About Hot Wheels

History

• Hot Wheels were first invented in 1968, with a line of 16 cars available including a custom Mustang, custom Corvette and a custom Cobra. The cars featured real suspension and used special coating in their creation to make them seem flashier then other toy cars. Unlike Hot Wheels of today, the toy cars featured no apparent door frames, but they were introduced at a later date.
  Hot Wheels quickly became a success, and in 1969, another line of cars were introduced. The company used former car industry experts like Ira Gilford to create and design the series of cars. Many cars were updated creations of real cars and featured extra designs or concepts installed on them.
  The invention of the cars also came with a Hot Wheels racing track. The infamous orange racing tracks are still used today and work so well that Hot Wheel cars go at a scale speed of 200 mph, and can perform loops and other tricks.

Types

• Hot Wheels are typically 1:64 scale to a real car, but there are many different lines available. The First Edition line of cars are the most available line of Hot Wheels cars, but now they are referred to as "New Models." The "Track Stars" series is filled with racing cars, from NASCAR drivers to other forms of racing. One of the rarest type of Hot Wheel is the "Treasure Hunt" car, or "T-Hunt." These are limited-production cars that re-sell for high prices and are released every year from Hot Wheels. These cars are not only rare, but they feature rubber wheels to make them more authentic. A newer model of Hot Wheels is the "Mystery Car." These cars are packaged in complete black so that purchasers are surprised with the car that they buy.

Features

• Hot Wheels cars are made of a mixture of metal and plastic. The base of the car is created with a plastic modeling of an undercarriage that features the parts and pipes you would see under a real car. Car tires are made with a chrome rim and black plastic wheel, but some limited releases have featured real rubber for the wheels and multiple colored rims. The "Screamin' Wheels" line of Hot Wheels was created so that the cars made a sound when they rolled, but there are only a limited amount of these cars available.

Identification

• The classic Hot Wheels logo was created by Rick Irons. The logo features an orange and red flame that extends to full red around the lettering "Hot Wheels" and resembles decals that you would find on a real car. The "Hot Wheels" text is yellow on the top half and white on the bottom half creating a two-color gradient. Cars are packaged using a cardboard backing and plastic molding over the car, with the car in a horizontal position and most Hot Wheels car face to the right.

Misconceptions

• Matchbox is widely considered the main competitor for Hot Wheels, and while that was true for a long time, Hot Wheels owner Mattel bought out the Matchbox brand name in 1996. Today, Matchbox and Hot Wheels are still sold separately and cater to different car collecting audiences, with Hot Wheels focusing on collectors and children, while Matchbox aims to mostly children with collections featuring Scooby Doo and SpongeBob Squarepants.