Just got my 3 cars today and thought I’d share initial thoughts. I will post a YouTube comparison this weekend.
Paint is fantastic and crisp. Lionel kept the same trucks which roll great. The paint on the door hinges does not flake, I must have opened and shut them all 20 times to be sure. The coupler is fixed (no side to side movement) just like the 2020 cars and unlike the older versions, I was hoping they’d fix this but they did not. The coupler itself IS different from 2020 versions in that it’s narrower, has a small piece on the end almost like a spacer, and DOES couple with older Lionel milk cars. It’s not a perfect fix as these 2021 cars won’t couple on my 0-72 curves and sometimes takes several tries even on straight sections. They don’t appear to derail as easily but I need to run them through some curved switches. Ironically, they don’t couple with the 2020 cars but it sounds like new couplers will be issued for those. Overall not perfect but much much better.