When Mattel launched Hot Wheels in 1968, its biggest diecast-metal-car competitor was Matchbox, whose Models of Yesteryear line featured a 1911 Model T Ford and 1906 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. It was a bit quaint compared to the original 16 Hot Wheels cars, which focused on American muscle cars of the day (Camaros, Mustangs, T-Birds, etc.) as well as hot rods, the most famous of which was the Beatnik Bandit by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.
In addition to being contemporary, Hot Wheels cars were also fast, thanks to their tiny torsion-bar suspensions and low-friction wheel bearings. Hot Wheels also had candy-colored Spectraflame paint jobs (colors ranged from Aqua to Purple to Hot Pink) and “redline” wheels, so named for the red stripe painted on the tires.
The first Hot Wheels car was a Chevy Camaro, which like the other 1968 Hot Wheels was manufactured in the United States. Other cars in the Sweet 16 included a Cougar, a VW Bug wi...
In 1969, Ira Gilford joined the Hot Wheels design team and designed two of the company's most famous original cars: the Twinmill, which featured an exposed engine behind each front wheel, and the Splittin’ Image, which resembled two single-passenger pods with an engine and exhaust pipes running between them.
Another collectible car from 1969 is the Beach Bomb, which was a VW Bus with exterior compartments on each side for carrying surfboards. Early prototypes of the beach bomb had surfboards loading in from the rear of the van—an example of this highly collectible vintage Hot Wheel, of which only 22 are known to exist, can be found in the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
The next two years saw almost 100 new cars released, including the Light My Firebird, whose name was a play on the popular Doors song from 1967. Mattel also added two important product lines, the Heavyweights and the Sizzlers. Heavyweights, as its name implied, featured cement mixers, fire trucks, and other large vehicles. The Sizzlers featured a custom-made General Electric Ni-Cad battery that could be charged in 90 seconds at a Juice Machine or Power Pit.
By 1972, all Hot Wheels vehicles were made in Hong Kong to keep prices low and meet the high demand. Snake and Mongoose rear-engine dragsters were issued in what was an otherwise lean, inflationary year, and Spectraflame was dumped for a less shiny, and less expensive, type of paint. A portable recharger known as the Goose Pump was introduced in 1972, as was a front bumper called the Mouse’s Mustache.
The following year, production levels and model introductions were back up and Sizzlers tires were retooled as Fat Daddy racing slicks. Because new Sizzlers were not offered again until 1976, these Hot Wheels from 1973 are particularly collectible. Models and colors to look for include the green Fire Works and Hiway Hauler, as well as the yellow or red Ram Rocket.
One of the most sought-after vintage Hot Wheels spinoffs from 1973 was the Revvers line, which lasted for just one year. Designed for off-track use, the 10 Revvers models were powered by a rubber band. Among the most prized models and colors are the lemon yellow Burnin’ Box, any color of Jettin’ Vette (although dark blue is the Holy Grail), and the Revvers camper set, which included a station wagon and camper trailer.
The Flying Colors line dominated 1974 and 1975, and the Super Streets and Super Chromes were popular in 1975 and ’76. But Mattel dropped the trademark redline wheel from all Hot Wheels in 1977, bringing an end to the vintage era of this most popular of all toy cars.
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Recent News: Hot Wheels
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Afterthoughts: Hot Wheels
HONOLULUMagazine.com, May 20thThere's a moment, when you arrive at the parking spot in which your vehicle is not, during which you assume you've made a mistake. Huh, that's weird, you think. I could have sworn I parked right here. Only after a double take, and a quick mental replay...Read more
Video: Hot Wheels Releases a 22-Minute Video to Find the World's Best Driver
Top Speed (blog), May 18thHot Wheels, the company that specializes on building miniature toy cars, has been regarded as a company that loves to think outside the box. Whether its commissioning world-record stunts, or building tracks with double loops, the toy manufacturer has...Read more
Hot Wheels stages competition to find its own world's best driver - Autoblog
Autoblog (blog), May 16thThe maker of little diecast cars got some big cars together – some you've seen before, some are from other planets – as well as some wild drivers and moto-crossers, and put them to the test at a 'secret' location called the Hot Wheels Test Facility...Read more
TOTD: Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels or Camaro 1LE?
MotorTrend Magazine, May 16thAs we found in our review, the Hot Wheels Special Edition's added parts weren't all cosmetic upgrades to the exterior and interior. The 21-inch wheels wrapped in sticky Pirelli P-Zero tires helped the large coupe in the handling and braking departments...Read more
2013 Chevrolet Camaro SS Hot Wheels Edition review notes
AutoWeek, May 15thYeah, the first thing I'd do is not order the Hot Wheels package and save myself seven grand but that's personal taste. I like the blue paint and even the subtle flames, but not so much the Hot Wheels logos outside and on the seats. Still, the car's a...Read more
First Test: 2013 Chevrolet Camaro SS Hot Wheels Special Edition
MotorTrend Magazine, May 14th2013 Chevrolet Camaro SS Hot Wheels Special Edition Front Three Quarters In Motion As one of the first "Sweet 16" Hot Wheels cars produced in 1968, the original Custom Camaro is also one of the most sought-after by collectors. Forty-five years later,...Read more
Ad of the Day: Hot Wheels
Adweek, May 13thFor the past couple of years, the Mattel-owned brand has focused on appealing to older kids (and maybe a few nostalgic geezers) who are still boys at heart. That's meant building real-life versions of Hot Wheels toys as staging grounds for totally...Read more
Hot Wheels crafts glow-in-the-dark Camaro, trio of hot rods for “World's Best ...
Yahoo! Movies (blog), May 10thThe life-size stunts division of Hot Wheels has kept itself busy over the past couple of years, between launching the longest automotive jump in the world at the 2011 Indy 500 and pulling off a record corkscrew jump last year. For an encore, Hot Wheels...Read more
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