When I wrote my last newsletter about the Delahaye triplets, I never imagined it would take 5 months plus a couple of days for the next release to arrive.  Yet the worldwide pandemic has played havoc with shipments and other pieces of logistics.

Even though this new release’s build was completed in early January, it had to wade through Chinese New Year before a boat was located.  The journey across the Pacific was uneventful and then there was the LA-Long Beach queue which took another 3-weeks.  A couple more for Customs, then another for trains and finally a truck.  All told it took over 4 months just for the logistics to be completed. 

The 1987-1992 Cadillac Allante represented a major investment by GM who partnered with Pininfarina – the same Pininfarina who does so much with Ferrari – to make the bodies which were then flown on special Boeing 747’s to Cadillac to be mated with their drivetrains.  It made for the longest assembly line ever. It was also the priciest Cadillac too that went up against the Mercedes SL and Jaguar XJS convertible.  It was not so much a sports car, more of a grand tourer.  And it was near the beginning of when Cadillac first began to get its groove back.  Many derided it.  They didn’t like the looks.  They didn’t like that it was front-wheel drive.

And yet as Automodello® has found with other marques and models, there is a very passionate group of owners that simply love it.  Automodello worked with these owners to make sure we got all the details correct.  Some of these included:

• Grab handles in the hardtop
• Cadillac emblem in the high mounted rear light and tail lights
• Dashboard details
• Seat adjustment buttons
• Both tops include rear quarter windows in place

Those who’ve seen the models have all said this model captures both the spirit and the details as they’ve never been captured before.  And in 1:24 scale it is the first larger scale rendition of the Allante.

The three primary editions are two Standard Editions with build of 192 each in Red (24C020) and Pearlescent White (24C022) which has micro-flakes in the paint to simulate the pearlescent effect, and the Homage Edition of 24 in Black.  After these editions were announced, a couple of owners asked if they could simply switch interiors to match their own Allante.  While it can technically be done, any attempt would void the Automodello warranty.  Instead Automodello released 3 Special Editions of up to 6-pieces each: Red with tan interior (24C029.S1), Triple Black (24C029.S3) and White with black interior (24C029.S4).  All six come with black convertible and body color hardtops.

If you are going to the GM Nationals on June 25th and 26th in Carlisle PA, Automodello will be exhibiting with GM Club Apparel in Building Z (indoor).  I will have the Cadillac Allante Standard and Homage editions there.  In other show news, Automodello will be exhibiting at Automobilia Monterey Pop-Up with The Finish Line on August 10-11th at Embassy Suites in Seaside, CA.  Shows are slowly reopening, please stay tuned for more.

Other newsworthy news:

• Automodello® Dreams Engaged® is now a registered trade mark.  This was done because we have seen some of our products in the marketplace copied or fakes being passed off as real Automodello products.  With the “R”, Automodello can now better fight and remove trade mark violators from ecommerce platforms like eBay.
• Automodello is working on our next 1:24 and 1:43 releases.  While the intent is to have these arrive in time for the holidays, the logistics need to be more back to normal for this to happen.
• The 1937 Delahaye 135MS in 1:24 continues to do well in all 3 colors.  Lowest stock is in the light blue metallic and lark green metallic.  Reviews were posted around the world starting in May and all rated the model as exceptional.
• Less than half-dozen Delage, Lincoln Mark V and Cadillac Eldorado Homage editions remain.

If you’d like a current Automodello listing, please email me.

Thank you,
Jim Cowen, CEO
Automodello.com
877.343. 2276 US/CANADA or +1.847.274.9645 INTERNATIONAL