Golden Wheel is one of those obscure companies that pops up in the oddest places.

My first exposure to Golden Wheel was in a flea market where a seller laid out an open Valvoline (motor oil, for those who might not know) promotional 10 pack, from which I pulled a C2 Corvette and a 50ish Oldsmobile Rocket. The Olds was the first I had seen that model covered, and while many of the models were simply done, the Olds and the Vette were a half step above and really didn't look all that bad. For what they were and are, promotional giveaways, from the period of the mid-late 1990s, the models are acceptable considering what else was available at the time.

This Tbird was also in the Valvoline 10 pack, though the exact deco escapes my memory. I've found other issues from that 10 pack issued in other formats and sold under a couple different names. But here today I suppose we are getting a wee bit non-PC, in that the model being shown was a cigarette promo issue.

Before anyone works themselves into a lather, my purpose is not to promote smoking tobacco. I have better things to do with my life, like document the history of diecast. And that is why this seems something that needs a quiet but occasional reminder that it does in fact exist as a generational thing. Ignoring while turning away screaming like one's head is on fire doesn't erase that fact...at one time such was a social convention widely accepted and practiced. Hopefully we've learned that not all socially accepted practices are good for us in the long run, and this doesn't apply only to tobacco.

At any rate, this model came to me either from Belgium or the Netherlands, I'm forgetting, its been a few years. I know B&H were available stateside, but were never particularly popular sellers anywhere I've ever been. I'm guessing that might not be the case in some parts of Europe, thus the promo issue from the lowlands.