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.
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History
1968
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 in 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.
Racing track set
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).
1969
As it turned out, the Hot Wheels brand was a staggering success. The series "re-wrote the book" for small die-cast car models from 1968 onwards, forcing the competition at Matchbox and elsewhere to completely rethink their concepts, and to scramble to try to recover lost ground. Harry Bentley Bradley did not think that would be the case and had quit Mattel to go back to the car industry. When the company asked him back, he recommended a good friend, Ira Gilford. Gilford, who had just left Chrysler, quickly accepted the job of designing the next Hot Wheels models. Some of Hot Wheels' greatest cars, such as the Twin Mill and Splittin' Image, came from Ira Gilford's drawing board.
The success of the 1968 line was solidified and consolidated with the 1969 releases, with which Hot Wheels effectively established itself as the hottest brand of small toy car models in the USA. The Splittin' Image, Torero, Turbofire, and Twin Mill were part of the "Show & Go" series and are the very first original in-house designs by Hot Wheels.
The initial prototypes of the Beach Bomb were faithful to a real VW Bus's shape, and had two surfboards sticking out the back window. During the fledgling Hot Wheels era, Mattel wanted to make sure that each of the cars could be used with any of the play sets and stunt track sets. Unfortunately, testing showed that this early version (now known as Rear-Loader Beach Bomb, or RLBB) was too narrow to roll effectively on Hot Wheels track or be powered by the Super Charger, and was too top-heavy to negotiate high-speed corners.
Hot Wheels designers Howard Rees and Larry Wood modified the casting, extending the side fenders to accommodate the track width, as well as providing a new place on the vehicle to store each of the plastic surfboards. The roof was also cut away and replaced by a full-length sunroof, to lower the center of gravity. Nicknamed "Side-loader" by collectors, this was the production version of the Beach Bomb.
The Rear-Loader Beach Bomb is widely considered the "Holy Grail" of any Hot Wheels collection. An unknown number were made as test subjects and given to employees. A regular production Beach Bomb may be worth up to $600, depending on condition. Market prices on RLBBs however, have easily reached the five-figure plateau, ranging from $70,000 to $120,000. The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles had a pink RLBB in its Hot Wheels exhibit. It was displayed on a single rotating platform, much like the kind used to showcase precious gems. The Hot Wheels Collectors Club released a new, updated version of the rear loading Beach Bomb in 2002 as a limited edition.
1970s
1970 was a first-rate year for Hot Wheels, so Mattel came up with a new slogan for the cars: "Go With the Winner". 43 new cars appeared this year. This was also the year that Sizzlers and Heavyweights appeared. Howard Rees, who worked with Ira Gilford, was tired of designing cars. He wanted to work on the Major Matt Mason action figure toy line-up. Rees had a good friend by the name of Larry Wood. They had worked together at Ford designing cars. When Wood found out about Hot Wheels at a party Rees was holding, Rees offered Wood the job of designing Hot Wheels. Wood agreed, and by the end of the week, Wood was working at Mattel. His first design would be the Tri-Baby. After 36 years, Wood still works for Hot Wheels.
Another designer, Paul Tam, joined Wood and Gilford. Tam's first design for Hot Wheels was the Whip Creamer. Tam continued to work for Mattel until 1973. Among the many futuristic designs Tam thought up for Hot Wheels, some of the collector's favorites include Evil Weevil (a Volkswagen with two engines), Open Fire (an AMC Gremlin with six wheels), Six Shooter (another six wheeled car), and the rare Double Header (co-designed with Larry Wood).
1970 introduced the Snake and the Mongoose. This was notably drag racing's first major non-automotive corporate sponsor, and the beginning of the NHRA's booming popularity with high-dollar teams and championships. 1970 also introduced the first Silver Series, which were 3 cars, the Boss Hoss, the Heavy Chevy, and the King 'Kuda. These 3 cars were obtained through a mail in offer that included a membership to the Hot Wheels Club. These 3 silver cars had a supercharged engine without a hood and open header exhaust. Supposedly these 3 Silver Cars were faster than the rest, because they were heavier than the other gravity models.
However, 1972 and 1973 were slow years. Only 7 new models were made in 1972. Of the 24 models appearing for 1973, only 3 were new models. Also the cars changed from Mattel's in house Spectraflame colors to mostly-drab, solid enamel colors, which mainline Hot Wheels cars still use today. Due to low sales, and the fact that the majority of the castings were not re-used in later years, the 1972-3 models are known to be very collectible.
In 1974, Hot Wheels introduced its Flying Colors line, and added flashy decals and tampo-printed paint designs which helped revitalize sales. As with the low-friction wheels in 1968, this innovation was revolutionary in the industry, and -- although far less effective in terms of sales impact than in 1968 -- was copied by the competition, who did not want to be outmaneuvered again by Mattel product strategists.
In 1977, the Redline Wheel was phased out, with the red lines being erased from the wheels. This cut costs, but also reflected that the red lines popularized during the era of muscle cars and Polyglas tires were no longer current. During this period, there was a trend away from wild hot rods and fictitious cars and a move to more realistic cars and trucks.
1978-1988: The Blackwalls era
What happened with Hot Ones in the 1980s for Hot Wheels sent them in the path of what they are today. In 1981, Hot Ones wheels were introduced, which had gold-painted hubs, thinner axels for speed, and additional suspension that most production Hot Wheels lacked. Ultra Hot Wheels, which looked like the wheels found on a Renault Fuego or a Mazda 626, were introduced in 1984 and had other speed improvements. Hot Wheels started offering models based on 1980s sports and economy cars, like the Pontiac Fiero or Dodge Omni 024. In 1983, a new style of wheel called Real Riders were introduced, which had real rubber tires. Despite the fact that they were very popular, the Real Riders line was short-lived, because of high production costs. In the late 1980s, the Blue Card blister pack was introduced, which would become the basis of Hot Wheels cards still used today.
Two other innovations were introduced briefly in Hot Wheels cars in the 1980s - Thermal Color Change paint, and rotating Crash Panel vehicles ("Crack-Ups"). The former were able to change color on exposure to hot or cold water, and there were an initial release of 20 different cars, available as sets of three vehicles. The latter were vehicles with a panel that, on contact, would rotate to reveal a flip side which appeared to be heavily dented. Variations in crash-panels included front, rear and side panels, the last of whose mechanism has proven to be the most durable.
In the 1980s, Hot Wheels had gotten into a controversy with General Motors' Chevrolet Motors Division. In 1982, the Chevrolet Corvette had ended the curvaceous Mako Shark body-shape design that had been in production for almost 15 years, and GM announced that the Corvette would be redesigned. In 1983, Chevrolet started to produce the all new C4 Corvette but had assembly line problems which pushed production back 6 months causing GM's Marketing Department to label all 1983's as 1984's once they got production perfected so it would seem to the public that the all new C4 Corvette came out early rather than late, but Hot Wheels saw what the new model of Corvette was going to look like before GM's official unveiling and they designed a die cast version of the 1984 Corvette. GM was angered and almost pulled its licensing with Mattel, but this controversy helped Corvette buffs see what the new Corvette was going to look like. The 1984 Corvette production ran for 1.5 model years covering half of the remaining 1983 model year and ending on time for the 1985 model year.
In conjunction with Epyx Software, Mattel released a computer game edition of Hot Wheels for various 8-bit platforms in 1985, as part of the Computer Activity Toys series.
1989-1994: The collector number era
In 1989, Mattel released collector numbers. Each car had its own number. The cards were all blue, for all blister packs released from 1989-1994. Numbers included went as high as 274; however, these were skip numbered, and numbers such as 48, 61, and 173 were not used.
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Collectors
Through the years, Hot Wheels cars have been collected mostly by children, but in the last 15 years there has been an increase in the number of adult collectors. Mattel estimates that 41 million children grew up playing with the toys, the average collector has over 1,550 cars, and children between the ages of 5 and 15 have an average of 41 cars. Most believe the collecting craze started with the Treasure Hunts in 1995. Mike Strauss has been called the father of Hot Wheels collecting; he has organized two collectors' events each year in some form since 1986. The first event was the Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Convention, normally held each year in the fall. The convention occurred in various locations around the country until 2001, when the first Annual Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals was put together. Since then, the Conventions are held each year in southern California. The Hot Wheels Collectors Nationals rotate among cities outside of California during the spring. Strauss has also published the quarterly Hot Wheels Newsletter since 1986 and was one of the first to unite collectors all over the world. He also writes the Tomart's Guide To Hot Wheels, a book listing history, car descriptions and values, which is used by almost every collector to learn more about the hobby and their collection. Strauss sold his collection in 2011 and retired from the Hot Wheels Newsletter.
There are hundreds, probably thousands, of web pages dedicated to Hot Wheels collecting. People are collecting everything from only new castings to only Red Lines and everything in between. For the most part it is a relatively inexpensive hobby, when compared with coin collecting, stamp collecting or Barbie collecting, with mainline cars costing about $0.97-$1.08 (USD) at retail. The price has not changed much in almost 40 years, although in real terms the models have dropped significantly in price. After the cars are no longer available at retail the cost can vary significantly. A common car may sell for less than retail, while some of the more difficult cars can sell for many hundred or even thousands of dollars. The highest price paid for a Hot Wheels car was close to $70,000 in 2000 for a pre-production version of a Volkswagen Beach Bomb (the asking price was $72,000). The Beach Bomb is a VW microbus with a pair of surfboards poking out the rear window. This design failed initial testing, proving to be top-heavy and not functional with the Power Booster track accessory. A widened version with the surfboards mounted in side slots was designed and released for the 1969 model year, making the "rear loader" version a rarity and very sought-after piece. As of 2017, there are about 41 "rear loaders" known to exist.
Dates on cars
The date on the base of a Hot Wheels car is a design copyright date, not a manufacturing date. (Specifically, the date is the copyright date for the design of the base of the car, but there are only a handful of cases where that is not the same as the copyright date for the design of the entire car.) The date is usually the year before the car was first introduced, but it is sometimes the same year. For example, a car in the 2001 First Editions series called Evil Twin, was released in 2001 but the year dated on the bottom of the car is 2000.
Mattel reuses many models of Hot Wheels cars, both as part of the regular line and as "commemorative" replicas. As a result, a car with the date 1968 on the base could have been made at any time between 1968 and the present, like the Custom Ford Mustang.
Hot Wheels Classics
The Hot Wheels Classics line was an immediate hit with enthusiasts everywhere. The new line focused on muscle cars, hot rods, and other offbeat vehicles (such as a go-kart, a motor home and even an airplane), many from the company's first ten years (1968-78) of production. The series is also used to debut several different castings, such as the 1965 Chevy Malibu or the 1972 Ford Ranchero.
Series 1 from 2005 consisted of 25 models, each with all-metal body and chassis, decked out with Spectraflame paint, in packages similar to those used from 1968 to 1972. Each car had a retail price of about three to four dollars (USD) and each of the 25 cars were released with 7 or 8 different colors. Models included the 1957 Chevy Bel Air (pictured at the right), the 1963 Ford T-Bird, and the 1965 Pontiac GTO.
There were also track sets in similar retro packaging, and 1:18 scale Hot Wheels Classics. The Classics version of the Purple Passion was released with Real Riders tires at the San Diego Comic-Con. Mattel also produced a Classics Olds 442 in Spectraflame blue for the 2005 Toy Fair.
In late 2005, Series 2 now consisted of 30 models including the 1967 Camaro Convertible, the 1969 Dodge Charger, and a 1965 Mustang Mach 1. There was also supposed to be a separate Mustang Funny Car (as listed on the blisterpack rear checklist) but this was apparently charged to a Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car during production.
In 2006, a Series 3 line of Classics was introduced, again containing 30 models with multiple colors of each vehicle. Models included the '69 Pontiac Firebird, a Meyers Manx dune buggy, and the Richard Petty '70 Plymouth "Superbird".
In 2007, Series 4 debuted with just fifteen models. However, in recognition of the 40th anniversary there were two packaging versions available - models came with a collectible metal badge (featuring a portrait of the involved vehicle) or were sold alone as in the previous three series. Models included a VW Karmann Ghia, a '68 Mercury Cougar, and the "Red Baron" hot rod.
In 2009, Series 5 has 30 models. For the first time, there are chase cars in the classics series. These cars feature real rubber tires. A few models included are Copper Stopper, 1970 Pontiac GTO, and Hammer Sled.
Special model lines
Hot Wheels has also released slightly larger, more detailed models, such as the original Gran Toros (1/43 scale) from 1970, and the Dropstars line (a model line of "blinged" cars). Also in this larger scale are the HIN (Hot Import Nights), G-Machines and Customs lines. These lines were introduced in 2004-2005.
Hot Wheels has produced many replica scale models in the industry standard 1/43, 1/24 and 1/18 scales. In 2004, it released a 1/12 scale replica of the C6 Corvette.
Hot Wheels also in the early 1990s introduced a series known as the California Customs. A line of cars that had a California theme.
Other lines from Hot Wheels include: R-R-Rumblers & Chopcycles (motorcycles introduced in 1971), Hotbirds (metal airplanes), Sizzlers, XV Racers, Hot Tunerz and Stockerz.
Over the years, Mattel has also teamed up with other retail organizations to produce special models available through those retailers. The list of retailers includes Avon, Chuck E. Cheese, Dinty Moore, FAO Schwarz, Full Grid, General Mills, Getty, HEB, Hills, Hormel, Hughes Family Markets, JC Penney, JC Whitney, Kay-Bee Toys, K-Mart, Kellogg's, Kool-Aid, Kroger, Lexmark, Liberty Promotions (contracted the series of special models for Jiffy Lube and Penske), Little Debbie Snacks, Malt-O-Meal, McDonald's, Mervyn's, Otter Pops, Rose's Discount Stores, Shell, Target, Tony's Pizza, Toys-R-Us, Union 76, Valvoline, Van de Kamp's, WalMart, and White's Guide to Collecting, as well as several Major League Baseball franchises to name a few.
In some cases, Hot Wheels dies have been sold or acquired by other companies once Mattel has finished using them. One example were early dies that made their way to Argentina and were reproduced as Mukys, though not with spectra-flame paints or the same quality as seen in Mattel's products.
Hot Wheels have a series called Hot Wheels Elite and Hot Wheels Mattel. The Elite Hot Wheels are 1:18, 1:43 and 1:50 highly detailed diecast hi gage the majority of them are based on Ferrari's.. They are more expensive than the Mattel models, which aren't as highly detailed and cheaper, as the Elite versions are licensed by Ferrari, so for Hot Wheels Mattel models, they have to add cheap parts, like plastic to make them cheaper. The Hot Wheels Elite series have mini series, which can be seen on the website. Two of the popular limited 1;18 Hot Wheels Elite series' are the 'Ferrari in Music' and 'Cult Classics' The music series features singers' and rappers' Ferrari's, including Jamiroquai's Jay Kay's Black Ferrari Enzo.
In 2016 Hot Wheels released a special collection for the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' 1966 song "Yellow Submarine." The collections includes five cars, a VW microbus and a yellow submarine.
Treasure Hunt series
Treasure Hunt (sometimes T-Hunt) is a line of Hot Wheels cars, introduced by Mattel in 1995. It consisted of 12 cars every year (15 beginning in 2011) with one or two released per month. The original production run was 10,000 of each car worldwide; that number has since risen due to the increasing demand for and popularity of Hot Wheels as a collector's item.
Treasure Hunt vehicles are identifiable by a label on the package. The blister card said "Treasure Hunt" or "T-Hunt" on a green bar, sometimes with an illustration of a treasure chest. Since 2013, treasure hunts do not have the green stripe anymore; instead, the cars are recognizable with a "flame in a circle logo" on the vehicle and behind it on the card. The cars were decorated with flashy designs and special "rubber" wheels before 2007.
In 2007, Mattel introduced a two-tiered Treasure Hunt system. A regular Treasure Hunt will feature normal enamel paint and normal wheels like other Hot Wheels cars. The production of these is rumored to be greater than previous T-Hunts. Super Treasure Hunts are much harder to find. Like Treasure Hunts of the past, a Super Treasure Hunt features premium wheels and Spectraflame paint. Before 2013, all 12 Treasure Hunt cars of a year were released in both regular and super versions. In 2012, Supers came with special paint and wheels, but with series designation on the card. However, the regular T-hunts retained a special series card. Mattel stopped using special cards for all Treasure Hunts in 2013. Super Some U.S. releases in 2014 had the phrase "This symbol on the vehicle lets you know it is hard to find and highly collectible". However, in 2016, this was changed to "Congratulations! This symbol means you just found a collectable treasure-hunt car!". This would be under a silver flame logo on the card for T-Hunts. In 2015, Supers featured a gold logo on the card. Generally, Hot Wheels has targeted both kids and adults with the T-Hunt series, focusing more on the adult collecting market with Supers.
Live action film project
On January 30, 2003, Columbia Pictures announced they had gained exclusive rights to developing a feature film based on the toy line Hot Wheels with McG attached to direct. Although unwritten, the premise involved a young man "trying to reconcile with his father. It's a kid who steals his dad's racecar and ends up going through a sort of Back to the Future portal into this world, and he has to reconcile his relationship with his father." In 2006, McG said that he dropped out as director and chose to produce instead.
In 2009, with no recent developments, the film was put into turnaround, and the rights were handed over to Warner Bros. Joel Silver took over producing with Matt Nix writing the script. The movie will be produced by Columbia Pictures, Flying Glass of Milk Films and Silver Pictures, under license to Mattel.
On June 17, 2011, it was announced that Legendary Pictures is developing a movie based on Hot Wheels due to the success of Fast Five by developing an edgier film. On July 10, 2013, Simon Crane and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo were named as the frontrunners to direct the film, with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway writing the film, intended to be more Mission: Impossible than Fast & Furious. On September 28, 2016, Justin Lin signed on to direct the film, which will be produced through his production company Perfect Storm Entertainment. On August 1, 2017, Lin revealed that the movie was still in development and that Jeremy Renner is set to star.
Sizzlers
The Sizzlers were a 1970s Hot Wheels spin off with a built-in motor and a tiny rechargeable battery. (The X-V racers of the 1990s were similar.) They were introduced in 1970 and became immediately popular. Sizzlers run on the regular "orange" Hot Wheels track, and Mattel created special race sets with U-Turns, multi-level spirals and loops to take advantage of the cars' electric motor. Two lane race sets such as the California/8 race set were developed that allowed Sizzlers to race side-by side, until Mattel created the black Fat Track which is three lanes wide with steep banked curves and designed to allow Sizzlers to run free. In action, Sizzlers display a unique, competitive "passing action" when running on the Fat Track, as if each car were piloted by an impatient driver trying to jockey ahead of the rest. The Fat Track sets included the "Big O", "California 500", and "Super Circuit" race sets, and accessories such as the "Scramble Start" (a four-car starting gate), "Lap Computer" four car lap counter, and "Race-Timer" stop watch.
6 cars were made in 1970, 12 cars were made in 1971, and 4 cars were made in 1972. The "Fat Daddy" Sizzlers (oversized bodies with huge tires) were introduced in 1973. Mattel put the Sizzlers on a hiatus after that year, and in 1976 they created Sizzlers II. That next year, the Night Ridin' Sizzlers (which had headlights you could turn on or off) were created. Mattel permanently stopped Sizzlers production in 1978.They were replaced by another spin off named Scorchers.The scorchers were pull back cars
Sizzlers were (and are) charged with four or two D battery chargers called the Juice Machine and Goose Pump respectively. Later, the Power Pit was introduced--which was an electric charger that plugged into any household AC outlet and resembled a race track garage or pit stop. A 90-second charge of the tiny internal NiCad battery gives up to five minutes of frenetic run time. It has been said that the 90-second charge time was "the longest minute and a half in a kid's life" as they waited impatiently for the car to charge sufficiently to get back into the race.
The Sizzler electric technology spun off into the Hotline Trains, which ran on track similar to regular Hot Wheels, and the Earthshakers construction vehicles. Both lines of vehicles were charged using the Sizzler Juice Machine or Power Pit.
In the 1990s, toy company Playing Mantis re-released Sizzlers in NASCAR stock car models and reproduced the Fat Track as the "Stocker 400" and "Mach 500" track sets. The Juice machine was renamed the "Mega-Charger" and incorporated a more efficient "trickle charge" rather than the "dump charge" of the original machines. Interest in the Sizzlers line began to increase once again. They were taken off the market after Mattel filed a lawsuit against Playing Mantis. However, Sizzlers returned again in 2006, when Mattel struck an exclusive deal with Target stores to re-release Sizzlers cars, the "Big O" Fat track, Juice Machine and car carrying case--all in the original packaging from the 1970s. As of January 2009, the Sizzlers line has been discontinued by Target.
In 2011, Sizzlers have been re-released as Cars 2 characters, and were sold at Target stores. This line was called Charge Ups.
Promotion and sponsorships
Hot Wheels appeared in the 2016 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Motorsports
Starting in 1970, professional drag racers Don Prudhomme (driver of The Snake) and Tom McEwen (driver of The Mongoose) were sponsored by Hot Wheels, and later on, Hot Wheels created the Snake and Mongoose Drag set in 1970. Later somewhere in 1972, the second versions of both funny cars were released, when McEwen had the Mongoose 2, and Prudhomme had the Snake 2. The drag set remained the same. Then, Hot Wheels made rail-dragster versions of them, based on the actual funny cars and was featured in the Wild Wheelie Set. Later in Hot Wheels' lifespan, the normal drag set with Snake and Mongoose were still being produced. The latest set with the Snake and Mongoose is in the Drag-Strip Demons lineup.
In 1992, Hot Wheels sponsored the Trans-Am car of Jack Baldwin as he went on to win that year's championship. Hot Wheels signed a sponsorship deal in 1997 with NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and the No. 44 PE2 Motorsports car and thus began making replicas of NASCAR race cars. Three years later, Hot Wheels joined the Craftsman Truck Series team of Carlos Contreras and the No. 12 truck. In 2004, Hot Wheels sponsored the No. 99 car of Jeff Burton for one race at Darlington Raceway. Six years later, the company returned to NASCAR to sponsor the No. 7 JR Motorsports car of Danica Patrick at Michigan International Speedway.
In 1999, Hot Wheels partnered with five Formula One teams to manufacture scale model Formula One cars. In 2016, Hot Wheels opened the Race to Win exhibit at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis to promote the 100th Indianapolis 500.
Hot Wheels is a partner and sponsor of Australian stunt rider Matt Mingay's Stuntz Inc team. With Mingay, the company sponsors the No. 2 truck in Speed Energy Formula Off-Road. After Mingay suffered facial injuries at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix in 2016, Robby Gordon drove the No. 2 Hot Wheels truck at the Townsville Street Circuit.
Video games
Various video games based on Hot Wheels have been released for numerous consoles.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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