2022 Hot Wheels Kroger Exclusive Case

Hello everyone, welcome to another additional feature here on the boulevard. Well, it's once again that time of the year where the Kroger family of stores will have special cases sent to them. Now, you might be able to find store exclusives in your area, but where I live, it's basically impossible. There have been a few times where I've found them, though. But for the most part, they never make it to the pegs. Anyway, one of the exclusive colors was a release I absolutely had to have, so I decided to just buy a case from the company's website. So for today's post, I'm going to be sharing what was in it, as well as my thoughts on it and a few of the releases. With that said, let's begin.

A few days ago, I published a My Want List post where I talked about the releases I got from this year's case "E." Now, I bet you're wondering why I brought that up. Well, it's because the Kroger exclusive case is none other than case "E," and I have all of the releases I wanted from it. So I do have to admit that I'm a little disappointed with it. If Mattel would have waited a little longer to send case "E" to the other retail stores, then I honestly would have been much happier this exclusive case.

I can't say that it's a terrible case, though. Packed within it are some of the best releases from case "E." So that's releases like the "red panda" AE86, the Liberty Walk S15, and the blue C8. And I bet some of you are still on the hunt for those. So you might want to consider buying this case, which can be found on Kroger's website. Alright, now it's time to show you everything my box had. 

Alright, now it's time to move on to the exclusive colors. And I'm going to start with the McLaren F1 GTR first, since it's the one that made me want to buy this case.

Store exclusives will never be on my want list, but sometimes I keep an eye out for them due to a specific design choice that was made. It could be because the casting was given wheels it never had before, or it could be because of the exterior color they picked for it. And when it comes to the McLaren F1 GTR, it's the latter.

The McLaren F1 GTR has been a Hot Wheels casting for twelve years now, and after all these years, this is the first time yellow was used for it. I know they could do another yellow one in the future, but for all we know, this could be the only one. So I didn't want to miss my chance to have an example of this casting finished in yellow. Furthermore, I felt it'd be a great addition to the RPM Starz garage. 

The McLaren might have been the one I wanted most, but it isn't the only exclusive that's nice. So that brings me to the second one, which is the Ford Focus RS. 

This year's first release was okay, but I do have to admit that I was hoping to see another release of it finished in a different color. Sure, it might have been lighter than the previous two blue releases, but I feel they should have used a color that hasn't already been used for the casting. Now, as you can see, the designers chose to use another color that's already been used, and this is the third time its been used. So I am just a tad but disappointed, but there is a reason why I don't mind their decision to use white again. 

The first white one was released in 2017, and it featured a Koni theme. The second one was released the following year as a Kmart exclusive, and it featured a design that I'd best describe as being a blueprint. The first one looks like something you'd see at an automotive show, and the second one does not look like something you'd see anywhere. So this white release is currently the only one that looks like something you'd see driving around. In other words, it's white and it doesn't feature wild design. That's why I don't mind the color choice. 

I should also mention that I thought it'd be a great addition to the Vance Family's personal vehicle collection. After all, it's white with a black stripe, and that's the race team's main color scheme.  

The third exclusive color from this case is the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC_02, and I think it's a very nice release. Initially, I thought they removed the matte black section from its sides, but I was wrong. The decision was made to keep it, and I think it helped to create a very unique release. I mean, it's not everyday that we get a gloss black release with a matte black design. 

The red one is nice, but I might just end up liking this one more by the end of the year. And who knows, this could end up being my all-time favorite release of it. 

The last exclusive color is the '68 Dodge Dart, and it's honestly my least favorite one. In fact, I almost didn't include it in this post. But the whole purpose of this post is to show what I got in my Kroger exclusive case, so not including it would have made this post incomplete. Now, I'm sure the Art Cars series has a fan base, but I'm not a part of it. The only time I'll pay attention to the series is when I'm on the hunt for a releases like the Raijin Expres. 

Let's face it, this is the worst release of this beautiful American classic. The last nice release of it was two years ago, and I was really hoping to eventually see another nice one, since I don't own that many releases of the casting in my collection. So you can probably imagine how disappointed I was when I saw this year's release of it.

You might be someone who looks forward to the Art Cars series each year, so you're most likely happy with their decision to make this one of the exclusive colors. But I'm not. In my opinion, they should have used a different release. And I feel this year's HW450F is one example of a release that would have been than this. 

At the end of the day, I still think this was a great purchase because it made it so I didn't have to worry about trying to find the McLaren on the pegs. As far as the mail-in is concerned, I don't think I'm going to get it. It's not a terrible looking release, it's just I don't care to have another overly decorated Porsche 356 Speedster.

So how do you feel about these Kroger exclusive colors, and do you also think they should have picked a different release? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this additional feature. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.