This is the CONROY'S ROAD CHAMP AFTER MARKET LINK for news and information on the CENTERVILLE, OH Police Department Road Champs Premier car.

Chronology:
February 1999 Idea formulated to do the CPD Premier
March 1999 CPD gave permission to have the car made
April 1999 Money sent to JAKKS for the prototype
May 1999 Orders begin to roll in (names only, no $)
July 6, 1999 Prototype received
July 9 CPD okays the cars design, etc.
July 10 Half the money sent in to JAKKS
July 26 Jakks called and said..shipping Aug 28th
August 23, Jakks called and said, cars are on the water, in soon
August 26, Labels at the press
September 3, Labels picked up, each car box will be labeled and numbered..make sure you get the real car, look for the authentic label!
September 24......Road Champs called! The cars have cleared their warehouse on the West Coast and are en-route to Centerville. They are expected to arrive here on Monday. September 27th. Shipments could leave here as soon as the 28th.
September 30.....All the cars arrived, are labeled and are ready to go. Anyone that has already sent payment as of Oct 1st, your car has already been shipped out. No exceptions!!
October 10th, 1999......10 days gone, 700 cars shipped, 1852 left.
November 6, 1999...825 SOLD....cars are now in 4 retail stores in Dayton so sales should continue at a good pace. Cars available at David's Uniforms, DnD Uniforms, City of Centerville, Aschel Wright Gift Shop in Centerville, and this website!
December 5, 1999 900 SOLD....1652 left.
December 25, 1999 950 Sold.....1612 Left.
December 28, 1999 Centerville DARE Program was paid $800 for the first 1000 cars sold!
January 27, 2000 1050 Sold.....1512 Left
February 27, 2000 1175 Sold, 1417 Left. Cars now also available at DeClarks Hallmark Store in Kettering, the 6th location to sell the cars in the Dayton area.
April 29, 2000 1225 Sold, 1367 Left, almost halfway home!
September 15, 2000 1300 Sold, 1292 left. Cracks discovered in the white paint. Jakks contacted. Two sample cars are sent back to Hong Kong. Road Champs/Jakks admits a paint defect, agrees to reimburse us for the unsold cars. This fact was published on my main page.
October 16, 2000 - The City of Centerville buys 100 cars to give away at their Ground-Breaking as they are about to build a new Police Department.
October 17, 2000 - Sales of the Centerville PD Premier cars are over, halted at 1400 due to the paint defect. As of today, Steve and I have a few extra cars left that we will sell for $9.50 due to the paint defect. All other cars are unavailable as Jakks is reimbursing Steve Kemper for the remaining cars. If you own one, you have 1 of 1400 ever sold!
12-1-00 Several other cars that were made with 2 paint schemes are also reported to have cracking paint. The most obvious is the 1999 Oklahoma Citry car.
12-3-00 Still have a few Centerville Premiers left at a reduced price if anyone missed out and stil wants one. Buy it with the knowledge that EVERY car is the same as the one you would be buying today. Price $9.50
1-15-01 Steve Kemper has AUTHORIZED a BLOWOUT SALE.....both the Centerville PD Premier and a Kettering Fire and Rescue Premier..for $5 (2 cars for $5 total). This offer will NEVER be beat. Hurry..offer good til what's left is GONE!
4-22-01 Still a few left at the 2 for $5 price..e-mail me at
Conroy07@aol.com to order some.
4-22-01 Several cars made in the last year have also cracked just like this one. We no longer feel discrinated against since their lack of quality control applied to 3-4 other cars too. (Not premiers though, just regular issues)

MAIL YOUR PAYMENT NOW to me at
WALT CONROY - 324 TUXWORTH RD., CENTERVILLE, OHIO 45458. $5 for the cars, $3.50 to ship them to you!
(understand that there are hairline cracks in the white portion of this car)

Each car box is individually numbered, has the department's name, PD seal, and chief's name on the box. MAKE CERTAIN YOU GET YOUR CAR WITH THE "OFFICIAL CENTERVILLE PD" SEAL, CHIEF'S NAME AND OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION ON THE BOX. EACH CAR WAS INDIVIDUALLY LABELED AND NUMBERED. IF YOUR BOX IS MISSING THIS LABEL, OR ANY PART THEREOF, YOUR PRODUCT MAY NOT HOLD ITS' VALUE DOWN THE ROAD. DEMAND THE OFFICIAL CAR AND BOX AND LABEL!!!!!!

Prices were (prior to 10-17-00):
1 car $12.50 shipping $1.50 ...total cost per car $14.00
2 cars $25.00 shipping $2.00 ...total cost per car $13.50
3 cars $37.50 shipping $2.50 ...total cost per car $13.33
4 cars $50.00 shipping $3.00 ...total cost per car $13.25
5 cars $62.50 shipping $3.00 ...total cost per car $13.10
10 cars $125.00 No shipping charge Total cost per car $12.50
If you need/want more than 10, please contact me for arrangements!

The prototype is pictured below. If you can not see the car, you use a service/browser that does not allow you to view it. 8 of 10 browsers can see it. If you can't see it, rest assured that it is a car very different from any other premier made to date. It is so different that Jakks Pacific/Roadchamps decided to place the Centerville car on their main page on their Premier website. It is the ONLY premier police car featured on their site!!!

HERE IS A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS CAR!

As most of you know, Steve Kemper, my Road Champ supplier, agreed to do the Centerville PD Premier almost 1 year ago. (took receipt of the 2592 cars 9-30-99) Steve was the money man, I was to be the go between with Centerville PD as well as the main seller of the cars. Through August this year, (11 months into this venture), sales went along without a hitch, over 1300 had been sold.

Around the last day of August, 2000, a buyer from FL. called and stated that the CPD car he just received had some hairline cracks in the front hood. I told him to return it and he would get another one. For some reason, I began looking at the other CPD cars I had at my house. Then looked at my car in my case, then at the Prototype. EVERY car had cracks in the front end, the white painted section of the car. In checking the rest of the CPD cars at Steve's warehouse, ALL of the cars were in this condition. Everyone that owns one of the 1300 we have sold now has cracks if you check your car.

We contacted Roadchamps immediately. They wanted some cars. They got them. They saw the cracks. They sent them to Hong Kong. They got them. They believe at this point that they screwed something up in the painting process that took 10-11 months to show up. Apparently this happens even with real cars if paint is not applied in the right intervals with enough time in between layers. When this happens, it looks good at the time, and the error shows up months later.

They were not willing nor ever offered to do anything about the cars already sold. They are willing to compensate Steve for the 1200 left which brings me to the meat of this message. I am sick. Our car, our project and it ends like this. But, I wanted to write this and explain what has happened. It wasn't planned this way and if they were defective 11 months ago, I would not have sold them. If Road Champs was offering replacements of cars or of money for what has been sold, I think you all know that I would be the first person to tell you to send in for a replacement or refund. (Most of you would have not known for maybe years. If it's in your case, you would have never taken it out to see the cracks and you know this is accurate because NO ONE has raised the issue other than one single buyer.)

Steve is keeping several cases when this is all finished. As far as I am concerned, I am finished selling the cars. Steve has been in the toy/hobby/automotive business for a long time and he believes that even with the defect, the cars still have value and wants to sell the ones he has left since he isn't receiving total compensation for what remains. If anyone has a desire from this point to buy one, Steve can be reached toll-free at 1-800-783-8004. I still have access to his remaining cars, but WILL not sell them at the issue price of $12.50. I wil lsell what I have left for $9.50 which covers My cost and the DARE donation. I regret this incident, feel it was well beyond my control and have done my best to inform everyone now that this has happened. Firestone? I don't think so, but bad enough sine I am involved. Sorry Guys, words can not express the let down associated with this incident. I welcome your comments, dart throwing or sympathy cards, whichever you desire.

The Centerville PD, OH Premier Prototype...1999 Ford Crown Vic Body Style

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