I remember playing with a brand of shapeshifting car/robot toys in the 80's when I was a kid that was not Transformers. They were popular, had a catchy commercial jingle, and were NOT Transformers, but I can't remember what they were called. Help!
GO-BOTS-AND THEIR STORY. The Gobot toyline was based on figures produced by Popy of Japan (later Bandai), named Machine Robo. In 1983, Tonka decided to import the line into America after realizing Hasbro were doing the same with Takara’s Diaclone and Microman's Microchange lines, which became Transformers after crossing the Pacific. In another similarity to Transformers, Tonka decided to make the figures sentient robots, rather than human-piloted mecha as they had been in Japan, and divided them into two factions – the good Guardians and evil Renegades (although early figures were simply described as ‘Friendly’ or ‘Enemy’ on the packaging). The figures were all given individual names, in contrast to the simple designations they received in Japan. The line sold well initially, but was overtaken by Transformers, something often attributed to Hasbro's much better promotion and media tie-ins – for example, Gobot figures had no character profiles on their packaging, whereas Hasbro included tech spec biographies for each character on the back of the card or box. Gobots were also largely considered by fans and the marketplace to be overly simplistic when compared to the more sophisticated Transformers line; whereas Transformers characters had iconic names (e.g., Megatron, Starscream, Optimus Prime) and multi-faceted transformation cycles (where the robot often didn't resemble the vehicle), Gobots characters had much more obvious names (e.g., Scooter who changed into a scooter, Tank who changed into a tank, Dozer who changed into a bulldozer, etc.) and simplified transformation cycles (e.g. Tank simply stood up to transform). 1987 was the final year in which new Gobots were released.
