toy, and while I'll always prefer TFs with a bit more articulation, I also have fond memories. Plus, 18 was long enough ago now for me to say that was "when I was a kid". So I'm going to have to go with Hot Rod. I also bought a Jazz reissue, but it wasn't as good as Hot Rod.

[liegeprime]

Wheeljack, he wasn't the first autobot car I owned but he is the best looking in carmode for me.... robot mode... lets not go there.:p

[i_amtrunks]

Prowl, with red Alert and Inferno very close behind.

What little kid can go past emergency services vehicles (however unrealistic a Fire Chief Countach would be)

[DaptoDog]

Surprised there is no love for Mirage. His alt mode is sublime.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, but he also has the one alt mode that you'll never see driving down a civilian road, and is therefore holds the least appeal as a robot in disguise.

Yeah, I know that technically you'd never see Smokescreen, Red Alert or Wheeljack too, but you can see Datsun Fairladies and Lancia Stratoses, as well as Lamborghini Countachs and fire chief cars (just not both in combination :p) IRL. But you're not going to see a Ligier JS11 on a regular road. Most kids in the 80s probably never saw a race car IRL unless your parents took you to the races. Most of us probably only saw them in action on TV. This is why Bluestreak is personally my favourite because you could and would see Datsun Fairladies driving down the road. As recently as 2007 I saw a Datsun Fairlady Z driving on the road on my way to a Transfan meet in Sydney! :) I immediately whipped my camera out and took a quick snapshot.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Sydney%20Transfan%20Meet%20April%202007/sydmeet07a.jpg
While this particular car doesn't sport the same colours as Bluestreak, Bluestreak has believably ordinary colours that you can find on a regular street car. #robotsindisguise

Having said that, I do love Mirage too. He was my second Autobot car. :D I actually really love the head/face design on the original toy and much prefer it over the more simplified G1 cartoon head/face. The toy-accurate head/face feels more "Voltron-esque." :D If they ever make an MP Mirage, I really hope that TakTOMY include an additional toy-accurate face.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Surprised there is no love for Mirage. His alt mode is sublime.

He was my 3rd ever TF, my first ever to break too and mum threw it out :(

Took me 25 years to get another one :p

[DaptoDog]

He was my 3rd ever TF, my first ever to break too and mum threw it out :(

Took me 25 years to get another one :p

Now there's some love! Mirage was the first Autobot car I picked up when I discovered the wonders of ebay in my uni days.

Honestly all of these options are deserving (well maybe not Blurr but no one has chosen him yet).

I just love all of the Autobot cars. Of my G1 collection they have spent most of their time displayed in alt mode, while the rest have always been in Robot mode.

[klystron]

Sideswipe. Great G1 toy. Also my first. Also best alt mode.

Special mention to runners up Bluestreak and Mirage.

[Raider]

Sideswipe > Red Alert > Sunstreaker. Common theme; all Lamborghini Countach. My favourite car. I prefer the transformation of Sideswipe to Sunstreaker so I voted for Sideswipe.

[Jetfire in the sky]

I honestly can't answer this poll, I am loving these great polls that Gok has put together and until this one have been no brainers for a click on the poll, but the Autobot cars are just all so super rad happy time for me.
As a kid I just ogled the catalogues at the amazing toys they all were and even as an adult I still can't pick an outright favourite, sure there are some weak moulds but to me these are all the ultimate in toy playability (not that I play with my toys *looks at the OP writer*)
It would be easy for me to say my first Autobot car is my favourite which was Bluestreak but I didn't have him for very long because I broke him in the usual spot behind his neck, so Mum sent him back to Hasbro and they sent Wheeljack as a replacement, which is one of the more sturdy moulds. I also have a soft spot for him, and so begins my conundrum. :p

[Skullcruncher]

Which Autobot Car did you love the most playing with as a kid?.

I didnt have any of the true autobot cars so cannot vote. I had grapple but don't agree with the classification of him as a car!

[GoktimusPrime]

"Car" is merely used as the name of the sub group rather than a descriptor for the alt mode. Similar to how there are non-car Mini-Cars, such as Powerglide, Warpath, Seaspray and Cosmos! And while Swoop isn't a dinosaur, he is classified as a Dinobot. :) So while Grapple is not an Autobot car, he is an Autobot Car. :)

Although this makes me further appreciate why Combiner Wars Powerglide is now an Aerialbot, because A10 Thunderbolts aren't cars! :D Some people whinged about it, but it makes sense. :) Also why CW Blast Off is a fighter jet instead of a space shuttle... cos good luck winning a dogfight in a shuttle. :p

[Skullcruncher]

"Car" is merely used as the name of the sub group rather than a descriptor for the alt mode. Similar to how there are non-car Mini-Cars, such as Powerglide, Warpath, Seaspray and Cosmos! And while Swoop isn't a dinosaur, he is classified as a Dinobot. :) So while Grapple is not an Autobot car, he is an Autobot Car. :)


Don't care. You really have killed my childhood now.

[liegeprime]

Prowl, with red Alert and Inferno very close behind.

What little kid can go past emergency services vehicles (however unrealistic a Fire Chief Countach would be)

Thats a very rich community... countach isnt exactly a cheap car to be giving to firechiefs.... either that or a very corrupt firechief accepting the car as a bribe or something, lol

[GoktimusPrime]

Don't care. You really have killed my childhood now.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_bay_wtf_zps7b6ad343.jpg :p

[Skullcruncher]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_bay_wtf_zps7b6ad343.jpg :p

You are way off track now so please stop. FYI - He helped bring it back!

[Ozgardian]

You are way off track now so please stop. FYI - He helped bring it back!

Ok, this thread is officially tainted now. Transformers would've come back anyways without the help of this blasphermer(Mr. Bay)! FYI it was Us fans that kept the spark of Transformers from fading & on that note I thank you all. To keep on track I voted for Tracks (no pun intended), just can't beat a flying car. Always wished Override had made an appearance in the G1 cartoon as he was the only other flying car for the Autobots. Why are Override, Camshaft & Downshift not in this poll?

[GoktimusPrime]

Ok, this thread is officially tainted now. Transformers would've come back anyways without the help of this blasphermer(Mr. Bay)! FYI it was Us fans that kept the spark of Transformers from fading & on that note I thank you all.
That, and a little company in Cincinnati called Kenner. ;) It had been acquired by Hasbro by the 1990s and by the mid 90s Hasbro had practically given up on Transformers after the dismal failure of Transformers Generation 2. The Transformers franchise was then given to Kenner who were then tasked with doing something with the brand. That way, if Transformers continued to tank, it would look like Kenner's fault and Hasbro's name wouldn't be tarnished (initial TF packaging from Kenner only featured the Kenner (https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2135/3531418071_e6efbfca6b_b.jpg) logo (http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTMyWDkwMA==/z/c3AAAOSwezVWwmGd/$_1.JPG?set_id=880000500F)). Kenner did this amazing thing called market research, and discovered that, following the craze of 1993's blockbuster Jurassic Park, kids at the time were more into animals and dinosaurs than vehicles. Beast Wars Transformers was born. As we remember, the Transformers franchise was practically dead in 1995. A few toy stores were still clogged with shelf-warming G2 toys, but most stores had none because retail buyers had stopped ordering TF stock ages ago. I remember walking into a TRU looking for the G2 Axelerators and when I asked a staff member where the Transformers were, he told me, "Transformers? I don't think they make those anymore." Rage... building! And I did find where the Axelerators were that day... only one left, and I bought it (http://toys.tfw2005.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2008/06/SmallCarSkram_1212933759.jpg). ;) And even though Beast Wars first came out in 1996, retail buyers were slow to regain confidence and a lot of stores didn't carry stock until 1997. I found my first BW TF (https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2135/3531418071_e6efbfca6b_b.jpg) in a little independent toy store, but it wouldn't be until 1997 when Transformers stock became readily available everywhere, making it much easier to find and purchase toys!

Then the sales figures came in. By 1997 Transformers had risen to become the third best selling toy line after Toy Story and Star Wars. Hasbro was no longer embarrassed by Transformers and by 1998 they'd put the "Transformers" logo on top of "Beast Wars" in larger print (http://i.imgur.com/Wdlf42C.jpg). In 1999 they even put the Hasbro logo back on the packaging (http://i.imgur.com/PJBnn6n.jpg?1), now proud enough to visibly take ownership of the Transformers brand (but thanks Kenner, we'll never forget what you did! :D). From Beast Wars, Transformers went from strength to strength and it was because of the increasing strength of the Transformers franchise that, in 2003, Hasbro announced that they would go ahead with making a live action Transformers movie.

Now this isn't to detract from the importance that Bay's movies have played on the franchise either. The films have significantly boosted the Transformers franchise, with toy sales doubling in the year after the 2007 film came out. But in effect, the film franchise took what was already a robust Transformers franchise and made it super-strong. Kudos. But Beast Wars took a dead franchise and resurrected it. Super kudos (and happy 20th Anniversary, Beast Wars!).


To keep on track I voted for Tracks (no pun intended), just can't beat a flying car. Always wished Override had made an appearance in the G1 cartoon as he was the only other flying car for the Autobots. Why are Override, Camshaft & Downshift not in this poll?
Camshaft and Downshift are Omnibots, who aren't part of the Autobot Car sub-group. I'm talking about "Cars" as a sub-group, not as a descriptor of their alt mode. These are the toys which Hasbro explicitly marketed as "Cars" in the catalogues. Also, the Omnibots are derived from Diaclone's Double Changer (http://www.transformerland.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/diaclone-83-84-catalog-page-13-14.jpg) series, whereas the Autobot Cars come from Diaclone's Car Robot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UwMa9eC5wI) line. The Omnibots did briefly appear in the G1 manga, but they never appeared in any Anglophone continuity during the original G1 run.

Override (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3G2L3Z7LsWw/UKkQAZ78IiI/AAAAAAAADFw/XYs57EDgkzw/s1600/2064286270100811158S500x500Q85.jpg)'s not included because he's a Triggerbot who transforms into a Suzuki touring motorcycle. Override make several appearances in the Marvel Comics... although he was killed by G2 Megatron (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/6/65/Final_Transformations_Megatron_kills_Override.jpg) . :eek: Don't worry, I do intend on making more polls for other sub-groups in the near future. :)

[Sinnertwin]

Trailbreaker. :)
I've got the reissue sitting on my coffee table at home now

[PROVOST]

Bluestreak / Prowl / Smokescreen