#43A Hillman Minx

This is another of the first Matchbox cars I bought way back when. It dates back to a time before Lesney began putting in interiors and "glass" into the window openings. The Hillman Minx was a British family saloon, which Matchbox put into  production in 1958, while the Rootes Group (Commer, Hillman , Humber, Karrier, Singer, Sunbeam, and Talbot) built the real Minx from 1956-67. In 1967 Chrysler bought the Rootes Group, and then sold it to Peugeot 11 years later. — jc

#27C Cadillac Sixty-Special

When Matchbox decided to add another American car to the lineup in 1960, they went big — with this 1958 Cadillac Sixty-Special. It wasn't the first American car they produced, but it was more posh than the previous two — both Ford station wagons. The #27C Caddy came in a few different color combinations, but the one I remember best (probably because I had one) was this lilac and pink two-tone. The pics below of the real car come courtesy of Facebook friend Jim Jordan of Oklahoma City. — jc