A friend just commented on another post in this blog reminding me about an old department store called Zayre
The Hollywood Fashion Center had a Zayre and it was clearly on the low end of the fashion feeding chain. I have no idea why shopping at certain stores indicates social status when they sell mostly the same shit, but Zayre was definitely a bargain joint. For some reason we went there when I was really young with the express intent of buying the Batmobile. I can remember the day vividly. One of my friends and his mom came along to also buy a Batmobile. Maybe the toy was really hot and hard to find and my mom got some inside information that the Zayre was stocked full of them. I'm not sure. But I got it. It was awesome.
I also distinctly remember bringing it to show and tell which must have been right after Christmas, because at least 3 other kids had the same toy with them. As my name fell near the beginning of the alphabet, I got to spoil all the awesome secrets and tricks before anyone else got a chance to.
Back to the 'mobile. Not only was it awesomely retro, but it sat two and came with a bunch of hidden features. The front bumper would shoot out two inches when a secret button was pressed. This was frequently utilized to knock down bad guys. Also, the back bumper extended in a clamping motion to put the pinch on The Penguin. I'm not sure why a bad guy would be standing immediately behind the vehicle unless he was trying to copy down Batman's license plate number. But if he was, he was in for a load of hurt. I also remember a 3rd feature but can't seem to put my finger on it. Maybe the "lights" came on (meaning yellow pieces of plastic would pop up where the lights were, indicating illumination).
I liked that this toy wasn't trying to look 80's in any way. Every subsequent Batman installation gave the Batmobile an upgrade or refurbishing. But for us 80's kids, the old school coupe was good enough for us.
The toy was
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