Hobbies And Interests
The Idea
Elliott and Ruth Handler had created a company called Mattel in 1945. The company began selling frames and doll furniture out of a workshop. It grew to include toys during the 1950s. During the 1960s, Elliott came up with the idea of making die-cast vehicles. The competition at that time included Matchbox and Johnny Lightning toy vehicles. The first Hot Wheels were released in 1968. There were 16 different models in this group with most being fantasy cars.
Market Acceptance
The first Hot Wheels designed for an actual vehicle was the 1969 Corvette, included in the initial group. It was styled after the model that had not previously been seen yet on the market. The sales of the first "sweet 16" models was 10 times more than projected. In 1969, 24 new Hot Wheels were added. Mattel created 33 new models in 1970 and another 35 in 1971. This was also the last year that the Hot Wheels were manufactured in the United States. In 1972, only seven new Hot Wheels were released.
The Difference
What makes Hot Wheels stand out among the other die-cast vehicles on the market is the detail of the designs. The Mattel Company makes all of the vehicles with the same features as an actual model would have. The original design is scaled down, reproduced at a 1:64 scale copy of the real vehicle. Hot Wheels can be raced on specially built tracks that have loops and a finish line with flags declaring the winner. The start of the tracks has to be placed higher than the finish line, since the vehicles use gravity. Other tracks have been added to the Hot Wheels line.
Changes Made
In 1973, there were roblems with manufacturing due to lower standards and only three new models were created. Seven new models were created in 1974, the same year Mattel began enameling every vehicle made. Each had tampo-printed ink graphics in place of the previous stickers and decals used. The initial motorcycle Hot Wheels vehicle was made in 1975 along with 23 other models. A number of new models have been produced most years since then with many special editions.
Hot Wheels Highlights
Special Hot Wheels designed and created since the 1970s have included: the 1981 Hot Ones, the 1983 15th anniversary Real Riders, the 1984 Ultra Hits, the 1988 20th anniversary silver and gold chrome models, the 1990 original aircraft model, the 1993 25th anniversary commemorative Hot Wheels, the 1995 Treasure Hunt Cars, the 1998 30th anniversary line, the 2000 First Editions, the 2003 35th anniversary Hot Wheels movie release and the 2008 40th anniversary diamond encrusted Hot Wheels vehicle produced to memorialize the 4 billionth vehicle made.