Help:Vehicle
 Vehicle Database
|
|---|
| Rules, info, and guidelines |
| Releases • Vehicles • Series • Cases Photos |
| Development notes |
| Foundation • Configuration |
Vehicle pages are the bread-and-butter of our diecast project and Vehicle Database. Each one corresponds to a distinct Mattel Disney Pixar Cars character, or version thereof, and serves to catalogue each and every release that model has ever gotten – from the "basic" 1:55 die-casts, to the Mini Racers, and everything beyond. Their info gets saved into the main database, from which point any other page on the wiki can then "see" and utilize it.
This functionality means they look and behave a little different from other pages on the wiki. Below is an introduction to using and editing them.
Overview
Compared to the other content spaces, which are primarily plain written content, these pages are specifically designed around storing and displaying raw data. Beyond the annotated "Notes" in every row, the intention is to let the reader follow the "evolution" or variety of the model through pure documentation. Every article has the exact same "structure", with a short {{vehicle infobox}} at the top to display basic information - (ideally) showing an image of their "basic" vehicle cast (or alternative if none exists), along with the Cars franchise installment they originate from – the background is color-coded for quick identification, the key based off that of the official 2022-2024 mainline checklists.
| Cars | Cars 2 | Cars 3 | Cars on the Road | Cars Toon | Other |
If the character has any other existing "versions", (i.e. intentional design variants), it will show a link to the "base character" or total versions if already the case.
"Vehicles" have their own database table (Vehicles). Rows can be seen on the appearance lists.
Distinction
Vehicles are distinguished from another on what they're designed to represent. This occasionally can be confusing and require abnormally exhaustive levels of consideration.
Most of the time, it's easy to enough to identify based on their given "model name"(s). Alternate paint jobs a la Brand New Mater or perhaps a memorable "movie moment" (Tractor with Tire in Mouth) traditionally are released (consistently) as such. The immediate exceptions are the more extravagant "themed" series, where the core cast decorate themselves around a shared concept, like NASCAR or the current cross-brand "style series" like Glow Racers or GRC. When a specially-styled Ramone is simply referred as such, it should receive a "distinct" article, with the naming convention of Character (Name of Series) - Miguel Camino (GRC). (Also note, common name policy applies when several release-names exist). The less "blatant" these variations become, the harder this tends to be - a conjectural name should from official precedent - Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen (Muddy). (The page should never be named "Muddy Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen" without the parentheses).
The challenge is most preoccupying when a "difference" fails to be in an observable feature, essentially a matter of expression – eye positioning or facial emotion. Like most things, deciding where to place them should generally come down to real-world consideration. Would a new Mini Racers fan looking for Sally's base version immediately search up Sally with Tattoo because her spoiler technically is up? Probably not. In the worst of cases, consensus will always become the guiding force, of course with staff interjection as an emergency fallback. (It's also useful to account for potential searches when writing up the "note" - Will someone discovering the [oddball 3-Car Pack McQueen] "mildly fixated" or "angry" Lightning McQueen?)
Releases
- Main article: Help:Releases
A release is an individual database entry, input using the {{vehicle row}} template under the "Releases" section. Please see the above link for a complete, in-depth guide.
Each vehicle's releases are to be organized by year, and then by chronological toy number within. Seasoned collectors may notice a distinct quirk in this system: The chronology won't always reflect the precise, day-by-day findings of each in our community, regarding what hits shelves and when. To put it lightly, there are a great many factors which influence the arrival of any particular car in any particular store:
- While our friends at Mattel do bother to set approximate shelving dates, these are generally only shown to retailers for their purchasing consideration, and as such, for anything beyond the mainline we rarely wind up with reliable access to what they are.
- Even then, it's far from uncommon for stores to break embargo and prematurely wave the starting flag.
- Particularly as of November 2024, we also have to consider the wide variety in distribution. While our Australians have little issue keeping up with the slate, several areas of the United States have yet to see even summer-slated cases.
In summation, the wide variance in studio-to-shelf time is practically begging for arguments about where something "should" be in relation to another. Everyone's experience is different, and expecting each member to constantly be "in the loop" with community affairs would be simply unrealistic. The year-number sorting method offers an objective order, while still honoring a reasonable chronology.
However, the definition of "year" is also likely to be confusing. Cars style series generally correlate with these switchovers. In essence, even though stores were already flooding with Supercharged-branded releases, we still acknowledge them as 2007 - this also has to do with the "toy year" (begins in approximately November. i.e. the first "2025" releases are actually scheduled for 11/2024)
Advanced tips
|full_name= sets what is to be displayed in the collector number and appearance lists. These pages are unique because unlike everything else on the wiki, they display stats about each vehicle instead of releases. Every page stores auto-calculated stats/input values into the Vehicles Cargo table. Like the above, the default full_name is simply the name of the page.
|note1=, |note2=, |note3= and so on - notes to be displayed, again on the aforementioned vehicle-oriented lists. Should give a brief summary of the model's history and/or anything significant any collector should immediately know.