Over the years, Laukkanen Motorsport / Racers Place has built a complete series of Motor State Special Holiday Edition scale models. The collection currently includes every annual release from 2004 through 2025, for a total of 22 consecutive models.
Each year, Motor State has commissioned a new scale model as a Christmas gift for its dealers. The cars have apparently also been distributed to company employees and other business partners. Laukkanen Motorsport / Racers Place has received the cars directly from Motor State at Christmas.
The cars provide an interesting cross-section of American hot rod, muscle car and drag racing history. The series includes classic muscle cars, gassers, Super Stock-inspired cars, pickups and hot rods. Each model features Motor State’s own livery and graphics.
Motor State Special Holiday Edition
The Special Holiday Edition models are mainly die-cast collector cars in approximately 1:18 scale. They are based on products from well-known scale model manufacturers, but the paintwork, graphics, packaging and details have been produced specifically for Motor State.
Each year’s car is a separate release. The production quantity is marked on the original packaging, and the numbers have varied considerably from year to year. Many of the newer models have been produced in estimated quantities of around 400–800 units, while some older releases were manufactured in significantly larger batches.
- A different vehicle model every year
- Motor State’s own livery and graphics
- Numbered production run
- Special Holiday Edition packaging
- Christmas gift distributed to dealers
Individual cars occasionally come up for sale in the United States, but availability is inconsistent. Some annual models appear on the market from time to time, while others seem to be almost impossible to find. For this reason, assembling a long and uninterrupted series afterwards would be extremely difficult.
Lane Automotive and Motor State Distributing
Motor State’s history dates back to Lane Automotive, which was founded by George Lane in 1964. The business began in Michigan as a small speed shop operating from a garage.
George Lane sourced performance parts for his own cars and for other local hot rod and drag racing enthusiasts. Over the following decades, the small local operation grew into an internationally active automotive company.
Motor State Distributing serves as the wholesale distribution division of Lane Automotive. It supplies performance parts to dealers, engine builders, machine shops, racing teams and other businesses in the automotive industry.
Lane Automotive’s headquarters are located in Watervliet, Michigan. The site includes the company’s distribution centre, offices and showroom. Drag racing and American car culture have been part of the business since its earliest years, which is also clearly reflected in the vehicle choices made for the Holiday Edition series.
The Laukkanen Motorsport / Racers Place Collection 2004–2025
The collection currently includes the following Motor State Special Holiday Edition annual releases:
| Release Year | Scale Model |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 1965 Chevrolet El Camino |
| 2005 | 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 |
| 2006 | 1968 Shelby GT500KR |
| 2007 | 1965 Chevrolet Malibu SS |
| 2008 | 1967 Chevrolet Camaro |
| 2009 | 1972 Hurst Oldsmobile Convertible |
| 2010 | 1970 Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda |
| 2011 | 1966 Pontiac GTO |
| 2012 | 1972 Chevrolet CST/10 Pickup |
| 2013 | 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T |
| 2014 | 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt |
| 2015 | 1971 Ford Torino Cobra |
| 2016 | 1965 Dodge Coronet A/FX |
| 2017 | 1957 Chevrolet Two-Ten |
| 2018 | 1941 Willys Gasser |
| 2019 | 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 |
| 2020 | 1969 Dodge Dart Hemi |
| 2021 | 1932 Ford – George Lane Memorial Model |
| 2022 | 1971 Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda |
| 2023 | Chevrolet K5 Blazer |
| 2024 | 1964 Dodge 330 – Lane Automotive 60th Anniversary Model |
| 2025 | Chevrolet C30 Ramp Truck |
The 2025 Chevrolet C30 is a ramp truck designed to carry other 1:18-scale cars from the series. The green Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda shown on its bed in our photographs is the separate 2022 Holiday Edition model and is not included with the 2025 release.
The 2021 George Lane Memorial Model
The most historically significant individual release in the series is the 1932 Ford from 2021.
George Lane passed away in January 2021, and that year’s Holiday Edition was produced in his memory. According to the text on the packaging, the scale model is a replica of George’s own 1932 Ford.
The packaging describes the model as a tribute to George Lane’s life, achievements and lifelong passion for automobiles. This makes the 2021 car much more than an ordinary annual release: it is a personal memorial to the company’s founder.
Based on our own observations, these 2021 memorial models have very rarely appeared on the public market. The exact production quantity and the number of cars that have subsequently entered the collector market are not known.
The 2024 Lane Automotive 60th Anniversary Edition
Lane Automotive celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024. The vehicle selected for that year’s Holiday Edition was a 1964 Dodge 330, with the model year matching the year in which the company was founded.
The model features a drag racing-inspired appearance, Motor State and Lane Automotive graphics, a bonnet scoop and competition-style tyres. The packaging identifies it as Lane Automotive’s 60th anniversary model.
Alongside the 2021 memorial model, the 2024 car is the second special release clearly connected to the company’s own history.
Visit to Motor State in 2019
I visited Motor State’s facilities in Watervliet, Michigan, in 2019. George Lane’s office contained an extensive collection of Motor State and Lane Automotive scale models.
The collection displayed in the office clearly extended beyond our current 2004–2025 series. It appeared to include both Special Holiday Edition annual models and other promotional models produced in Lane Automotive and Motor State colours.
This later sparked an interest in investigating the history of the complete series in greater detail. Unfortunately, there still does not appear to be a complete publicly available photographic or chronological catalogue of all the models that have been released.
Information About the Complete Series Is Fragmented
Individual cars, old sales listings and photographs from collectors can be found online, but the complete series has not been comprehensively documented in one place.
The names used for the models also vary. They may be listed under names such as Motor State, Motor State Distributing, Lane Automotive or Special Holiday Edition. In addition, sales listings can easily confuse the scale model’s release year with the model year of the full-size vehicle it represents.
The first car in our collection is the 2004 Special Holiday Edition, but the series dates back to at least the early 2000s. Earlier releases are known to exist from at least 2001–2003, and our aim is to add these cars to the collection in the future.
Why Is an Uninterrupted Series So Rare?
Individual cars can still be found, but assembling 22 consecutive annual releases afterwards would be extremely difficult. Production quantities have been limited, and most of the cars are probably still owned by their original recipients.
With the older models, the survival of the original packaging also has a significant effect on the completeness of the collection. All the cars in the Laukkanen Motorsport / Racers Place collection have been preserved in their original Special Holiday Edition boxes.
- 22 consecutive annual releases
- Every annual model from 2004 to 2025
- Original numbered packaging
- Includes George Lane’s personal memorial model
- Includes Lane Automotive’s 60th anniversary model
The collection is not interesting solely because of the potential value of the individual cars. As a complete series, it tells the story of Lane Automotive and Motor State, the American performance parts industry and dealer partnerships that have continued for decades.
The Collection Continues
At the time of writing, the 2026 Holiday Edition car has not yet been released. New models have usually arrived at Christmas, so the 2026 release is not expected until the end of the year, provided Motor State continues the tradition as before.
The collection is therefore currently complete for every annual release from 2004 through 2025.
Our intention is to continue the collection with future annual releases while also searching for earlier cars from the series. The cars, packaging and production numbers will be documented so that this little-known series can gradually be compiled into the most comprehensive chronological catalogue possible.
Collection on Display at Our Store
The Motor State Special Holiday Edition collection is on display at the Laukkanen Motorsport / Racers Place store in Vantaa, Finland. The cars are displayed in their original packaging, and the collection will be expanded with future annual releases.
Production quantities and distribution arrangements have varied from year to year. The information in this article is based on the Laukkanen Motorsport / Racers Place collection, markings on the original packaging, company information published by Lane Automotive and Motor State, and observations gathered over the years. The article will be updated if further documented information about earlier releases in the series becomes available.
