VERO BEACH, FLORIDA

Vero Beach’s police patrol car now is part of Mattel Toys’ line
of Hot Wheels miniature Cop Rod cars.

And it should be coming to local stores soon — with the city’s police emblem and
retro black-and-white colors.

The selection was done randomly. The company contacted the city last year to let
officials know it was chosen.

“This is really neat,” police spokesman John Morrison said Thursday.

Vero Beach is one of 26 small communities Mattel Toys picked nationwide to be
part of its Cop Rod line of small-scale cars, said company spokesman Bob
Novickas. There’s no money involved on either end, he said.

Some of the other chosen cities include Phillipsburg, Kansas; North Olmstead,
Ohio and Carine, Wis.

Walmart and Target stores carry the line, but currently the Vero Beach patrol
car isn’t in stock. They retail for $2.99. Store officials did not know when
they expect them to be in stock.

The police department was given 100 for distribution to employees.

Mattel Toys uses a revved-up Dodge Charger version of the city’s patrol car, but
police actually ride around in a more sedate Crown Victoria.

The boxes containing the Cop Rod versions won’t include the city’s name, but it
is labeled the Rodger Dodger edition. The see-through packaging lets buyers look
for the city’s tell-tale colors which are black and white.

Mattel wouldn’t disclose how many are being produced.

The new cars are part of a re-introduction of the Cop Rod line that was produced
in the past, then allowed to lapse.

This time, “the focus was on small towns and Vero Beach was picked,” Novickas
said.

Comments (1)

hannah: ... Kind of cool. The PD should buy a bunch that they can give away to little kids in the neighborhoods. 1 September 19, 2009

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