RickR

That is weird for sure!

I will tell you that the museum is set up for personal events.  They have a room for that very purpose, and it was set up for a wedding reception when I was there.  I imagine they'll put whatever cars you request in there (for a fee, of course).  It looks very much like a marketing photo and maybe a few bucks got someone this type of access.  My point being that the museum seems very accommodating to personal requests to bolster their revenue. 

This is kinda weird! I googled "Neo Geo Gold" last night, looking for the original US release Neo Geo system that seems to be more difficult to get your hands on today than the Japanese released system. People today usually refer to it as the "Neo Geo AES" (Advanced Entertainment System) but at the time we all called it the "Neo Geo Gold" as the US system that came with two joysticks and two pack-in games was called the "Gold System" on the box and in catalogs.
Searching "Neo Geo Gold" on Google Images brings up countless photos of the "Neo Geo X" mini console which was frustrating. It's increasingly difficult to find relevant results for the US Neo Geo "Gold System" but I continued my search! 
After scrolling through a number of pictures on Google Images, I saw a De Lorean out of the corner of my eye. I clicked on it and it was a 24k gold plated De Lorean with a Neo Geo setup on the hood of the car. What?? I immediately thought of your recent blog post and wondered how this person was able to pull off taking this picture. I suspect this is the same gold car you saw at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV and likely where this photo was taken. Possibly by a Neo Geo playing employee sneaking a photo when the car was in the back? Not sure how they pulled this off!
There were only two 24k Gold De Loreans sold through the American Express catalog at $85,000 each (equivalent to $257,000 in 2021) and a slightly different third gold car that was assembled from spare gold parts in 1983 and was not sold through American Express. The second of the two original cars was on display in a bank in Snyder, TX for many years until 2004 until it moved to the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles where it's currently on display. The first of the two cars was sold to a collector named Sherwood Marshall in San Francisco. This is the car that currently resides at the National Automobile Museum in Reno that you got to see in person! It's possible the car in the Neo Geo photo is the third "leftover" car and that it the photo was not taken in a museum. I can't tell what color the interior is for the car in the Neo Geo photo (the seats look potentially grey to me but it's hard to see) that would be an easy way of telling them apart.
You can read more about what happened to the 24k Gold De Loreans at the De Lorean Directory: https://www.deloreandirectory.com/articles/going-gold/
Honestly this was the last thing I expected to see when I googled "Neo Geo Gold" 🤯

And this one reminded me of the gift Mr. Miyagi gave to Daniel-san.  Wax on, wax off. 

 

To avoid scratching the gold, I'll take one of these home instead.
 

Also one of only three with the saddle tan interior, very rare. Don't scratch the gold off driving home! Crazy to think you could just order these out of the American Express Christmas Catalog! 🎅

I wanted to hop in and drive home in it. 

It's been a while since I posted this, and just as an update -- I STILL love it.  I recently came across what I thought was an Atari joystick with two buttons and it turns out it's actually for Colecovision.  I'll make a blog post about that thing as soon as I get some time. 
 

I never had a ColecoVision in the '80s either. I went right to the Atari 7800 which I would argue is a superior system. The ColecoVision wasn't on my radar until the early 1990s when I began collecting and would see them at garage sales and flea markets for around $30 with a few games. One time in the summer of 1994 I even ran into an older gentleman walking out of the mall carrying an open cardboard box with a ColecoVision and a bunch of games. I ran over to him, stopped him and asked about the ColecoVision. He had taken it into FuncoLand in our mall as a trade in, but they did not accept anything pre-NES, so he was returning to his car. He offered it to me for - guess how much - $30. I got his phone number, should've bought the system but never did.
To this day I have never owned a real ColecoVision. It's been a blind spot in my personal gaming culture. I have a lot of appreciation for the ColecoVision, and I agree with every one of your points @RickR -- that as much as I love Atari, I would have enjoyed the games on ColecoVision much more.
Between your blog post here, and what @Willie! has shown of the CollectorVision Phoenix in some of his videos, you are really selling me on this neat little system. Without the personal sentimental feelings of having grown up with the original unit, I would feel just fine having a CollectorVision Phoenix with modern connections under my TV to enjoy some of the best games the ColecoVision has to offer.

An addendum to my blog post with a bit more about me:

I never had a Colecovision in the 80's.  However, I drooled over them in the stores.  I remember being totally blown away by the pack-in game "Donkey Kong" on the demo unit at my local "Payless" store.  At the time, there was a choice for gamers for the latest system:  The Atari 5200 or the Colecovision.  As much as I love Atari, I would have chosen the Colecovision in a heartbeat.  It had more unique games and they looked great. 
My next system after my Atari 2600 was the Commodore VIC-20, which I loved. 

I did get a CV about 15 years ago when I started retro-collecting.  I was not disappointed.
What am I playing on the Phoenix?
My go-to on CV -- my favorite game -- is Frenzy.  It's fun.  It's challenging.  And I really like the sound effects and graphics.
I'm also revisiting a lot of the classic arcade games.  Looping, Ladybug, Donkey Kong, etc.  I like the games that don't take a ton of time investment. 
Next on my list will be some of the "Super Game Module" ROM files I have. 
 

For this second-run unit, the price was $200 + $30 shipping (from Canada).  It has been a while, so I may be off plus/minus $10.  I believe it is a fair price, and I'm sure the creators do not make much per unit. 
 

I've also been playing Super Metroid off and on for a while, but haven't made it too far.  Does the game have save points?  If it does, mine doesn't work right.  
 

Nice job on this blog.  Makes me want to play more Metroid. 
 

I've also been playing Super Metroid off and on for a while, but haven't made it too far.  Does the game have save points?  If it does, mine doesn't work right.  
 

Nice job on this blog.  Makes me want to play more Metroid. 
 

As I stated elsewhere, I've really only gotten into DS Metroid Fusion.  I've started to try Super Metroid.  Yes, I want to try more.
 
 

That's a nice way to play the system on a CRT TV!

Sweet.  That's what I like to see downgrading HDMI to view games the way they were intended to be viewed, ha ha. Congrats on finding a solution.  I have the phoenix as well and it seems to work great.

An addendum to my blog post with a bit more about me:

I never had a Colecovision in the 80's.  However, I drooled over them in the stores.  I remember being totally blown away by the pack-in game "Donkey Kong" on the demo unit at my local "Payless" store.  At the time, there was a choice for gamers for the latest system:  The Atari 5200 or the Colecovision.  As much as I love Atari, I would have chosen the Colecovision in a heartbeat.  It had more unique games and they looked great. 
My next system after my Atari 2600 was the Commodore VIC-20, which I loved. 

I did get a CV about 15 years ago when I started retro-collecting.  I was not disappointed.
What am I playing on the Phoenix?
My go-to on CV -- my favorite game -- is Frenzy.  It's fun.  It's challenging.  And I really like the sound effects and graphics.
I'm also revisiting a lot of the classic arcade games.  Looping, Ladybug, Donkey Kong, etc.  I like the games that don't take a ton of time investment. 
Next on my list will be some of the "Super Game Module" ROM files I have. 
 

I'm not familiar with this game at all.  I'll have to check it out.  It looks like something I'd enjoy. 
 
 

It's a great game!

Also of note - the Intellivision port of BurgerTime is outstanding.  It's a game that showcases how much the Intellivision was capable of. 
 

Oh, and to answer your question, Adventure is my favorite of the two by far.  A factor of 100 better. 

Having a boxed copy of Superman (and also Adventure) is one of the highlights of my collection.  I love the box art, and the game holds fond memories. 
I think a lot of gamers find the map confusing (and you can see in the graphic of the whole map you have in your blog, it doesn't lay out logically).  But the good thing is how each screen has a different combination of buildings/colors.  So you can memorize how to get to each milestone location if you play it enough.  I like that a lot.

I think the main thing missing from this game is the ability to do Superman things.  Punch, beat-up, freeze, laser-eye, etc, etc. 
And another "what were they thinking?" thought for Atari...why not a whole series of Superman or DC games?  Just another missed opportunity.
 

That's very interesting!  My original copy from when I was a kid is the picture label.  But the CIB version I've purchased for my collection is the text label. 
 

They did retire this one, however it did get a picture label at one point. That one's even rarer. Poor Miniature Golf was also retired. That one only got the text label. I was lucky enough to find a single copy of that one at the store.
I believe Flag Capture, text label, is a rarity four. Though, I've seen plenty of other rarity four games there with multiple copies. That guide should be updated a bit. I'd give it a five probably.

One of my favorites too.  This was one of the few games that Atari actually retired from their catalog.  Does that make it rare?  Probably a little. 
I like it because it makes you think.  Strategy plays a part.  The misses here mostly have to do with the graphics.  A lot of the other early games have a few graphical surprises thrown in.  Think about the clowns that splat in Circus Atari or the "ouch" in Human Cannonball.  This game could have really used any kind of little animations to make it better.