14CC APC 360ID DC
VaporWax APC 360ID 2 Oz
M2 R1 C.A.T .54 BEL AIR GRN
M2 R1 C.A.T .53 OLDS 98 RED
M2 R1 C.A.T 57 FAIRLANE CLR
Pittman ALR TSS option
M2 R1 C.A.T 55 STAR CHEIF CLR
An innovation of design and engineering, however as with
most innovative things, it found a squalid reception from the
public and maybe that was M2's fault for the intensive detail
they put in the Auto-thentics branch of the M2 line.
It was 2008 a decade ago when M2 of the Muscle Machines
camp introduced its successful off shoot M2 Machines,
They quickly became known for their attention to detail as
they launched several releases, one in particular was Clearly
Auto-thentics line of models.
The Auto thentics was the top of the line in detail including
opening doors and hood with engine, exterior trim and
interior were true to the design..

They were metal with rubber tires and were screwed not riveted together, One of the selling features was the amount of parts
put in one vehicle, they would show a exploded view of the vehicle on the rear of a the package. Due to their attention to
detail, Auto thentics joined Green light in the class of the adult collectors Items.
They were not cheap and were designed to attract the serious collector and they did. During this time the auto projects line
branched from the Auto-thentics as another highly detailed premium model, The auto projects release was a stroke of genius
but for some reason that one was discontinued and would have became a ghost as the Clearly Auto-thentics release but it
was revived recently in release 42 with a whole new look. The Clearly Auto thentics release was ahead of its time as the
concept was ambitious the technology was lacking.
It crashed and burned on take off
Though it shared the premium detailing of the Auto-thentics line  the design feature that made it unique was the fact that you
could see through it This required it to be made of transparent plastic along with some of the parts inside, it gave the effect
of seeing the car with X-ray vision, it was a novel idea but in order to do get this effect the car had to be made of
transparent plastic.
Plastic was not a fan favorite, it lost the look of a highly detailed miniature and some colors weren't transparent but
translucent  (orange, blue and red) gave it the appearance of a interesting looking toy, something a child might find
fascinating but not so much with the Adult fans who were being impressed by other branches of the line, A plastic toy
looking car just did not  pull in the fans, especially considering there was no break in the price.
The Clearly Auto-thentics branch may have proven not as popular as the designers had envisioned and M2 quietly pulled the
plug, This was sad because The second release was actually a step up as the cars were still see through plastic but now
they were two tone, an brilliantly tinted which gave even more of a unique jeweled look to the cars. The problems with the
first release was color pigment and  the quality of the plastic used to make the cars, a higher quality plastic would be clearer
and reflect light much better, but it was too late and that release became a ghost production.
Afterwards M2 did something strange, They eliminated all mention of the Clearly Auto-thentics. Cannibalized what was left
and used the card art and some of the clear hoods on later Auto thentic releases, It was if their existence had been stricken
from M2 history.
Since the production run was so short they were treated as the special editions with no platform in M2s web product line
web page. But that wasn't the original plan
It has been a decade since the release and death of the Clearly Auto-thentics
line which only survived 2 releases.
The total production may have been around 4000 per release, world wide with
the chase piece being 1/400 that's an
estimate of 800 total intentional chase pieces between the two releases
The 2 Chase pieces is are Ghost rare, the 1957 Mercury Sun Valley. In
release 2 and the 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air in release
1.  It's hard to find pictures of these Chase pieces, The body and most of the
interior are clear on these cars.
Today all of the Clearly Auto-thentic releases from 2008 are technically
classified as limited edition and have the production
value of today's CHASE pieces.
To be sure in fact they are "Ghost Rare" with special notice on the clear
Clearly Auto-thentics. Some cars stood out like
jewels in the group, The Clear Ford Crestliner in release 2 was an example of
all the pieces coming together as it was
virtually flawless in its appearance. The Pontiac Star Chief a two tone model
from the same release was also on the money
in design and execution. Release 1 had its duds but release 2 came back with
a vengeance with several two toned jewel like
models. Today these models can only be found in the secondary market but
surprisingly even with the limited amount
available the prices have remained low, this phenomenon is not expected to
continue as more and more collectors are
attracted to this M2 line and its  hard to find releases.
Every collector who wants to have a piece of M2 history will find it in the Clearly Auto-thentics release.
The fact that they were discontinued 10 years ago and can only be found in the secondary markets makes them extremely
rare. .
Many collectors have no idea the Clearly Auto-thentics line of M2 exists, as a result few people look for them or understand
their rarity, most are clamouring for the new releases but there are a few wise collectors quietly snatching these little gems
up for the future, right now they are selling cheap but the price is beginning to creep up.
Now is the time to add as many of these to your collection you can get  your hands on because when the buyers and sellers
realize what they have, the availability will vanish and prices will sky rocket.
Hopefully M2 will let this release stay ghost and not  do like Hot Wheels and destroy the collectors value in a piece by
flooding the market with re-releases like they did with the 1989 Batmobile.
Clearly Auto-thentics tiny production numbers will have collectors be hunting these gems as they become as desired and
hard to find as the RAW or Super Chase cars.
12/29/18