Hot Wheels |
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Official Site: hotwheels.com
Wikipedia: Hot Wheels Page Sections History Merchandise Photographs Article Index · Merchandise |
History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Hot Wheels page on 24 July 2018, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Hot Wheels is a brand of 1:64, 1:43, 1:18 and 1:50 scale die-cast toy cars introduced by American toy maker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then-owner of Matchbox.
Many automobile manufacturers have licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing. Although Hot Wheels were originally intended for children and young adults, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available.
The original Hot Wheels were made by Elliot Handler. Hot Wheels were conceived to be more like "tricked out" cars, as compared to Matchbox cars which were more city or "real life" cars. There were sixteen castings released on May 18, 1968, eleven of them designed by Harry Bentley Bradley. The first one produced was a dark blue Custom Camaro. Bradley was from the car industry and had designed the body for the (full-sized) Dodge Deora concept car and the Custom Fleetside, (based on his own customized 1968 Chevrolet C-10 Fleetside).
In 1968, the first production line of Hot Wheels Cars is known as The Original Sweet 16, which is the first of the Red Line Series, meaning the tires have a red pin stripe on their sides.
In addition to the cars themselves, Mattel produced a racing track set (sold separately). Though it would be updated throughout the years, the original track consisted of a series of brightly colored orange road sections (pieced together to form an oblong, circular race track), with one (or sometimes two) "super chargers" (faux service stations through which cars passed on the tracks, featuring battery-powered spinning wheels, which would propel the cars along the tracks).
| Type · Size | Brand · Item # · Year · Series | Item Name | Item Details |
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| Die cast car · small scale | Hot Wheels · HTC12-N9C0A · 2024 · HW Roadsters | Max Steel | Vehicle: hot rod resembling Pre-WWII race car Livery: red w/black stripes #29 Photo:  |
| Type · Size Brand · Item # · Year · Series | Item Name | Item Details ·  |
|---|---|---|
| die cast car · small scale Hot Wheels · HTC12-N9C0A · 2024 · HW Roadsters | Max Steel | Vehicle: hot rod resembling Pre-WWII race car Livery: red w/black stripes #29 · |
| die cast car · small scale Hot Wheels · N4019-B919F · 2009 · 2009 New Models | AMC Javelin AMX | Vehicle: AMC Javelin AMX Paint: black w/silver stripe ·  |
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Jack Baldwin Chevrolet Camaro Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden 2012 Summer NNL hosted by GTR Auto Modelers View photo of Jack Balwin Hot Wheels Chevrolet Camaro Model Car - 4.1MB |
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Hot Wheels Chevrolet Camaro 2013 Geneva International Motor Show Photo ©2013 Norbert Aepli, Switzerland This photograph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. View photo of Hot Wheels Chevrolet Camaro at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show - 3.2MB |
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Hot Wheels Chevrolet Camaro 2013 Geneva International Motor Show Photo ©2013 Norbert Aepli, Switzerland This photograph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. View photo of Hot Wheels Chevrolet Camaro at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show - 3.4MB |
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Photo ©2017 Bill Crittenden Green Street Cruise Night: 7 August 2017 View photo of Hot Wheels stand - 2.2MB |
| Date | Article | Author/Source |
|---|---|---|
| 25 July 2018 | US Toymaker Mattel to Lay Off 2,200 Worldwide | VOA News |
| 12 November 2018 | Raycom-Legacy Content Company and Hot Wheels® Launch Hot Wheels™ Monster Trucks Live | Raycom-Legacy Content Company |
